Creamy savory flavor bomb chicken roll-ups are legit a meal that EVERYONE in your family will love. They're full of veggies (totally hidden) chicken and creamy cheese. The best part is the sauce!
Costa Rican inspired dish
A few years we stayed in Playa Flamingo (during the rainy season- Sept). Our hotel was just around the corner from Playa Flamingo beach.
We were starving! and on our walk to a nearby restaurant a man stopped us asking us if we wanted food... from the back of his car.... My husband turned him down but the smells coming out were way too tempting! Besides THIS is what we were here for! We wanted to engulf ourselves in the culture and the food. We bought two lunches a coke + horchata. Sat on the beach and ate this unique food. Here is exactly what it looked like.
I had a shredded beef in a red sauce (gah it was SO good) my husband had something, almost like an enchilada but with a noodle instead of a tortilla. And for the sauce it was more like a creamy, brothy sauce with bits of peppers. If any of you know what this dish is called I'd love to know! Please comment. Until then I've recreated with our American noodles. (I cant even find what she used here!)
How to make Chicken Roll-ups
I like to start by boiling my noodles, cooking my chicken in an instant pot & shredding it. Once those are prepped I start on my sauce. Although this dinner takes a few steps it is all very easy to make. These chicken roll-ups can be made ahead of time too. Perfect for those busy nights when you need to eat fast and don't have time to slave over the stove.
The Veggies
I love using this vidalla onion chopper for cutting these peppers, onions and tomatoes. It comes with two blade sizes. I use the small diced one. Having the peppers and onions chopped small helps them to soften faster and also almost just melt into the sauce. So my kids have no idea that they are eating peppers!
In a large pan melt butter and saute the onion, garlic and peppers until they are really soft. I do this on a medium low heat so the butter doesn't brown. Mix in the flour and let it bubble for a few minutes. Slowly whisk in broth and as much cream as you desire. I like to keep it on the lower end for calorie reasons.
How to make the chicken roll-ups
I take my lasagna noodles and add a little bit of mozzarella and shredded chicken. Rollll them up.
Once they are rolled up, place about ½ cup of sauce in the bottom of the pan to keep them from sticking(you can also spray a non-stick pray in the pan). Lay the chicken roll-ups side by side and top with the sauce. Add cheese if desired.
BAKE until hot and bubbly.
These are so filling and perfect for a family and friends dinner. I I love to serve them with a salad and fresh veggies. For more Costa Rica dishes, drinks and desserts that we recreated from our trip click here!
For more Costa Rica Recipes check out these ones here!!
Pressure Cooker bone-in chicken
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Chicken Lasagna Roll-ups
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts cooked and shredded or 1 rotisserie chicken I prefer rotisserie chicken because of its flavor.
- 1 teaspoon salt*
- 4 TBS butter
- ¼ cup onion minced
- ¼ cup bell pepper minced red, yellow or orange. the sweeter variety
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 roma tomato died small
- 5 TBS flour
- 4 cups broth*
- ¼-1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese
- 12 cooked lasagna noodles
Instructions
- In skillet add butter, onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato. Sauté over med-low heat until very softened. Turn up heat to med-high. Add flour and cook for a few more minutes. Slowly whisk in 4 cups of broth*.
- Bring to a simmer. When sauce is thickened to desire consistency turn off heat and add ¼ cup of cream. You can add up to ½ cup if you prefer it more creamy.
- Spread about ½ cup sauce in bottom of 9x13 pan. Mix shredded chicken and about 2 cups mozz cheese (you can use more or less cheese as desired)
- Lay out lasagna noodles and spread cheese and shredded chicken over. Roll up. and place in 9x13 pan. Pour sauce over. Add more cheese if desired. Bake 350 for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
- *different brands of broth have more seasonings and salt. For this recipe taste test the sauce for saltiness. IF you are using bullion and rotisserie chicken there will be plenty of salt. If using plain boiled chicken and a low-sodium broth you will need to add salt and/or seasoning salts for flavor.
Nutrition
Carol M. says
Approximately how many cups of chicken do you use in the recipe??
Kadee says
3.5-4 cups of chicken or 4 breasts shredded.
