Cheesy Chicken Roll-Ups

Tender egg roll wrappers, filled with sautéed chicken and cheese, smothered in a mildly spicy marinara sauce (and more cheese!). Like manicotti gone wild (and much easier).

About the marinara sauce: I chose to make a big batch of my homemade marinara sauce and use some of it for this recipe. You can certainly use bottled marinara sauce instead. But I strongly advise you to try mine! It's got onion, garlic, oregano, and parmesan cheese. Plus a touch of hot sauce for subtle heat (which you can skip). I scaled down the ingredients so there's just enough sauce for this dish. Feel free to double or triple the recipe and store extras in the freezer. I always have containers of the stuff - it's awesome to have on hand.

About the onion and garlic: My kids like a smooth marinara sauce, so I grate the onion and garlic instead of chopping it. For a chunky sauce, chop instead!

Cheesy Chicken Rollups

For the marinara sauce: 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup grated white onion
1 tablespoon grated garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Dash of hot sauce, optional
For the chicken roll-ups:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 egg rolls wrappers
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1-2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a shallow baking dish with cooking spray.
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the grated onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes, until soft. Add the oregano, salt and pepper and stir to coat. Cook for 1 minute, until the oregano is fragrant. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste and bring to a simmer. Stir in the parmesan cheese and hot sauce. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, to make the chicken roll-ups, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown on all sides, stirring frequently. Add the salt and pepper and stir to coat. Remove the pan from the heat.
Arrange the egg roll wrappers on a flat surface. Spoon an equal amount of the chicken onto the center of each wrapper. Top the chicken with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Tightly roll up the wrappers and use water-moistened fingers to wet the last edge (this will seal the wrapper).

Place the roll-ups in the prepared pan and spoon over the marinara sauce. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. 

Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is bubbly. 

Serves 4