Cuisine HELP: Jalapeño Popper Chicken

This dish is sure to be a hit with everyone!

I made this meal the day after Christmas to help me "get back on the wagon." It was so yummy, with just the right amount of kick from the pickled jalapeños. This is a satisfying meal that even those not following the keto diet will enjoy!

Grab a bag of riced cauliflower from the freezer section of the grocery store and you will have an easy and complete meal!

How I Make It

The original recipe calls for fresh jalapeños, but I used pickled jalapeños that I had in a jar in the back of my fridge. I also used boneless, skinless chicken breasts (rather than the thighs the recipe called for). I think either would taste great! The amount of chicken doesn't have to be exact—just use what you have.

I served this with cauliflower rice on the side. It tastes great with some of the extra sauce poured over it! This is so yummy I woke up the next day excited to eat the leftovers!

Feel free to increase the jalapeños to taste if you like more heat.

Ingredients

• 4 slices of bacon, chopped
• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut in half in width) or 4-6 boneless, skinless thighs
• Salt and Pepper
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/3 cup diced pickled jalapeños, or fresh to taste
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or as much as you like)

Step-By-Step Instructions

Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 30 minutes | Servings: 4-6 (the way I made it served 4)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crispy.
3. Remove the bacon from skillet and all but around 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease (just eyeball it)
4. Pat the pieces of chicken dry with paper towels and season both sides of chicken lightly with salt and pepper.
5. Add the chicken pieces to the skillet with bacon grease and cook 3 minutes on each side (until nicely browned).
6. Transfer chicken pieces to a baking dish.
7. In a medium bowl whisk together cream cheese, heavy cream and minced garlic.
8. Spread cream cheese mixture over the chicken pieces.
9. Sprinkle diced jalapeños and shredded cheddar over chicken. Top with bacon pieces.
10. Bake 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the chicken its cooked through.
11. Serve on top of steamed cauliflower rice for a great keto meal!

Giving Credit Where It's Due

I found this recipe on the All Day I Dream About Food website. Carolyn has a lot of great keto and low carb recipes (as well as some cookbooks that look great)! I have several of her recipes on my list to try. I recommend browsing the website if you are looking for more yummy keto recipes!

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Rachel Borg

Rachel is HELPcare's Membership Director and the HELPcare Challenge Coordinator. She lives in Winchester, KS with her husband and six children.