This cheesy jalapeño chicken is made in one pan, is bursting with flavor, smothered in melty cheese, and made in just 20 minutes! Try it tonight!
If you’re looking for your next favorite weeknight meal… look no further than this easy one pan cheese jalapeño chicken! 20 minutes, plenty of gooey cheese, spiced and savory chicken with little bursts of heat from the jalapeños… it’s the perfect easy one pan meal!
This post was brought to you by the makers of Sutter Home. I received compensation to write this post through the #SweetonSpice program. All opinions expressed are my own.
Now that the school year is winding down, I’m rapidly entering that phase of the school year… when I’m basically half checked out for summer and ready for those days of going to parks, busting out the slip-n-slide in our backyard, and have some cookouts with friends and family. Are you at that stage of the school year yet? Around here, our schools let out the last week of May, which gives us less than 5 weeks before the wonderful chaos of summer ensues. Which means, in all my end of school laziness, I need some quick and easy go-to meals.
I mean, let’s face it, I think we need those kinds of meals ALL. THE. TIME. Amiright?! You know what else we all need? Some delicious wine 🙂 When Sutter Home approached me about collaborating for this post, I was literally doing a little dance in my seat. I’ve been a fan of their wines for a long time, especially the White Zinfandel. It’s so crispy and refreshing, with a medium sweetness. I love the way the strawberry and melon flavors really come through! You might not normally think of pairing a glass of white zinfandel with a spicy meal, but trust me on this one… it’s GOOD!
The sweet wine works absolutely beautifully with Mexican or Asian dishes that are packing some heat. Take this meal for example. The chicken breasts are rubbed in a tantalizing blend of tex-mex spices, lightly dusted with flour and seared until crispy and mouthwatering. Then you add in corn and the wonderfully spicy strips of fresh jalapeño (or you could go for a combo of strips and rounds for even more heat like I did) and smother it all with gloriously melty cheese.
You guys… seriously… I’m totally not ashamed to tell you that I sat down immediately after this photo shoot and scarfed down like half the pan! This cheesy jalapeño chicken is perfect as is, maybe with some Baked Mexican Rice or Arroz Verde (green rice – you have to try it!) on the side… and don’t forget the Sutter Home White Zinfandel 🙂 But I have to say, it’s just as delicious wrapped up in a tortilla for the ultimate jalapeno chicken tacos!
My secret little extra kick of flavor comes from seasoning your pan before you even cook the chicken. You may have noticed the charred limes in some of the photos above… those are my secret weapons! Once you heat up your pan, add the lemon slices and cook for a few minutes per side. They might spatter a bit, so stand back, but once they’re charred, go ahead and remove them to a plate. Now add your oil and continue cooking the recipe. It’s an optional step, but one that I really love, as it gives a little extra kick of lime to the overall dish, plus, it just looks awesome.
You could absolutely make this jalapeño chicken dish with other cuts of chicken, like boneless thighs, or even bone-in thighs, you just might have to adjust the cook times and use a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is cooked to a safe temperature (165 degrees F for poultry).
So the next time you’re craving some heat, and want an easy meal you can get on the table quickly, give this One Pan Cheesy Jalapeño Chicken a try… and don’t forget to pour yourself a cold glass of Sutter Home White Zinfandel!
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One Pan Cheesy Jalapeño Chicken
This cheesy jalapeño chicken is made in one pan, is bursting with flavor, smothered in melty cheese, and made in just 20 minutes! Try it tonight!
Ingredients
- 1 lime sliced
- 3 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil divided
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in half and pounded to be 1/2 inch thick
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried minced onion
- 1/4 tsp ancho chile powder
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed (fresh corn works as well)
- 2 jalapeños seeds removed and sliced lengthwise into strips
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 Tbsp lime juice (juice of 2-3 limes)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese (or any cheese you prefer)
Instructions
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To a mixing bowl, add chicken, chili powder, oregano, kosher salt, ground cumin, black pepper, dried minced onion, and ancho chile powder. Toss and massage spice mixture into all sides of chicken.
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Add flour to a shallow bowl or plate and lightly dredge chicken in flour. Let chicken sit while you heat up your pan.
