Easy and Delicious One Pan Smoked Italian Ricotta Chicken
Perfectly tender and juicy chicken breasts covered in a cheesy Italian herb ricotta mixture and smoked to absolute perfection. The best one-pan chicken dinner perfect any night of the week!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2.5 hours
- Category: smoked chicken, italian chicken, keto chicken, gluten-free, chicken on the smoker
- Method: smoker
- Cuisine: smoked chicken, italian chicken, keto chicken, gluten-free, chicken on the smoker
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta (whole milk and dry) – you may need to drain/strain it overnight in a cheesecloth
- 2 cups shredded whole milk low moisture mozzarella, freshly shredded and divided
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
- 4 Tablespoons Chupacabra Italian Seasoning, divided
- 24 ounces marinara
- Fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat the Yoders Smokers YS620 smoker to 250F.
- While the smoker is heating up, pat the chicken breasts dry, drizzle with olive oil and both sides then sprinkle both sides with 2 Tablespoons of the Chupacabra Italian Seasoning. Set that aside for 20 minutes as you want to “wet” the seasonings.
- In a bowl mix together, the ricotta, half of the mozzarella, all grated parmesan, and the rest of the Chupacabra Italian Seasoning; set aside.
- Place your seasoned chicken breasts on the top rack of your Yoder Smokers YS640 and close the lid. Smoke until the internal temp reaches 145F. This should take anywhere from 40 to 60 minutes to reach 145F but always rely on a thermometer like a MEATER.
- When the thermometer in the chicken reads 145F, take an 8 x 11″ or 9 x 13″ baking pan and pour half of your marinara into the bottom of the pan. Add the partially smoked chicken breasts from the smoker to the pan in a single layer. Pour more of the marinara over top leaving some to drizzle overtop the cheese.
- Next, add the ricotta cheese mixture evenly across all of the breasts. Top with the rest of the mozzarella and finish with the last of the marinara.
- Place the pan back into the smoker, top rack, and smoke until the chicken reaches 165F.
- Remove from the smoker and allow to rest 10 minutes before topping with basil and serving.
- Store leftovers covered and in the fridge.
Notes
*These breasts were huge so we got enough for 8 servings.