Barb says
What brand of chicken broth did you use that you said had seasoning in it?
Thanks in advance
Kadee says
I like to use the Knorr Flavor Bouillon that you mix with water.
Tammy Lopes says
maybe a dumb question lol, but is that 1/4 cup of EACH color pepper? So it would equal one half and a 1/4 total???
Kadee says
1/4 cup diced bell pepper total. You can use a variety of colors if you want, but you only need 1/4 cup total.
kristin biggleston says
Can you use no bake lasagna noodles to make this?
Kadee says
You would have to make it like a layered lasagna instead of the roll ups, but I don't see why that wouldn't work.
Karen S Richardson says
You can soak the no boil lasagna noodles in boiling water for about 5 minutes and they are pliable to roll up.
I've made a manicotti recipe doing this
Cindy says
Made these tonight for dinner and they were excellent!!! Delicious easy dinner. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Cambri says
WOW! this was super duper good. Thank you for sharing.
CJ says
May I ask: what kind of broth should I use?
Desarae says
I would recommend chicken or vegetable broth
Julie everson says
Delicious recipe! I used rotisserie chicken. Very easy to make!
Jennifer says
Made this tonight...it is AMAZING! Huge hit with my family and when I'm making a new recipe, this isn't always the case! I was told to put it in the rotation and that is a big compliment to me...and to you:) Thank you!!
Tessa M. says
Excellent recipe. Time consuming but well worth it. I seasoned my chicken with Lowry’s and pepper before cooking on the stovetop. Didn’t change a thing. My husband is somewhat of a picky eater and he loved it. When I make it again I will probably cook the chicken and noodles a day or two ahead of time. Would make this an easy meal on a weeknight. Going to try to freeze some next time as well!
Desarae says
Thank you Tessa!! I'm so happy it was loved!! This comment means a lot!
Rosa says
Very tasty...love the whole idea. Don’t think I would make it again ... too much work for end result.
Ruth says
This sounds delicious, but can you tell me how many in a serving?
Desarae says
yes! I used one roll up as on serving, and depending on your pan size you can make about 12-15 roll-ups.
Amber says
I made this again last night. It’s one of my daughters favorite dishes. The sauce is just too good! I have even used corn tortillas and made them into enchiladas. Amazing!
Desarae says
genius!! I love the idea of making them into enchiladas!!
Sspinnee says
Very good. Will probably change the pepper to corn next time as hubby does not like them (even for such a small amount, he whines about it)
Also completely forgot to get the cream so I improvised and used cream of mushroom soup instead it actually worked out well and I will likely keep it that way.
Thanks for the recipe!
MelindA says
I made these and added a little cajun seasoning. My husband also thought green chilies would be good and i agree! These are definiTely a keeper!
Leasen robinson says
How much Cajun did you use?
Sam says
These are amazing!! Made And froze them for postpartum freezer meals but i wanted to eat them all right away! They reheat really well after freezing. Made the sauce with corn instead of peppers because my Husband doesnt like peppers. Will dEfinitely be making these again
Cari says
How did you reheat them? Loved the ones we ate but froze about half.
Desarae says
I store them in an airtight container in my fridge, and just reheated in the microwave. If you freeze them, you could reheat in the oven like a frozen lasagna.
Debbi Kile says
You can make it easier by using store-bought cooked chicken, sundried tomatoes and jarred peppers. Just lay out the lasagna noodles. Making the sauce is the only "work".
Maryanne says
I made these tonighT...and theY were good, but i felt like they needed some spice (there just wasn’t a ton of flavor). I ended uP adding SmOked paprika aNd a tIny bit of chipotle powder (salt and pepper, too). Totally brought thIs dish up to new level!
Maryanne says
Oh my! What is up with all the weird capitals in my comment?! ????
Desarae says
I'm glad you liked them. One thing to think about is your broth, different broths have more salt and seasonings. Some people use bullion and water which can also be more salty and more seasoned. My broth that I use has seasoning and a nice flavor so I didnt need to add any additional, but others might depending on the brand they purchase. If the brand is bland they might need to add additional seasonings like you did!