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Heat large oven-safe skillet over MED-HIGH heat. Add lime slices to pan and char for 1-2 minutes per side, until charred and brown, as desired. Remove to a plate.
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Add 2 ½ Tbsp of the vegetable oil to the hot pan and let heat through until shimmering.
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Add chicken pieces to the hot pan, being careful not to overcrowd the pan (you may need to do 2 batches, depending on the size of your pan). Cook about 3 minutes per side, until golden brown, then remove to plate.
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Move oven rack to the upper third part of the oven and preheat broiler to HIGH.
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Add remaining 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and then add corn kernels, jalapeno slices and garlic. Cook, stirring often, about 2-3 minutes, until corn begins to lightly brown.
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Add chicken back to the pan, and pour in lime juice and water. Cook several minutes (this time can vary depending on your stove – mine took 2 minutes), until liquid is mostly absorbed.
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Sprinkle with shredded cheese and broil for about 2-3 minutes, until cheese is melted.
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Garnish with minced fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges or charred lime slices.
My kids are also almost checked out. They are so ready for summer!!! We love chicken recipes around here and this one looks incredible. Can’t wait to try it!!
Heather recently posted…Chicken Taco Spaghetti Squash
This looks perfectly spicy and cheesy!
I love how spicy and cheesy this dish is! It looks absolutely magnificent!
I love the sweet corn and spicy jalapeno! The wine is icing on the cake!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious recently posted…How to Cut 7 Tricky Vegetables
Such a delicious looking dinner! I’d love it tonight!
Cathy Trochelman recently posted…Skinny Sparkling Sangria
NO joke Amanda this looks incredible – especially if you pour me a glass of wine with it
Lauren @ Hall Nesting recently posted…Egg Salad
I love the kick of spice in this. I bet the wine is perfect to put out the fire.
Holy Moly that looks amazing! yum! I love one pot meals like this!
I too love a good chicken recipe, and this looks great! Can’t wait to try for myself!
Made this tonight, enjoyed by all. I scrimped on the jalapeños and wish I hadn’t. Add the full 2 peppers as per the recipe, the flavour was amazing. I served it with Asiago Rice. Just sautéed onion with garlic, added cooked rice and cheese. Keep stirring and the cheese looses its stickiness and help crisp the rice a little. I also added chives to it. Will make again!
I have tried the cheese and jalapeno combo before, but I have never tried it with chicken!! Best. Combo. Every.
This looks delicious! I want to make it tonight. I have a quick question though, in step 8 do you add the chicken back to the original pan or mix it with the corn and jalapeños and broil all together with the cheese?
Hi Stormy 🙂 It’s all made in the same pan, so just lay the chicken back into the pan with the corn and jalapeños.
This turned out so yummy! I added some cut up asparagus I needed to use. So, so good!!
Made this for my fiancé and his dad tonight and they loved it! The heat was perfect and didn’t overpower the meal at all.. I highly suggest making some sort of rice to go with it. definitely making it again 🙂
Hi Jenny 🙂 I’m SO happy everyone loved the dish!
This looks so good. I have never bought ancho chile powder. I don’t know what it tastes like so I am not sure what would be a good substitute or what would be missing if I skipped it. I would rather not go to the store so is there a substitute? Or can it be skipped? Or should I suck it up and head to the store 😉
Hi Shannon 🙂 Ancho chile powder is smoky, similar to a chipotle flavor. If the recipe called for a large amount, I would say to buy it, as not using it would alter the flavor… but in this case, it’s only 1/4 tsp, so I think you’ll be fine using regular chili powder 🙂
someone said to make rice to go with this …you have the corn why would you want the rice it don’t even sound good
We have rice and corn with a lot of our Mexican flavored meals… different people have different tastes 🙂
Your recipe says return chicken to the pan then sprinkle with cheese and broil yet the chicken doesn’t look like it has melted cheese on it. So do you do the reverse, sprinkle with cheese then add the chicken or am I missing something? Looks amazing though, can’t wait to try…
Hi Sue 🙂 I chose to sprinkle my cheese over the corn and not the chicken (mainly for photography purposes), but you can sprinkle the cheese over any part you’d like 🙂