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The BEST Jalapeño Popper Chicken Casserole

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The BEST Jalapeño Popper Chicken Casserole

If you’ve never tried a chicken casserole mixed with jalapeño poppers, you’re really missing out! It’s tasty, creamy, and tangy, and in my opinion, it’s the BEST baked dish I’ve ever made!

Why This Is The BEST Chicken Casserole Recipe EVER!

Besides being hands-down delicious, there are other reasons why I think this casserole is the best!

For one, it’s pretty simple. You don’t need any fancy equipment or elaborate cooking techniques to make this recipe. In fact, you only need one dish, so the clean-up is always a piece of cake. 

For another, this recipe tastes just as good — if not better — the next day, making it a perfect leftover meal!

As a bonus, this casserole is also high in protein because it’s packed full of chicken, cottage cheese, bacon, and cauliflower.

What You’ll Need for This Recipe

If you’re ready to get down to business, here’s what you’ll need:

  • Chicken: I use chicken breast because it’s leaner, but if you want to make your casserole extra tender and juicy, use chicken thighs instead. 
  • Cottage cheese: Traditionally, chicken casserole uses cream cheese, but that contains a lot of fat. So, I decided to replace it with cottage cheese. 
  • Jalapeño peppers: Depending on how spicy you want your casserole, you can adjust the amount of peppers you use. Typically, though, 3 jalapeños are enough.
  • Crumbled crispy bacon: The saltiness and savoriness of this dish come from the bacon. Fry it on the stovetop or bake it in the oven until nice and crispy, then crumble it into smaller pieces.
  • Scallions and garlic: These add strong aromatic flavors that make the casserole not only taste good but smell delectable, too!
  • Shredded sharp cheddar cheese: I use sharp cheddar cheese for its tangy, nutty, and slightly salty undertones. However, you can opt for mild cheddar or a Mexican blend if you prefer.
  • Cauliflower Rice: While you can definitely make this from scratch, I prefer using frozen cauliflower rice for a quick and easy option.

Some Shortcuts, If You Need It

Some Shortcuts, If You Need It
Credits: @traderjoesfl

The prep for this recipe only takes about 20 minutes, but if you’re in a time crunch, I’ve got some shortcuts that can help you out. 

  • Instead of using fresh peppers, you can opt for jarred jalapeños that are flavored and pre-sliced.
  • Instead of prepping, cooking, and shredding your chicken from scratch, you can buy it pre-shredded at your local grocery store.
  • The same goes for your cheddar cheese. Rather than buying block cheese, choose the packed shredded option.
Jalapeño Popper Chicken Casserole

Jalapeño Popper Chicken Casserole

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

We’ve transformed a classic chicken casserole by adding the delicious flavors of jalapeño poppers and turning it into a meal that everyone will love.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (shredded)
  • 10 ounces of bacon
  • 16 ounces of cottage cheese
  • 3 jalapeños (or more if you want it spicier)
  • 2 large scallions (chopped)
  • 2 to 3 cloves of garlic (peeled)
  • 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • ½ teaspoon EACH of paprika and ground black pepper
  • 12 ounces of frozen cauliflower rice

Instructions

  1. Start by warming up your oven to 350 degrees F. And while it’s heating up, chop your jalapeños into big chunks.  Note: If you have a low spice tolerance, you can remove the seeds, otherwise, you can keep it in for an extra zing.
  2. Get a food processor (or blender) and add your cottage cheese, garlic, and spices inside. Pulse until it becomes one smooth, cohesive mixture. 
  3. Then, get a large pan and cook your bacon until it browns (about 5 minutes). After that, flip it over and do the same on the other side. 
  4. Once your bacon is perfectly crispy, take it out of the pan, pat it with a paper towel to remove any excess oil, and crumble it into tiny pieces. Set this aside for now.
  5. Using the same pan, leave just enough grease to cook your shredded chicken in and discard the rest.
  6. Sprinkle salt and pepper on your chicken and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.
  7. If your cauliflower rice isn’t thawed out yet, place it in a microwave for 1 minute. Remember, it only needs to be warm, not scalding hot!
  8. After that, grab a paper towel or dish towel and squeeze out any liquid from the cauliflower rice.
  9. At this point, all of your ingredients are prepped. The only step left is the assembly. So, get a large bowl, and mix together your shredded chicken, ¾ of your bacon, scallions, cauliflower rice, and ⅔ of the diced jalapeños.
  10. Get a 9x13” baking dish and spread out your mixture evenly. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 20 minutes.
  11. Now, add your shredded cheese on top along with the rest of your crumbled bacon and jalapeño slices before putting it back in the oven to cook uncovered for 10 minutes more.
  12. Take it out of the oven and let it rest for a bit. Once it’s cool enough, you can serve it with a side of veggies and dig in!

Notes

Image credit to @naturalcare_cleaning.

Featured image credit to @andreaempey2022.

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