This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Skillet seared chicken breasts are covered in a jalapeño cheddar sauce for an easy, flavorful dinner that’s great for a weeknight or for company! 
(Updated with a new VIDEO!)
How was your July 4th weekend? We had a really great one, full of sunshine and lots of pool time with the kiddos. Even a bowling night, bike parade and some fireworks crafts. Some really good all American fun! 🇺🇸
And now for today’s confession: I have a strange obsession with jalapeños. I can’t seem to stop planting them in my garden.
My first year, it’s because I didn’t know any better. I bought two (or was it three?) jalapeño plants.
I figured, we like spicy food, we’ll want to have lots of jalapeños. 🌶🌶🌶
Oh, silly novice gardener.
A couple of months later, when I literally had about 30 jalapeños coming in at a time, for weeks on end, I had to get creative quick.
Jalapeño pepper jelly and some canning fun. Stuffed jalapeños. Some wrapped with bacon, some not. (Eaten immediately and extras frozen.) Lots of tacos and salsa and my Mississippi caviar too.
I took bags full of jalapeños to my kids’ preschool teachers and even passed some out to our veterinarian and mail carrier.
Spreading the jalapeño love! 🌶💃❤️
I also made my 10-minute jalapeño cream cheese dip to eat as an appetizer with some chips. Cause melty cheese and a spicy kick is a sure-fire hit!
I also love keeping some of my easy fresh jalapeño relish on hand for tacos, rice bowls, even eggs!
And here, I’ve added some chicken to make a quick and easy main course chicken jalapeño dish that’s got just a hint of spice and loads of creamy, cheesy sauce to coat every slice of perfectly cooked chicken.
Flavor central my friends!
How to make cheesy jalapeño chicken:
You sear the seasoned chicken breasts and remove them from the pan.
Then sauté the onion and jalapeño and garlic and stir in the chicken broth and cheese until it’s all melted and mixed.
Return the chicken to the pan, turning to get it well coated in the sauce. Cover and cook everything until the sauce is thickened up and the chicken is perfectly juicy tender.
This recipe is enough for a weeknight, but delicious and impressive enough to make for company.
I love serving it over steamed brown rice to soak up all those delicious juices.
Cauliflower rice or quinoa would work too. Even mashed potatoes, grits or polenta would be a great pairing here.
Then add your favorite vegetable and dinner is served! 🙌
This year, I restricted myself to just one jalapeño plant in my garden. So my overload will be somewhat more manageable.
Or so I hope…
Either way, I’ll be putting this chicken jalapeño skillet supper on the weekly menu and not complaining one bit.
So whether you grow your jalapeño peppers, pick them up from a farmers market or snag a few at the grocery store, I hope you give this cheesy chicken jalapeño dinner a try.
It’s creamy, comforting, completely full of flavor and sure to be a hit.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
P.S. I made you a VIDEO for this yummy recipe! Check it out!
Chicken breasts with jalapeño cheese sauce
Easy skillet seared chicken breasts with a jalapeño cheddar sauce!
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 4 (5-6 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
- 3 medium jalapeños, seeds and membranes removed, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 oz. cream cheese (I use 1/3 less fat)
- 1 heaping cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, season chicken breasts with the salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin. Add to pan and sear for 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
- Remove chicken breasts from the skillet to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. (They will finish cooking later.)
- Reduce heat to medium and add remaining two teaspoons olive oil to pan.
- Add diced onion and jalapeño and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and saute for 30 more seconds.
- Add chicken broth and cream cheese and stir until melted. Stir in shredded cheddar cheese and stir until melted and mixture is simmering.
- Return the chicken breasts to the skillet, along with any accumulated juices, and turn to coat in the cheese sauce.
- Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 7-9 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. (It will depend on how thick your chicken breasts are.) I like to spoon some of the sauce over the chicken breasts halfway through the cooking time.
- Serve chicken breasts with extra sauce spooned over the top, and enjoy!
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | |
| Amount Per Serving | As Served |
| Calories 460kcal Calories from fat 254 | |
| % Daily Value | |
| Total Fat 28g | 43% |
| Saturated Fat 13g | 65% |
| Transfat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 174mg | 58% |
| Sodium 620mg | 26% |
| Carbohydrate 6g | 2% |
| Dietary Fiber 1g | 4% |
| Sugars 2g | |
| Protein 45g | |
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
| Calories | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | Less than | 65g |
| Sat Fat | Less than | 25g |
| Cholesterol | Less than | 300mg |
| Sodium | Less than | 2,400mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 300g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 25g | |
Woo hoo! This is the kind of one skillet dinner I’m talkin’ about! Cheese plus jalapeno makes me a happy lady! I’ll leave the membranes in the pepper ’cause I love me some spice 😉 Lucky you with all the jalapeno peppers! That sounds awesome. I’d gladly take some off your hands! Pinned, of course !
