I’m back with another delicious, surprisingly easy weeknight (or date night in) dinner recipe that’s going to BLOW YA MIND. I originally shared it over 5 years ago but had to remind you all to make it while jalapeños are super fresh.
Meet my crispy jalapeño popper stuffed chicken breast filled with a green onion and bacon cream cheese filling, then topped with cheddar cheese that melts into salty, ooey-gooey perfection in your mouth. Oh and let’s not forget the crispy coating for the chicken breast (it’s based off my famous baked chicken nugget recipe!) So damn good.
Get over 40g of protein with this deliciously savory chicken recipe, and serve it with your fav veggies and sides for the perfect dinner!
What is a jalapeño popper?
Traditional jalapeño poppers are hollowed out, filled with a cheese mixture, breaded and then fried. They can also be filled with a ground meat or wrapped in bacon, but you can easily keep them vegetarian.
If you’ve never had my lightened-up jalapeño poppers, do yourself a favor and get on that ASAP. They’re stuffed with cream cheese and shredded cheese, dipped in grain free tortilla chips, and then baked to crispy perfection instead of fried. In this jalapeño popper stuffed chicken recipe, we’re using the same flavors, plus a crispy exterior on the chicken to create a similar delicious effect.
Ingredients in jalapeño popper stuffed chicken
This deliciously savory stuffed chicken breast recipe is a mix of crispy, cheesy, creamy and a little spicy. Basically everything you could ask for. To make it you’ll need:
- Chicken breasts: you’ll butterfly and stuff chicken breasts before baking them to perfection. I have plenty of tips for butterflying below!
- For the cream cheese: we’re making a wonderfully savory cream cheese by mixing it with cooked, thick cut bacon, jalapeño for a kick of heat (and that jalapeño popper flavor), green onion for freshness, and garlic powder.
- Cheddar cheese: get extra cheesy by adding a slice of sharp cheddar cheese on top of the cream cheese layer.
- Panko bread crumbs: use bread crumbs to coat the outside the chicken to make it nice and crispy.
- Olive oil cooking spray: the trick to crispy breadcrumbs is to spray them with a bit of cooking spray and bake them first!
- Spices: you’ll mix onion powder and paprika with the breadcrumbs for a flavorful outside.
- Eggs: to make sure the bread crumbs stick well on the chicken.
- Milk: for a bit of extra moisture.
Can I make it gluten-free or dairy-free?
- To make gluten-free: simply use gluten-free bread crumbs in the topping.
- To make dairy-free: use your favorite dairy-free cream cheese, and skip the cheddar cheese or swap it for a slice of dairy-free cheese.
How to butterfly a chicken breast
The technique for slicing each of these chicken breasts open in order to stuff them is called butterflying. To do this:
- Place one hand on top of the chicken breast
- With a sharp knife, carefully slice the chicken breast horizontally down the middle. Be careful not to cut all the way through, and feel free to open it up to be sure you haven’t done so.
- Open the chicken breast like a book, and stuff/spread with the cream cheese filling
How to make jalapeño popper stuffed chicken
- Cook your bacon. Start by cooking your thick cut bacon until it’s nice and crispy, then chop it into pieces and add it to a bowl with the cream cheese.
- Make the cream cheese filling. Mix your cream cheese with the chopped bacon, diced jalapeño, green onion, and garlic powder. YUM.
- Stuff the chicken. Use a sharp knife to butterfly each chicken breast, then stuff each one with the cream cheese mixture and place cheddar cheese on top. Secure closed with a toothpick if necessary.
- Prep the bread crumbs. Add your panko bread crumbs to a large baking sheet, spray with cooking spray, then bake them, stirring halfway through until golden. Mix them in a bowl with your spices.
- Coat the chicken. Whisk together eggs and milk to create an egg wash, then dip each chicken breast into it, making sure to get both the top and the bottom well-drenched. Transfer to the bread crumb mixture and dredge chicken in bread crumbs, using a spoon to scoop bread crumbs on top so that chicken is evenly coated.
- Bake & devour. Transfer the coated chicken breasts to a greased baking pan, bake them up, and then devour!
Tips for making stuffed chicken
- Don’t overstuff the chicken. Make sure to evenly divide the cream cheese mixture between all four chicken breasts to ensure that they’re not overfilled and thus prone to spilling out.
- After stuffing the chicken breast, use a toothpick to secure it shut. I like to do this to prevent the filling from escaping while cooking.
- Since chicken breasts can vary in sizes, I recommend using a meat thermometer to make sure that the chicken breast is fully cooked; the temperature should read 165 degrees F. In this recipe you’ll bake your jalapeño popper stuffed chicken breast at 400 degrees F for about 25-35 minutes.
How to store stuffed chicken breast
Keep any leftover jalapeño popper stuffed chicken breasts in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat within 2-3 days. You can simply reheat leftovers in the microwave.
What to serve with jalapeño popper stuffed chicken
- Best Healthy Coleslaw Ever (no mayo!)
