More chicken. I know, I know =). It’s easy, healthy, and delicious though! And let’s just be honest, everyone loves chicken. This recipe is super simple and is on the table is 30 minutes. I had some jalapeño peppers that were on the verge of going bad and almost made jalapeño poppers. Instead, I made jalapeño popper chicken – baked instead of fried, thus the skinny part. I par-baked my chicken breasts, then topped them with a mixture of cream cheese, cheddar cheese, chopped jalapeños, and some toasted panko (for a little crunch). I put them back in the oven until the chicken was cooked through and the cheesy topping was nice and melty! YUM! (I’m not entirely certain that you couldn’t just put the jalapeno-cheese topping on the chicken at the very start. If anyone tries this, let me know how it turns out!) Serve with a side salad and you’ve got a healthy dinner that’s full of flavor and under 300 calories! Enjoy!
Skinny Jalapeño Popper Chicken
4 (~ 6 oz each) boneless skinless chicken breasts, uncooked
2-1/2 oz reduced fat cream cheese
6 tbsp shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 jalapeños, finely chopped (ribs and seeds removed)
3 tbsp panko bread crumbs, toasted*
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place in prepared baking dish.
2. Bake in preheated oven to 15 minutes. In small bowl, combine cream cheese, shredded cheese, and jalapeños. Remove chicken from the oven and divide topping evenly among chicken breasts. Top with toasted bread crumbs.
3. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes more, or until chicken is fully cooked (165 degrees) and topping is melted. Serves 4.
Nutritional Info (per chicken breast): 296 calories; 12.0 g fat; 3.6 g carbohydrates; 40.9 g protein.
Notes:
1. To toast panko, place on baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes at 425 degrees until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
2. I’m thinking that you could put the cheese-jalapeno mixture on top of the raw chicken (instead of par-baked) and then bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through but I haven’t tried this. If anyone does, let me know how it turns out!
