Stuffed with sweet peppers and onions and smothered in a spicy jalapeno queso sauce, this fajita stuffed chicken is a welcome change from regular fajita night and ready in under an hour!
Happy Labor Day! Can I interest you in some easy + fancy as heck chicken to put on your food agenda for today?
It’s that time of the year when we’re all looking for easier weeknight dinners and this fajita stuffed chicken is definitely going to tick all those weeknight boxes.
We’re basically stuffing all the things you love most about chicken fajitas IN a chicken breast and covering it in cheesy jalapeno queso sauce.
Could anything possibly go wrong??
The only thing I think could possibly go wrong is going light on the queso. BIG mistake. ??
I’m so serious, we ate this chicken for about 3 days straight and loved each meal more than the last.
And you KNOW there were chips on the menu for extras of that queso. You can’t not.
Truthfully, Jason and I made an extra batch of queso just for the rest of the chip bag. ?
So let’s get to cooking this fajita stuffed chicken!
Let’s talk filling. Our filling consists of garlicky sweet peppers + onions and this will only take a couple minutes to cook up on the stove.
For prepping the chicken breasts, you’re going to pound each breast to 1/2 inch thickness. Then carefully cut a horizontal pocket about 3/4 of the way through each breast.
Then it’s time to whip up a quick spice rub for the chicken and evenly rub it all over each chicken breast.
My little trick for making stuffed chicken the easy way? Pan sear the chicken before you stuff it.
This way you’ll be able to easily get a nice sear on the chicken and won’t have to worry about the filling falling out while it’s cooking.
Once the chicken is done searing, fill it with the sweet pepper/onion mixture and send it to the oven for a bit to finish cooking.
Meanwhile….it’s queso time!!
We’re just making a very simple cheese sauce from a roux (melted butter + flour), jalapeno pepper, a little milk, and lots of pepper jack, cheddar, + a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.
Smother and I do mean SMOTHER the chicken in all this cheesy goodness. It’s so ridiculously good. ?
The chicken bakes up so insanely juicy while the sweet pepper filling stays tender and the queso sauce just takes everything up to a 10/10 dinner.
I guarantee you’re going to adore this dinner. I guarantee you’ll want to throw it on the menu at least twice a week.
Add a pile of fluffy rice or pasta and dinner is donezo! Meet your new lover.
Try these other weeknight dinner favorites next!
Fajita Stuffed Chicken with Jalapeno Queso Sauce
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Ingredients
Fajita Stuffed Chicken
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 2 large sweet peppers, thinly sliced into strips
- 1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts (1.5 lbs)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon butter
Jalapeno Queso Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small jalapeno, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup 2% or skim milk
- 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Fajita Stuffed Chicken
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil until shimmery. Add peppers, onions, and salt and pepper to taste to pan and stir occasionally until peppers are softened and onions are translucent. Add garlic to pan and let cook 1 additional minute until fragrant. Remove from heat and cool.
- Pound each chicken breast to 1/2-in thickness and carefully cut a little pocket 3/4 of the way through each breast. In a small bowl, combine chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne, paprika, salt, and pepper to taste. Rub all over chicken breasts.
- Melt butter and remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear chicken 3-4 minutes per side, flipping once until chicken is golden brown (chicken will not be fully cooked yet) Transfer to a baking pan.
- Stuff seared chicken breasts with peppers and onion filling. Bake chicken at 375F 20-25 minutes until chicken registers 165F. Keep warm and set aside for a moment.
Jalapeno Queso Sauce
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, then cook minced jalapeno in butter until just softened. Whisk flour into butter mixture until smooth. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden-brown. Gradually add milk to flour mixture, whisking constantly until incorporated.
- Cook sauce over medium heat, stirring occasionally until bubbly and thickened. Remove from heat and add cheeses, and cayenne pepper stirring until cheese is completely melted. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve fajita stuffed chicken with jalapeno queso sauce poured on top. Enjoy!
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