This Jalapeño Popper Chicken has seasoned chicken smothered in a creamy Jalapeño Popper sauce with bacon and green onions. It’s an easy skillet recipe and a fun dinner idea!

A skillet filled with Jalapeno Popper Chicken in a cream sauce with bacon and green onions.

Jalapeño Popper Chicken

If you love the creamy pop of flavor when you bite into a juicy Jalapeño Popper, you are absolutely going to love this amazing Jalapeño Popper Chicken! What a way to make chicken exciting- this sauce perfectly replicates Jalapeno Popper flavor. (I even impressed myself with this one!)

The bacon and green onions on top add color, crunch, and even more flavor. Feel free to serve this with tortilla chips, (there is plenty of sauce for dipping!), along with rice, beans, corn salad, guacamole, salsa, and so much more! And don’t miss my pro tips below!

How to Make It

Note: This is an overview. See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Tenderize, season, and sear the chicken and set aside. Soften diced jalapenos with butter and garlic.

A plate of cooked chicken breast next to a skillet of diced jalapenos and butter.

Add flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add sauce mixture in small splashes, stirring continuously. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Add cubed cream cheese and sour cream.

Making a Jalapeno Popper Sauce with broth, sour cream, cream cheese, jalapenos, and seasonings.

Add shredded cheddar cheese and add the chicken back. Heat through, then garnish with bacon and green onions. Serve!

Adding cheese to a creamy Jalapeno Popper sauce and adding chicken to it.

Pro Tips

  • Shred the cheese from a block  to ensure is tastes and melts the best. I use Cracker Barrel Sharp Yellow Cheese. Cheddar Jack, Pepper Jack, and Monterey Jack are other great varieties to use.
  • Spice Level: This sauce has a kick to it but I wouldn’t call it overly spicy. To decrease the spice, be sure to remove the entire white membrane from the jalapeno (that’s where the heat is), as well as the seeds
  • Serving Suggestions: Jalapeno Popper Chicken pairs well with with Corn Salad,  Rice, Black Beans, Coleslaw, Tortilla Chips, Guacamole, Salsa, Roasted Potatoes, Potato Wedges, Roasted Vegetables, Garlic Bread.

Storage

  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Leftovers do freeze/reheat well, just be sure to reheat gradually to keep the sauce from breaking.

 

Jalapeno Popper Chicken on a plate with white rice and a fork on the side.

Tools For This Recipe

(Amazon affiliate links*)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.

  • 3-Quart Stainless Steel Sauté Pan– The same size as pictured in this recipe.
  • 1 quart measuring cup with a spout– This is what I use to combine the sauce ingredients at the beginning. The spout makes it easy to add it to the roux in small splashes. 
  • Meat Tenderizer– I use this almost every time I cook.
  • Kitchen Tongs– This is how I turn the chicken while it sears.
  • Spice Rack–This is the one I have, it’s a snap to measure out your seasonings quickly and easily. (Big time saver.)
  • Box Cheese Grater– Always shred cheese from a block, it melts and tastes much better. Bagged shredded cheese contains cellulose which prevents it from melting as well.
  • Measuring Spoons– I have these magnetic ones which stay nice and organized in my utensil drawer.
  • Better Than Bouillon– This is what I always use for broth/bouillon in my recipes. It takes very little space and makes it easy to measure out customized amounts.

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Jalapeno Popper Chicken in a skillet with bacon and green onions on top and a spoon in the middle.

Jalapeño Popper Chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
5 from 10 ratings
Servings: 4 people
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This Jalapeño Popper Chicken has seasoned chicken smothered in a creamy Jalapeño Popper sauce with bacon and green onions. It's an easy skillet recipe and a fun dinner idea!

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Sauce

  • 1 ½ cups chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
  • ½ chicken bouillon cube
  • ¾ teaspoon EACH: oregano, mustard powder, parsley, onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Chicken/Other

  • 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Salt/pepper, to taste
  • ¾ teaspoon paprika
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter, or bacon drippings
  • 3-4 Jalapenos, seeded and diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 4 oz. cream cheese, softened & cut into cubes
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Toppings:

  • 5 strips cooked bacon, roughly chopped
  • 3 green onions, sliced

Instructions

  • Pro Tip: Cook the bacon low and slow in a separate skillet until crispy on each side while you measure out the ingredients/prepare the dish. Consider reserving 2 tbsp. drippings to use instead of butter in the recipe. Roughly chopped once cooled.
  • Combine the sauce ingredients in a medium measuring cup with a spout and set aside. Measure out remaining ingredients before beginning.
  • Slice the chicken in half lengthwise to create 2-3 thinner slices. Cover with saran wrap and use the textured side of a meat mallet to pound it to ½ inch thick.
  • Season each side of the chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika.
  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken in batches for 4-5 minutes per side, until a golden crust has developed. Set aside.
  • Turn the heat off and let the pan cool. Add the butter and set the heat to medium. Add the diced jalapenos and garlic and cook for 3 minutes, stirring continuously.
  • Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the raw flour smell is gone.
  • Add the sauce mixture from step 2 in small splashes, stirring continuously. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let the sauce cool for 1 minute.
  • Stir in the cream cheese and the sour cream. Once melted and combined, sprinkle in the cheddar cheese, stirring continuously.
  • Add the chicken back and spoon the sauce on top. Allow it to heat through for 2-3 minutes.
  • Top with chopped bacon and green onions. Serving options include rice, black beans, coleslaw, roasted potatoes, garlic bread, tortilla chips, corn salad, and roasted vegetables.

Notes

Pro Tips:
  • Shred the cheese from a block  to ensure is tastes and melts the best. I use Cracker Barrel Sharp Yellow Cheese. Cheddar Jack, Pepper Jack, and Monterey Jack are other great varieties to use.
  • Spice Level: This sauce has a kick to it but I wouldn't call it overly spicy. To decrease the spice, be sure to remove the entire white membrane from the jalapeno (that's where the heat is), as well as the seeds
  • Serving Suggestions: Jalapeno Popper Chicken pairs well with with Corn Salad,  Rice, Black Beans, Coleslaw, Tortilla Chips, Guacamole, Salsa, Roasted Potatoes, Potato Wedges, Roasted Vegetables, Garlic Bread.
Storage:
  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Leftovers do freeze/reheat well, just be sure to reheat gradually to keep the sauce from breaking.
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. This recipe makes 4 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 467kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 37g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 130mg, Sodium: 991mg, Potassium: 446mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1359IU, Vitamin C: 17mg, Calcium: 230mg, Iron: 1mg
Did you try this recipe?Mention @TheCozyCook on Instagram or tag #thecozycook!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Author: Stephanie