Easy Chicken Jalapeño is a delicious entree, with seasoned pan-seared chicken breasts topped with a brown butter, sweet & mild sauce for serving.
If you’re looking for a simple, but delicious chicken dish with very few ingredients, may I suggest this recipe for easy chicken jalapeño? Seasoned, boneless chicken breasts are pan-seared in butter, then covered with an amazingly SIMPLE, but delicious slightly sweet, and mildly spicy sauce to serve. It can be made in under 20 minutes, too. Hooray!
I have used homegrown and store-bought jalapeños in several recipes over the years, including my Jalapeño Cheddar Bagels and Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread. I like the little bit of spice and “oomph” they give a dish (remove the seeds for less spicy peppers).
When I saw the words jalapeno chicken in one of my old cookbooks, I was afraid it was going to be spicy. It is not! There is a wonderfully flavored, simple sauce that covers the cooked chicken, and it is FAMILY-FRIENDLY! I think you will enjoy it, like we do! Here’s how to make this yummy chicken dish:
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page.
Prepare The Chicken Breasts
NOTE: The recipe (as written) yields 4 chicken breast servings, but my photos will only reflect the two that I made just for my husband and myself. I also used a huge chicken breast (about 12 ounces), and sliced it horizontally in half, which gave me two cutlets, each about 6 ounces.
Pat the chicken breasts dry. Lightly season each chicken breast ON BOTH SIDES with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place each piece between two pieces of plastic wrap, sealing edges. Pound the chicken breasts with the flat side of a meat mallet (or heavy skillet) until about 1/2″ thick, but still hold their shape.
Pan-Sear The Chicken Breasts
In a large skillet (I used cast iron), melt butter on medium-high heat. Once melted, add the chicken breasts in a single layer. Cook on medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes, without moving the chicken.
Carefully turn the chicken over, and cook the other side for 4-5 minutes, or until fully cooked through (internal temperature of 165°F.). The thickness of the chicken will determine how long they take to cook through. Once done, transfer the chicken from the skillet to a plate, and cover with foil to keep it warm. **Do NOT clean the skillet out!
Make The Sauce For Easy Chicken Jalapeño
To make the sauce for the easy chicken jalapeño, you will need all the leftover browned butter and little browned “bits” left in the skillet from the chicken.
Turn the heat to medium. Add the pepper jelly to the skillet, and whisk or stir to incorporate the jelly into the browned butter. Bring the sauce to a boil, continuing to stir until the jelly is fully incorporated, and the sauce is smooth. Remove the sauce from the heat. Now you’re ready to serve this dish!
Serve Easy Chicken Jalapeño
Once the sauce is smooth and hot, it’s time to serve the easy chicken jalapeño! Place a piece of chicken onto each serving plate, and spoon the sauce over the top of each portion. If desired, you can garnish the chicken with jalapeño slices (seeds removed), and then add a spoonful of colorful salsa.
NOTE: You do NOT need jalapeño slices OR salsa for this dish to be perfect, but they DO add some color, and additional flavor. If you do not want to garnish… no worries! The chicken, served with only the yummy sauce on top tastes absolutely wonderful as is!
A Quick Note About Jalapeño Pepper Jelly
I used my own homemade jalapeño pepper jelly, which you can see in the photo below. However, many stores carry it (Walmart, Target, etc.), and it can also be ordered online (Amazon) or found at many farmer’s markets. It can also be used as a topping on cream cheese and crackers (yum!), so it’s a perfect idea for a way to use any leftover jelly!
I hope you enjoy this recipe for easy chicken jalapeño. It really is quite delicious, and is incredibly simple to prepare. Thanks for stopping by… have a great day!
Looking For More CHICKEN Recipes?
You can find all of my CHICKEN recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have LOTS of them, including:
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Original recipe source: Juanita Alexander, in “Southern Living Cookbook 1992”, page 310, published by Oxmoor House, 1992.
Easy Chicken Jalapeño is a delicious entree, with seasoned pan-seared chicken breasts topped with a brown butter, sweet & mild sauce for serving.
- 4 medium chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) (approx 6 ounces per breast)
- salt, pepper, garlic powder to lightly season meat on both sides
- 2 Tablespoons butter melted
- ½ cup jalapeño jelly
Pat chicken breasts dry. Lightly season ON BOTH SIDES with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place each piece between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound chicken breasts with the flat side of a meat mallet (or heavy skillet) until about 1/2" thick, but still hold their shape.
In a large skillet, melt butter on medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts in a single layer. Cook on medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes, without moving chicken. Carefully turn the chicken over, and cook other side for 4-5 minutes, or until fully cooked through (internal temperature of 165°F.). The thickness of the chicken will determine how long they take to cook through. Once done, transfer the chicken from the skillet to a plate, and cover with foil to keep it warm. **Do NOT clean the skillet out! The remaining browned butter and "browned bits will be used for the sauce.
Make Sauce: Turn heat to medium. Add pepper jelly to skillet; whisk or stir jelly into browned butter. Bring to a boil, continuing to stir until the jelly is fully incorporated, and sauce is smooth. Remove sauce from the heat.
TO SERVE: Place chicken breast onto individual serving plate; spoon sauce over the top. OPTIONAL: garnish with jalapeño slices (seeds removed), and colorful salsa. NOTE: You do NOT need jalapeño slices OR salsa for this dish, but they DO add color and additional flavor. ENJOY!
The caloric calculation was made based on using 4 chicken breasts (approx. 6 ounces each) AND a commercially prepared jalapeno pepper jelly with approx. 300 calories per 1/2 cup. Because pepper jellies widely vary in caloric counts, yours may differ, and will impact the total calorie count per portion.
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!