Description
Jalapeño Popper Chicken is a flavorful, creamy, and spicy skillet dish featuring seared chicken breasts smothered in a rich sauce made with cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar, and diced jalapeños, topped with crispy bacon and green onions. Perfect for a comforting dinner with a kick.
Ingredients
Scale
Sauce
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- ½ chicken bouillon cube
- ¾ teaspoon oregano
- ¾ teaspoon mustard powder
- ¾ teaspoon parsley
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Chicken and Other Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- ¾ teaspoon paprika
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter or bacon drippings
- 3-4 jalapeños, seeded and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Toppings
- 5 strips cooked bacon, roughly chopped
- 3 green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Prepare Bacon: Cook the bacon low and slow in a separate skillet until crispy on each side. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings if desired for cooking instead of butter. Once cooled, roughly chop the bacon and set aside.
- Make Sauce Mixture: Combine chicken broth, hot sauce, chicken bouillon cube, oregano, mustard powder, parsley, onion powder, and garlic powder in a medium measuring cup and set aside.
- Prep Chicken: Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise to create 2-3 thinner slices. Cover with plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet to about ½ inch thickness. Season both sides with salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Sear Chicken: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken slices in batches, cooking 4-5 minutes per side until golden crust forms. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Cook Jalapeños and Garlic: Turn off heat and let pan cool slightly. Add butter or reserved bacon drippings, then return heat to medium. Add diced jalapeños and minced garlic; cook for 3 minutes, stirring continuously.
- Add Flour: Sprinkle flour over the jalapeños and garlic mixture and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring to remove the raw flour taste.
- Add Sauce: Gradually add the sauce mixture in small splashes, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 1 minute to thicken slightly.
- Add Cream Cheese and Sour Cream: Stir in cream cheese cubes and sour cream until fully melted and combined with the sauce.
- Incorporate Cheddar Cheese: Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese into the sauce, stirring continuously until melted and smooth.
- Combine Chicken and Sauce: Return chicken to the skillet and spoon sauce on top. Let heat through for 2-3 minutes until chicken is warmed and sauce is thickened.
- Add Toppings and Serve: Sprinkle chopped bacon and sliced green onions on top. Serve with your choice of sides such as rice, black beans, coleslaw, roasted potatoes, garlic bread, tortilla chips, corn salad, or roasted vegetables.
Notes
- For best melting, shred cheese from a block rather than using pre-shredded varieties. Sharp cheddar or blends like Cheddar Jack and Pepper Jack are excellent alternatives.
- To reduce spiciness, remove all white membrane and seeds from jalapeños as that contains most of the heat.
- Serve with sides like corn salad, black beans, tortilla chips, guacamole, salsa, roasted potatoes, or garlic bread for a complete meal.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat gently to prevent sauce from separating.
- This recipe yields 4 servings and nutritional values are estimated per serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 470 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 820 mg
- Fat: 35 g
- Saturated Fat: 15 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 18 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 105 mg
