Jalapeño popper chicken casserole
50 min · 46 g protein · 367 cals / serving
Everything you love about a jalapeño popper, as a dinner: tender chicken baked under a creamy, garlicky cream cheese layer studded with fresh and pickled jalapeños, then covered in sharp cheddar and crisp bacon until bubbling and golden. Greek yogurt in the cream layer keeps it tangy and light enough to go back for seconds.
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken breast, cut into 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Popper layer
- 2/3 cup light cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 4 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped; keep the seeds for heat
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapenos, chopped
- 1/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Topping
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
- 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced into rings
- 2 green onions, sliced
Steps
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Toss the chicken with the salt, pepper and garlic powder. Sear it in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, in two batches if needed, for 5–6 minutes until no longer pink on the outside. Tip it into a 23 × 33 cm (9 × 13-inch) baking dish in one layer and pour off any juices, so they cannot thin the popper layer.
- Beat the cream cheese and yogurt until smooth, then stir in the garlic, onion powder, both kinds of jalapeño and the first portion of cheddar. Spread it evenly over the chicken.
- Bake 10 minutes, then scatter over the rest of the cheddar, the bacon and the jalapeño rings and bake 8–10 minutes more, until the top is bubbling and golden and the thickest piece of chicken reads 165°F.
- Rest 5 minutes, then scatter over the green onion and serve, spooning the creamy popper layer over each portion.
Good to know
How hot is it?
Medium with the seeds removed. For mild, use only the pickled jalapeños; for hot, keep the seeds in the fresh ones or add a pinch of cayenne to the cream layer.
What do I serve with it?
Cauliflower rice, a green salad or roasted broccoli keep the meal keto and catch the sauce. Off keto, it is very good over rice or in a warm tortilla.
Can I use rotisserie chicken?
Yes: use about 1 1/2 lb shredded cooked chicken, mix it into the popper layer, top and bake 15–20 minutes until hot through and bubbling. Rotisserie meat is richer than breast, at about 61 instead of 69.
Per
- Calories
- 176
- Protein
- (51%)
- 22 g
- Fat
- (44%)
- 8 g
- Carbohydrates
- (5%)
- 2 g
- of which sugar
- 1 g
- Fiber
- <1 g
- Sodium
- 370 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 2200 kcal goes into the pot and 1468 g of ingredients comes out as about 1250 g of food: 176 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.