Sounds like you had a lovely weekend, Kathryn! Lots of fun and relaxing, just what a long weekend should be 🙂
Hope your week is off to a good start! xoxo
Thanks so much Dawn! You’ll love this creamy spicy goodness – such an easy weeknight dinner to throw together too! Hope you’re having a lovely week as well 🙂 XO
Kathryn, this recipe is awesome! We licked our plates and wished for more. I had no broth or cream cheese so dubbed white wine and sour cream. It was so easy and tasty! I served on with spaghetti squash because I also had an abundance of them! I am sharing this recipe and using it again and again. Thank you!!
I’m SO happy to hear you loved it Colleen! And that’s great to know on the substitutions – thanks so much for sharing! 😊
I was exaggerating on licking the plate but it really was that delicious! A hard meal to follow , last nights meatloaf did not come close to getting the compliments I was given the previous night! I am looking forward to trying more recipes from your cook book! Thank you!
Girl, I think you need to send me some jalapenos 😉
Haha, right?! I will if I get another huge batch this year, but hopefully it’ll be a bit more under control!
All I can think when I look at this is QUESO! Sign me up for a nice big plate! Love that you have such an abundance of jalapenos – we’re slowly learning what herbs do well in our tiny garden, so maybe next year I can move on to “real” plants!
Yes, totally like queso – but as a whole meal 🙂 Herbs are a great place to start with a garden. It’s so fun to explore and try different things!
I have several jalapeno and other pepper plants in my garden and I’m up to my eyeballs in them over here! I need to make this cheesy jalapeno chicken dish STAT!
Haha, I know that feeling Rachelle 🙂 This will help make a small dent in your jalapeno haul!
#JalapenoProblems are good problems to have!! I’m obsessed with jalapenos so I would have been thrilled to receive some fresh ones from your garden… reason number 356 I need to get my butt to Charlotte! 😉 Anyways, I am loooooving this chicken!! Seriously the cheese sauce alone sounds fabulous, but using it to smother some chicken??? OMGeeee YESSSS! THIS is my type of dinner! Pinned! Cheers!
P.s. So glad ya’ll had a wonderful holiday weekend!!
You’re right, it’s only *sort-of* a complaint 😉 And yes, please, please come to Charlotte!! I’ll give you ALL the jalapenos 😉
Looking at these photos are giving me all those warm, fuzzy comfort-food-feels. Definitely need to try this recipe asap!
Thanks James! It’s total comfort food (but super easy!)
This looks absolutely mouthwatering, Kathryn. It’s like 100 degrees in here, but I could go for a plate right now. YUM!
Beat the heat by adding some heat! (OK, not sure if that really works, but I’m always up for a bit of spice!)
This chicken looks so crazy good!! I absolutely LOVE jalapenos! And this cheesy, creamy sauce looks just perfect! I can’t wait to try this for dinner!!
Thanks Alaina!! I’m a jalapeno fanatic too and I know you will LOVE this easy cheese sauce 🙂
This sauce looks incredible! Wow! Love the spicy kick!
Thanks Alexandra! It’s got tons of flavor!
I love the color of the dish, and the list of ingredients sounds great! I hope to find some jalapenos soon, unfortunately there is no one who can pass me on some… 🙂
Wish I could send some straight to you Adina!! Hope you get your hands on some jalapenos — or you could substitute another pepper — and give this a try! 🙂
I made this yesterday and uses fresh roasted pablano peppers fantastic.
So happy to hear you enjoyed it Mark! And love the idea of having roasted poblano peppers in here!
Happy Friday! Just letting you know I featured this recipe for my weekly Low-Carb Recipe Love on Fridays post. I hope a lot of my readers will click over and try your recipe; looks great!
Thanks so much Kalyn!! I’ll be sure to check it out and share on social media! Have a wonderful weekend!
Can you use bonless chicken thighs?
Hi Holly! I think you could definitely substitute boneless chicken thighs. You may need to adjust the cooking time to make sure they’re completely cooked through. Would love to hear how you enjoy it!
Can this recipe be frozen for a later meal?
Sure! You can freeze the leftover cooked chicken and sauce then reheat. (I like to slice my chicken when reheating so it warms up quicker and doesn’t dry out as much.)
Amazing! spicy and creamy just RIGHT! I love it.
Thanks for sharing. I’m sure my husband will love it too.
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it Maria! Thanks so much for sharing! 😊
I am an advid cook and found this recipe delicious! I did tweek it a bit though, substituted Gouda for Cheddar added spinach and a little dry sherry…maybe my new favorite! Excellent 🖒🖒🖒
I’m so glad to hear you loved it Tiffany! Thanks so much for sharing!
This was simply DELECTABLE! I added in red, yellow, and orange bellpeppers, then topped with a little sour cream and chives. Even my boyfriend loved it, and he’s an extremely picky eater!
I’m so happy to hear you loved it Brittany! Great idea to add some peppers and I’m ALL about the toppings! Thanks so much for sharing 😊
Any suggestions for a side dish to serve with this?
Hi Tara! I’m a potato fanatic so I love this alongside my easy microwave “baked” potatoes (http://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/10-minute-baked-potatoes/) but it’d also be great on top of some steamed rice or even pasta to soak up the extra sauce. And then any of your favorite veggies to round out the meal — steamed broccoli or asparagus, a simple side salad or my quick collard greens with bacon if you want a Southern comfort food flair (http://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/quick-southern-collard-greens-bacon/). I hope you try it!
