Bacon Jalapeno Popper Chicken

Bored with your usual chicken recipes for dinner? Try something new with my Jalapeno Popper Chicken. A stuffed chicken breast recipe your whole family will fall in love with.

 

Why You’ll Love This Jalapeno Popper Chicken

With crispy bacon, spicy chicken and jalapeno peppers, what’s not to love about this chicken bake?

• Low carb dinner– Depending on what sides dishes you pair this with, it can be a great option for a low carb meal or meal prep.
• Reminiscent of the classic appetizer – This easy chicken recipe has all the flavors of your favorite appetizers: jalapeno poppers!
• No more boring chicken – Chicken recipes can become sort of ho hum and boring. But this jalapeño popper chicken recipe is anything but.

Ingredients

The ingredients for this jalapeno popper chicken recipe couldn’t be more simple.

• Chicken breasts – I like to use boneless skinless chicken breasts for sake of ease. I like to pound them to an even thickness to ensure they cook evenly.
• Cream cheese – I like to use full fat cream cheese, but you can use reduced fat if you’d like. It makes the chicken so creamy, just like jalapeño poppers.
• Cheese – I use two types of shredded cheese: pepper jack cheese and cheddar cheese. I also like to shred my own whenever possible.
• Bacon – Instead of wrapping the chicken with bacon, I feel that it saves time by cooking it and crumbling it. You still get the flavor without all of the work.
• Jalapenos – If you’d like more of a little kick to your chicken, you can leave the seeds in. Taking the seeds out will make it more mild.
• Garlic – I provide a measurement for the garlic in the recipe card, but measure it with your heart!
• Seasoning – I use a simple blend of coarse seal salt, ground black pepper and paprika to season the juicy chicken breasts.
• Lime – I like to use a lime and cut into wedges for serving. It adds some acidity and freshness to the whole dish.
• Avocado – With the spice of the jalapeño peppers, the cool creaminess of avocado slices is a good way to balance everything out.
• Sour cream – Sour cream does the same thing as the avocado. It brings a cool, creaminess to the whole dish.

Variations

There are plenty of ways to make this jalapeno popper chicken recipe your own. Here are a few suggestions.

• Chicken – Instead of using tender chicken breasts, you can swap them for chicken thighs. Just be sure to check the internal temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer.
• Bacon – Instead of using crumbled chicken, you can use slices of bacon and wrap them around the side of each chicken breast.
• Greek yogurt – Instead of using cream cheese, you could replace it with greek yogurt to make things a little heathier.
• Seasonings – You could always add more seasonings if you’d like. Garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder or cayenne pepper will take the spice level up a notch.

How to Make Jalapeno Popper Chicken

You are going to love how easy it is to make one of my favorite recipes.

1. Prepare oven and baking dish. Preheat the oven and coat a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray. 
2. Combine cheeses, bacon, jalapeno and garlic. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the cream cheese, half of the pepper jack cheese, half of the cheddar cheese, half of the cooked bacon, jalapenos and garlic.
3. Pound chicken. Tenderize each chicken breast with the flat part of a meat mallet until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
4. Season chicken. Season the chicken breasts all over with the salt, pepper and paprika.
5. Stuff chicken. Spoon the cream cheese mixture onto one half of each chicken breast, folding over and placing into the baking dish. Filling might start to fall out and this is fine.
6. Bake chicken. Bake the chicken uncovered until golden brown. Make sure to check the internal temp for 165°F.
7. Add toppings. Remove and top with the sour cream and then remaining pepper jack cheese, shredded cheddar cheese and remaining crumbled bacon. Return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted. Allow to rest.
8. Garnish with the lime wedges and avocado.

What to Serve with Jalapeno Popper Chicken

If you’re looking for a low carb option, try serving this chicken with things like green beans, cauliflower rice or broccoli. Any vegetable side dish will work perfectly.

If you don’t care about carbs (like me!) I like to serve this chicken with some sort of baked potato. You can also serve with a nice leafy green side salad.

I serve my cheese stuffed chicken breasts with Southern Fried Corn or Spicy Baked Potato Wedges.

Storage and Freezing

How to Store 

You can store any leftover chicken in an airtight container for up to three days in the refrigerator. 

Can I Freeze Jalapeno Popper Chicken?

Yes, you can freeze this chicken for up to three months in a freezer-safe container or a resealable freezer bag. 

More Easy Dinner Ideas

Bacon makes everything better! Here are some of our favorite dinners that include bacon.