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Chicken breasts with jalapeño cheese sauce (+ video)

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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! 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! Serve with rice or quinoa to soak up that delicious creamy sauce! #chickenrecipe #chickendinner #jalapenos #cheesy

(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. 

Chicken jalapeno - an easy one-pot dinner with chicken breasts and a jalapeno cheddar cheese sauce | FamilyFoodontheTable.com

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!

Seared chicken breastsJalapeno cheddar cheese sauce

Chicken jalapeno - an easy one-pot dinner with chicken breasts and a jalapeno cheddar cheese sauce | FamilyFoodontheTable.com

How to make cheesy jalapeño chicken:

– You sear the seasoned chicken breasts first and then remove them from the pan.

– Next, sauté the onion and jalapeño and garlic. Stir in the chicken broth and cheese until it’s all melted and mixed. 

– Return the chicken breasts to the pan, turning to get them coated in the sauce.

– Cover the pan and cook everything until the sauce is thickened up and the chicken is perfectly juicy tender. Done!

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! 🙌

Chicken breasts with jalapeño cheddar sauce are an easy, one-pot dinner! | FamilyFoodontheTable.com

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!

Yield: 4 servings

Chicken breasts with jalapeño cheese sauce

Chicken breasts with jalapeño cheese sauce

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!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

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

  1. 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.
  2. Remove chicken breasts from the skillet to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. (They will finish cooking later.)
  3. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining two teaspoons olive oil to pan.
  4. Add diced onion and jalapeño and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and saute for 30 more seconds.
  5. Add chicken broth and cream cheese and stir until melted. Stir in shredded cheddar cheese and stir until melted and mixture is simmering.
  6. Return the chicken breasts to the skillet, along with any accumulated juices, and turn to coat in the cheese sauce.
  7. 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.
  8. Serve chicken breasts with extra sauce spooned over the top, and enjoy!

Notes

We love serving this with rice to soak up some of that amazing sauce. It would also be great with cauliflower rice, quinoa, polenta, even mashed potatoes.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 576Total Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 210mgSodium: 697mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 65g
Cuisine: American / Category: Chicken
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! Serve with rice or quinoa to soak up that delicious creamy sauce! #chickenrecipe #chickendinner #jalapenos #cheesy

Comments

  1. Dawn @ Girl Heart Food says

    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

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      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

      Reply

    • Colleen says

      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!!

      Reply

        • Colleen says

          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!

          Reply

    • Alex says

      Hi. Does this work as well with boneless thighs. Looked really tasty and thinking of having it this evening. Great work! -Alex

      Reply

      • Kathryn says

        Hi Alex! Yes, this recipe should work fine with chicken thighs as well. You’ll just want to watch your time and make sure the chicken gets cooked all the way through. I hope you enjoy it!

        Reply

  3. Liz @ Ready to Yumble says

    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!

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      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!

      Reply

  5. Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says

    #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!!

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      You’re right, it’s only *sort-of* a complaint 😉 And yes, please, please come to Charlotte!! I’ll give you ALL the jalapenos 😉

      Reply

  10. Adina says

    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… 🙂

    Reply

  11. KalynsKitchen says

    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!

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      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.)

      Reply

  14. Tiffany says

    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 🖒🖒🖒

    Reply

  15. Brittany V. says

    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!

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      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 😊

      Reply

    • Kathryn says

      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!

      Reply

  18. Kristy says

    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!

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      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!

      Reply

  20. Missy T says

    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!

    Reply

  21. Kathy McKeand says

    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

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      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!

      Reply

  23. Jamie says

    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!

    Reply

  24. Nora says

    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 🙂

    Reply

  25. Krueger says

    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. 😉

    Reply

  26. Candy says

    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.

    Reply

  27. Jennifer says

    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?

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      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.

      Reply

  28. David says

    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.

    Reply

  30. Karen says

    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

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      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!

      Reply

  31. GarfieldH says

    Made this tonight. Didn’t have enough cream cheese so I added heavy cream. Didn’t bother remove jalapeño seeds, so it was a little too spicy for my family.
    My wife “food chicken” and “ I don’t know what is in the sauce but it’s REALLY good”.
    Served with basmati rice and steamed vegetables.

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      I’m so glad you liked it – sounds like a delicious dinner! Hopefully it’ll be a little less spicy for you next time if you take out some of the seeds and membranes of the jalapeño. 😊

      Reply

  34. Mary R says

    I love all the listed ingredients for this recipe except cream cheese! (I loath it and mayo with a passion). What would be a good sub? Thank you and just discovered your site, looks great!

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      Hi Mary! You could try substituting heavy cream instead of the cream cheese here, to add a similar element of creaminess. Something like goat cheese might also work. Let me know what you try!

      Reply

      • Mary R says

        Thank you for your reply and suggestions! I love goat cheese, great idea, maybe add a touch of heavy cream or sour cream. On my menu for next week!

        Reply

  35. Lynn says

    Great recipe! I used shredded mild cheddar (not white) and also added a little Colby pepper jack. Next time will add more jalapeno, because it wasn’t spicy. Super tasty sauce though! One of my new favorites 🙂

    Reply

  36. Stacey says

    I tried this out for dinner last night, it is amazing! It is quick, simple, and I generally have all the ingredients on hand. My husband raved too and told me to definitely put it in the rotation.
    I made it exactly as written, I think the only thing I’ll try different is cubing the chicken instead of cooking it whole and then serving it over brown rice. I think that would be easier with the kids and would maybe stretch a little farther?
    Thank you very much for this wonderful recipe that will now be a regular in my home!

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      I’m so happy to hear you guys loved it Stacey! Thanks so much for sharing! And yes, you could definitely cut the chicken into strips or cubes and cook it that way. 😊

      Reply

  37. Amy Wyatt says

    This was such a gigantic hit! Even my kids went crazy over it! My husband slurped and licked up every drop, then considered doing the same to the pan and my son begged to have it again the next day. Everyone is happy to see it in the calendar again this week!

    Reply

  38. Jason P COLLINS says

    Thank you for this amazing recipe! A friend of mine mentioned having a version of this while visiting family and it sounded sooo good i had to try it. So I looked online and stumbled on your recipe it’s now in regular rotation in our menu.

    Reply

  39. Critical Cook says

    My family and are very critical of food, and we found this dish to be excellent. I’m the cook, and this is one of very few recipes which turned out PERFECT when prepared exactly according to the recipe. Really. I prepared (1 1/2) of the recipe because I had extra chicken and wanted to use it. And, boy, I am glad I did. After trying this, I discarded two different jalapeno chicken recipes, both of which were very good. The “NOTES” section mentioned serving it over rice or riced cauliflower, which I didn’t do. But next time, I’ll serve it over riced cauliflower because we are trying to do the low carb diet. TRY THIS RECIPE!

    Reply

  40. Jennifer says

    Yum! This was so good! It was pretty spicy which I love. It had such great flavor and the whole time I was cooking it my husband kept talking about how great it smelled. I served it with rice for him and the kids and I just ate some green beans along side it. I definitely wish I would’ve roasted some cauliflower and poured the cheese sauce all over it, it was that good! Will definitely be making again. Thank you!

    Reply

  41. Kellie says

    Ooooo so very excited to try this tonight!!!! I am going to fry up some bacon pieces and through that in there too!!! My tummy started growling just reading the recipe!!!

    Reply

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