Thank you for the suggestions! I plan on trying your recipe this week. It looks delicious!
I made a type of spanish rice in my instant pot. To die for girl. This recipe is the BOOM-DIGGITY.
Do you think this could be done in a crockpot? Or does it need to be cooked in a pan?
Hi Jessica! I’ve never tried it in the crockpot. I think cooking it in a pan is the best plan so you can sear the chicken and saute the onions to give the dish more flavor. I think if you really wanted to use the crockpot, you could do the chicken in there with the spices and then make the sauce in the pan and add the chicken to get it coated (either whole or shredded). Hope that helps!
This is an absolutely DELICIOUS meal! I serve it over white rice and with a veggie and it’s one of my family’s favorites, hands down. I tell everyone I know about this recipe because it’s so unique, yet so simple! I can’t say enough good things about this dinner-if you’re reading this and wondering whether or not to try it…TRY IT! I promise you will love it! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Aww, thanks so much Kristy! That makes me so happy to hear you and your family love this recipe!! (It’s one of our favorites too!) I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment 😊 Have a wonderful weekend!
My new favorite low carb meal! The cheese sauce is great over riced cauliflower.
I’m so happy to hear you love it – thanks for sharing! And I love the idea of putting it over riced cauliflower – YUM!
Everyone in my family LOVED this recipe and that is unheard of at my house. DH and I liked ours smothered but the boys ate theirs plain just dipped in the cheese sauce every once in a while. Keeper for sure!
I am so, so happy to hear that Missy!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Made this for the first time tonight as we had a lot of jalapenos to use for our garden. We really liked the recipe and will make it again (maybe keeping a few seeds of the jalapeños in the recipe for more heat). Thank you so much for sharing.
Kathy
I’m so happy to hear that Kathy! Thanks so much for sharing!
Are the nutritional facts for the whole meal or one piece of chicken?
Hi Amber, that’s per serving for a total of 4 servings (so it’s 460 calories for one serving). Also, I believe it’s calculating full-fat cream cheese and full-fat cheddar cheese. Hope that helps!
Thank you for sharing this. Made this last night and it was awesome! Like yourself I used the reduced fat cream cheese and it didn’t diminish the flavor at all. I used Cracker Barrel white cheddar cheese. I also doubled the sauce because I served this over jasmine rice and wanted extra sauce. Anyone considering making it; take the plunge! It doesn’t disappoint!
Hi Jamie! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for sharing 😊 And good call on making extra sauce!!
This recipe was fantastic! If you’re reading through the comments to see if you should give it a try: YES! I was too lazy to closely follow the instructions and it still turned out delicious — And I’m not actually a good cook =P
I served this over cauliflower rice, and it was HEAVENLY! I didn’t taste the cauliflower, and it was just a creamy sauce with lots of flavor.
Thank you so much for posting 🙂
I’m so happy to hear you loved it Nora – thanks so much for sharing! And the cauliflower rice pairing sounds delicious! 😊
Made this over the weekend, and it was very delicious! My only question (unrealted to this post) is whether or not you have some healthy steak/beef recipes for the meat lovers out there? Besides that, this recipe is definitely a keeper. 😉
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Right now, I don’t have any beef or steak recipes on the site. I don’t eat much red meat but as my kids are growing up, I think I’ll be incorporating more. So stay tuned! Also, I do have a lot of ground turkey recipes that you could use as a base and substitute lean ground beef. Check them out here: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/category/maindishes/turkey/ Hope that helps!
This was just what I was looking for, an easy to prepare chicken meal with a little kick and cheesy goodness. I was out of chicken stock so chicken bouillon to the rescue. It turned out great and will definitely be put in the dinner rotation. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I’m so happy to hear you loved it Candy! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
I saw this recipe and thought I wanted to try it immediately. I didn’t watch the video at first, I just looked at the ingredients list and went to the grocery store. Now I’m getting ready to make it, so I decided to watch the video. I ‘m so bummed!! The ingredients list says shredded cheddar cheese, but in the video it says you used shredded WHITE cheddar cheese. I hope it will turn out the same. I wish I had known. Maybe you can update the ingredients list for future people that may want to make it?
Hi Jennifer! I only use white cheddar cheese – it’s the exact same but doesn’t have the food coloring added that regular yellow/orange cheddar cheese does. So the recipe and taste will be the same, it’s just a personal preference.
I’ve made this now a couple of times and it’s fantastic. This last time I made it with 0.5 carb tortillas and we made tacos out of it. It was sublime.
I’m so happy you love this recipe – and I love the idea of using it for tacos! 😊
My husband new favorite dish I make at least once a week.
Oh yay! I’m so happy to hear you love it April! Thanks so much for sharing! 😊
Can’t this be made ahead and reheated? I do a lot of meal prep over the weekend and was wondering how this would do. THanks
Yes it can and it reheats great! I find it helps to slice the chicken before putting it back in the pan (or microwave) to reheat. It warms up quicker and the sauce keeps it from drying out. Hope that helps!