Jalapeno Popper Chicken

Jalapeno popper chicken?! Whaaaat!? Yep! That’s right. All the deliciousness of a spicy, cheesy, creamy, jalapeno popper bomb stuffed into a chicken breast. If you don’t know what a jalapeno popper is then let me enlighten you.

A jalapeno popper is an appetizer that consists of a jalapeno popper stuffed with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and coated with breadcrumbs or batter, and most likely fried. Most recipes have bacon in them or they are wrapped in bacon. They are scrumptious and there are few people in this world that could eat just one. Get me around jalapeno poppers and honestly it won’t end well.

I LOVE jalapeno poppers. But because my stomach cannot handle fried or overly cheesy food anymore(#almost40problems) I need to find new ways to enjoy my favorites.

Enter my jalapeno popper chicken. I took all my favorite popper flavors and stuffed them into a lean chicken breast and then baked it. I’m gonna get a little dramatic here – but seriously, this might be one of my FAVORITE chicken recipes ever.

Jalapeno Popper Chicken

I combined cream cheese, greek yogurt, diced jalapenos, bacon, shredded cheddar cheese, a little grated romano cheese, garlic, and some spices. I mean really this jalapeno popper chicken recipe is already starting off great!

A couple things about the ingredients. Make sure the cream cheese is softened so you can easily mix all the ingredients together.

For the bacon, I purchase 2 slices of smoke bacon from the deli counter. I had them cut it a little on the thick side. Pan fry the bacon until it is nice and crisp. Let it drain on a paper towel to soak up some of the grease. Then crumble it up. Another thing to keep in mind with the bacon is salt. Before adding additional salt to the filling give it a taste first because the bacon you are using might provide all the salt you need.

I used Sargento sharp shredded cheddar for this recipe. You can use any brand you like but I really like the way Sargento tastes and melts in recipes. It gives these jalapeño chicken popper recipe that nice bite of cheddar.

To keep the spice tamed remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapeños. You might already know this but the seeds are where the heat is at. More seeds more heat people!

I purchase chicken cutlets for this recipe. These are just chicken breasts that have already been pounded out and trimmed. I did pound them out a little thinner using a meat mallet . In my experience, chicken breasts will roll up – and stay rolled up – when they are about 1/2 inch thick.

After you have the 6 chicken breasts to the desired thickness divide the cream cheese mixture among them.

I left some room on the top and sides so it didn’t come oozing out when I roll them up. After I rolled them up I sprinkled with a little salt and pepper then dipped in panko bread crumbs. Then I placed each one on the baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. If you don’t use cooking spray you will need some type of oil on the pan or your chicken with stick.

Cook for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. When jalapeno popper chicken breasts are done cooking they will smell amazing and all the cheesy jalapeño goodness will be bubbly hot.

These jalapeño popper chicken breasts were a huge hit!

If you need a new chicken recipe to spice things up then you must give these jalapeño popper chicken breasts a try. Oh and they are only 327 calories each. Win for everyone!

Here are some of other healthy stuffed chicken breast recipes:

Pizza Chicken

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 6

Calories: 327kcal

Author: Organize Yourself Skinny

Ingredients

• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• ¼ cup greek plain yogurt
• 3 garlic cloves grated
• 2 thick slices bacon cooked and crumbled
• 3 jalapeno peppers seeded and finely chopped
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup grated romano cheese
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt optional
• 6 chicken cutlets
• additional salt and pepper
• ½ cup panko breadcrumbs

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, greek yogurt, garlic, bacon, jalapeno peppers, cheddar cheese, romano cheese, onion powder, and pepper. Mix together until all of the ingredients are combined. Give it a quick taste. Add salt if needed. *I find the amount of salt depends on the bacon. Some bacon is saltier than others. Set aside.
• If the chicken cutlets are still on the thick side then place the chicken cutlet between two pieces of plastic wrap and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound it out to about ½ inch thick. The chicken will roll up – and stay rolled up – when it is about ½ inch thick.
• Divide the jalapeno mixture among the 6 chicken cutlets. Roll up and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
• Place the panko breadcrumbs into a medium bowl. Dip each rolled chicken cutlet into the panko (coating all sides) and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
• Bake for 40 minutes. Serve hot.

Notes

Make ahead instructions

Individually wrap cooked and cooled stuffed chicken in plastic wrap, placed in a large freezer bag, and stick in the freezer. Warm up in the microwave or in the oven. If you can, remember to take the chicken out the night before or in the morning the night you want to eat.

You can also freeze these before you make them. Flash freeze, then wrap in plastic wrap, and then place in a freezer bag and freeze. Again, take these out the night before to thaw a bit in the refrigerator. You might need to add a little extra cooking time if they are still frozen when you bake.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 16g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g