This Green Chili Chicken Bake recipe is rich, creamy and delicious. A quick and easy dinner with less than 10 ingredients made in one dish for quick and easy prep and clean up.
I don’t know if it is because I grew up surrounded by fantastic mexican food living in Texas or if it is just because the mexican flavors are just so, so good, but I really love green chilis and creamy cheese in just about any combo. Today’s combo is so rich, creamy and zesty in just the right way. It is comfort food at it’s best.
There is something a little magic that happens when you combine green chilis with cumin, garlic, and rich, creamy cheese. Then of course you add some nice, juicy, wholesome chicken breast, because… you know… this is dinner so that seems a little more “adult like” then just slurping up all of the cheesy goodness. Instead we just pile it on the chicken breast and then serve it with rice and beans, in tortillas, or if you want to do it a little lower carb you can serve it over a big pile of wilted spinach or other greens. Top it with a dollop of sour cream or my favorite, a huge scoop of this homemade Pico De Gallo, and you have a winner. This tastes pretty amazing just about any way you can cook up!
Green Chili Chicken Bake Recipe- Step by Step
For a full printable recipe, scroll down to the bottom of the post. To walk through how I make this with all of my thoughts, tips and tricks, read below!
Ingredients:
- 3-4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
- 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened – You can use light cream cheese here if you prefer, but fat free will not work well since it doesn’t melt like normal cream cheese. Also, make sure the cheese is nice and soft before you begin to mix it so it combines well. If you don’t have time to leave it out, then put it in a glass bowl, cover, and microwave for about 30 seconds, then stir and add 30 more seconds if necessary. Softening the cream cheese will ensure that it isn’t lumpy and the flavor infuses every bit of the cheese for a delicious dinner.
- 1 4 oz can chopped green chilis- As I might have mentioned above I really love green chilis. I have tried a lot of brands, but I really prefer Old El Paso. I feel like their chilis are diced but instead of just being pieces in water, the liquid is thicker like pureed chilis which I find to be so much more flavorful than just chili pieces.
- 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions:
- Heat the oven to 375F.
- In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper until combined. Then stir in the green chilis and stir until evenly mixed. The key here is just making sure that you are starting with nice softened cream cheese.
- Lay the chicken breasts flat in a baking dish. Cover the chicken breasts with the green chili mixture. Then top with the monterey jack cheese.Make sure that the chicken breast is laid in a flat single layer in the dish. I like to use a 2 qt pyrex or a corningware baking dish to give it just enough room. Since the chicken breasts are all different sizes, it is impossible to know exactly how long to cook, but the guidelines below should give you a good start. If the chicken breasts are thick or very large, it will take longer, and if they are smaller, probably less time. If you are in a pinch you can put it in a larger dish and cut the chicken breast up into smaller pieces and spread them out a bit more. This should speed up the cook time a good bit!
- Bake on the middle rack for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear.I often get asked if you need to cover this while baking. I bake mine on the middle oven rack and do not need to cover it while baking and it comes out perfect. However, every oven is different, and if you bake yours and the cheese is getting browner than you want, feel free to loosely cover it with foil to avoid additional browning. I would let it bake as long as possible without covering though so that you don’t trap all the liquid in while it cooks which can make it soupy.
- Serve hot over spanish rice, greens, tortillas, or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!
Quick, easy, and of course delicious as promised! I really hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! If you get a chance to try it out, snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @easyfamilyrecipes, or leave me a comment here. It makes my day to heart that people are making my recipes and spending time at the dinner table together!
Watch me Make Green Chile Chicken!
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Green Chili Chicken Bake Recipe
Ingredients
- 3-4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts trimmed
- 1 8 oz package cream cheese softened
- 1 4 oz can chopped green chilis I prefer Old El Paso
- 1 cup monterey jack cheese shredded
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375F.
- In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper until combined. Then stir in the green chilis and stir until evenly mixed.
- Lay the chicken breasts flat in a baking dish. Cover the chicken breasts with the green chili mixture. Then top with the monterey jack cheese.
- Bake on the middle rack for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear.
- Serve hot over spanish rice, greens, tortillas, or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
- You can cut the chicken in half, chunks, or use chicken tenderloins in lieu of full chicken breasts to make serving easier. Cooking time may be reduced.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator or in the freezer for up to a month.
Nutrition Information:
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
brenda conner says
Absolutely going to make this one. How much easier can it get ??
Stephen I. says
Oh my! Made this recipe for dinner tonight and it Changed my life! Lol
Had to tweak it a bit because of what I had on hand. Used low-fat cream cheese and added 1/4cup of sour cream just for the heck of it. I also used thin chicken breasts LAID evenly on the bottom of a glass baking dish and cooked uncovered for 25 min. It was AMAZIMG! I let it cool so the cream cheese mixture thickened up a bit and served it with Pico de Gallo and tortillas. This is a new staple recipe in my index.
Just for the record in sure the original recipe was perfect. I’m just one of “those people” that can’t just follow a recipe as is. ?
Thanks so much for posting this!
Erica says
I made this recipe to a T tonight and it was very watery. Is anybody else having this issue? The flavors were absolutely fantastic. I’d like to make this again but would like more of a gravy consistency than water. Any suggestions??
Tricia says
We love this recipe! For leftovers, I shred it and use put it in tortillas. Any thoughts on how to cook this in an intant pot?
Judi sprayberry says
Wow! Sounds wonderful! We are having guests this weekend and I will make this! Can’t go wrong with a combination of these ingredients! One little thing. If you notice on your can of green Chile’s the proper Mexican English is spelled chile or chile’s. 😬😇
Jody Wall says
I butterfly the chicken and add a heaping tablespoon in between the butterfly, close back up and continue-delicious!
Wendy says
I don’t know what I did wrong, but my whole family hated this recipe. It was inedible.
Anne says
Pregnant mama here, I have made this twice this week! The second time the store was out of green chili’s so I used jalepenos.
Anne says
Have you tried this with bone in thighs? I’d love to use them since I’ve got them on hand but don’t want to mess up the consistency
Kimber says
I have not. I think it would probably taste good but I think it would be a bit messy trying to get the chicken off the bones to eat it. Let me know if you try it!
Lola says
This was good. I used four huge chicken breasts – next time will cut them in half or use chicken tenders or thighs, because they were so big the flavor did not penetrate into the middle of the chicken pieces. Next time I will at least double the spices and use pepper jack cheese, because my family likes lots of spice. The sauce is thinner than I thought it would be, so it really screams for a rice, potatoes, or bread to soak it up … but to be healthier I served spinach/greens mixture with black beans on the side, and the spinach soaked in the sauce was delicious.