- Summer Strawberry Spinach Salad with Avocado
- 30 Minute Brown Butter Goat Cheese Grilled Veggie Orzo
- Scoop It Up Kale Couscous Salad
- Everything Spring Green Salad with Basil Lemon Vinaigrette
- Street Corn Pasta Salad with Cilantro Pesto + Goat Cheese
More chicken dinners you’ll love
- Grilled Mediterranean Chicken and Vegetables
- Herby Chicken Meatball Pitas with Jalapeño Tzatziki
- Seriously Good Sweet Potato Cheddar BBQ Chicken Burgers
- Mama’s Veggie-Packed Chicken Meatloaf
- Sheet Pan Hot Honey Chicken and Veggie Glow Bowls
Get all of my chicken recipes here!
If you make this jalapeño popper stuffed chicken recipe, be sure to tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram. We’d also love if you would leave a comment below and rate the recipe. We appreciate you! xo.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
High-Protein Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- For the cream cheese filling:
- 4 slices thick cut bacon
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
- 2 green onions (green part only), finely diced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- For the chicken:
- 4 (6 ounce) chicken breasts
- 2 slices sharp cheddar cheese, cut in half
- For the crumb coating:
- 1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
- Nonstick olive oil cooking spray
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons almond milk (or milk of choice)
- To garnish:
- Extra green onions
Instructions
- Cook bacon according to directions on the package, then chop into bite sized pieces and add to a medium bowl along with the cream cheese, diced jalapeno, green onion and garlic powder. Mix well to combine and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil. Set aside.
- Next use a sharp knife to cut a pocket into the middle of each chicken breast; make sure you don’t cut all the way through, just almost all the way. Evenly stuff each chicken breast with the cream cheese mixture, spreading evenly with the back of a spoon or small spatula. Place a half slice of cheddar cheese on top. Use a toothpick to secure the chicken breasts, if necessary. I like to do this to prevent the filling from escaping while cooking. Set chicken breasts aside.
- Next, add panko breadcrumbs to a large baking sheet and spread out in an even layer. Spray breadcrumbs with nonstick olive oil cooking spray. Bake for 2 minutes, then stir breadcrumbs (or just give the pan a shake) and then bake for 2-3 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Keep heat in the oven.
- Transfer breadcrumbs to a medium shallow bowl. Whisk in spices: salt, black pepper, onion powder, paprika and garlic powder. Set aside.
- In a separate medium shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and almond milk. Set aside.
- Dip chicken breast into the egg mixture, making sure to get both the top and the bottom well-drenched. Immediately transfer to the breadcrumb mixture and dredge chicken in breadcrumbs; use a spoon to scoop breadcrumbs all over the top of the chicken so that it is nice and evenly coated. Transfer to the prepared greased baking pan. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts, placing each breast at least 1-2 inches apart.
- Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes until cooked through and temp reaches 165 degrees F with a meat thermometer. Serves 4
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on June 11th, 2020, and republished on July 9th, 2025.
This is so delicious. I am making it again for dinner for friends tomorrow. Can I make the chicken breasts completely in advance and refrigerate until baking? Will the outside still be crispy? Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed! I’m afraid the topping might get a bit soft, but you could stuff the chicken and refrigerate it overnight, then coat and bake it the next day!
This was, hands down, one of the best dishes that I have made from this website. It was incredible. My hubby and I fought for seconds. I will 100000% make this dish again!
Thank you!
Deanna
Excellent! This means so much, so glad you’re loving this recipe ❤️
Made this last night for dinner and it was so good! I am not a huge fan of jalapeño taste but my husband loves it, so decided to try these out and they were delicious!! My husband said the filling could be a dip on its own and I agree! We had really large chicken breasts so it took about 40 min to bake (I used a meat thermometer to be sure of temp). Perfectly crispy outside and juicy inside. Will definitely make again for a special occasion. I made the filling and toasted the breadcrumbs the day before to help cut down on prep time. Thanks for a great recipe!
Me encanto! Totally worth the time in making it, Hubby and I loved it.
So happy to hear that!
This was DELCIOUS! It took two of us to make it- this is a little more involved to get assembled but we had a lot of fun with it. I will warn you- Be careful chopping the jalapeños or you might end up with those hot pepper hands like me 😊 We used toothpicks to keep the chicken together and it worked perfectly. Looked just like the photos! The panko coating was very crispy and we savored all the leftovers. Reheated in the oven to keep crispy.
Yuuummy to my tummy. Always Awesome recipes!
Glad you enjoyed!
This was stunningly good! Excellent directions! I had very large chicken breasts (poor girl) so I cut them in half. Used chives instead of green onions. Perfect after 35 minutes! More like this, please!
Perfect! So glad you loved this one. Try this recipe next 🙂
Made it last night — soo delicious!
Glad you loved it!!
My boyfriend introduced me to jalapeno poppers back in college like 8 years ago (pre-healthy eating days lol), so as soon as I saw this I had to make it for him. It tastes too good to be healthy! We had 4 oz chicken breasts so there was a lot of filling & breadcrumbs left over but we ended up using the filling as a pretzel dip so it all worked out.
Love that!! Great idea for a dip with the filling, too 🙂
Amazing! So crispy and wonderful. Will definitely be making this again.
So glad you enjoyed!
Made this for dinner tonight (without bacon) and it was absolutely delicious! Will definitely make again!!!
Perfect! So happy you loved it!
Will have to try this one!
Absolutely! So delicious 🙂