Monterey Chicken Recipe - The Girl Who Ate Everything (2024)

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posted by Christy Denneyon Feb 16, 202422 comments »

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Monterey Chicken is topped with BBQ sauce, Monterey Jack cheese, diced tomatoes, and crumbled bacon. This flavor combination is out of this world and the ingredients are simple.

CHICKEN MONTEREY

This chicken is supposedly a popular dish at Chili’s. This Chili’s copycat recipe is chicken covered in barbecue sauce, plenty of Monterey Jack cheese, bacon, diced tomatoes, and green onions for a color and a mild flavor.

This is perfect for serving guests because it’s simple with a flavor party in your mouth.

I like to pound the chicken flat so that it cooks evenly in the pan. You can do this with anything heavy and flat. We cook this in a skillet but you could also grill this.

I found out the hard way that not all chicken is made equal. I once bought a generic package of chicken and not only was the texture weird but so was the taste.

Ever since then I’ve become very particular about my chicken. Like very particular. I like to buy organic when I can.

Pile on those toppings. See, isn’t this an easy recipe!

IS THIS KETO?

Yes, if you use sugar-free BBQ sauce.

STORAGE

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

OTHER CHICKEN RECIPES

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken
Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu
Fajitas on a Stick
Grilled Mexican Lime Chicken
Buffalo Chicken and Potatoes
Southwest Chicken
Grilled Pineapple and Chicken Quesadillas

Monterey Chicken

4.67 from 12 votes

This Monterey Chicken is topped with BBQ sauce, Monterey Jack cheese, and crumbled bacon. This flavor combination is out of this world.

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Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup BBQ sauce, (use sugar-free BBQ sauce if making Keto)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
4 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons sliced green onions

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400℉. Preheat a large oven safe skillet to medium-high heat and add the olive oil. While skillet is preheating, pound chicken breasts to flatten them if they are thick. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts.
Add chicken to pan and cook 4-5 minutes per side or until no longer pink.
Turn off the heat and pour BBQ sauce on each chicken breast evenly.
Sprinkle the cheese evenly on the chicken breasts and top with the crumbled bacon.
Bake the chicken for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted.
Top with bacon, diced tomatoes, and sliced green onions. Serve.

Serving: 1/4 of recipe, Calories: 424kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 34g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Cholesterol: 112mg, Sodium: 818mg, Potassium: 632mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 404IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 241mg, Iron: 1mg

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22 comments on “Monterey Chicken”

Mandi Clark — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 @ 10:43:47 EST Reply
What is a good choice of serving this with? Rice and a veggie?
- Christy Denney — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 @ 02:00:24 EDT Reply
  Yes that would be good. Or mashed potatoes.
Barry Slipenstood — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 @ 02:23:11 EDT Reply
What is the nutrition for these minus the bacon? I’m not sure how to plug this into a nutrition calculator since you technically don’t use all the marinade and toss most of it out. Very good however I would make this again
- Christy Denney — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 @ 01:25:59 EDT Reply
  Yes, so it’s kind of tricky with marinades because there isn’t a straight forward answer on that. This article helps: https://emilyfieldrd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Best-Practices-for-Tracking-Cooking-Oil-Sauces-and-Marinades-in-Cooking.pdf
Shannon — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 @ 21:20:30 EDT Reply
I love this recipe!!! So simple…Yet so yummy!!! The only thing I change up is using thin chicken breast and adding diced tomato on the top along with the green onion. So good!!
- Christy Denney — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 @ 23:33:52 EDT Reply
  So glad you liked it!
Maureen Roland — Sun, 15 May 2016 @ 20:25:21 EDT Reply
Thanks for sharing. Made this tonight everyone loved it!
Sally — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 @ 21:59:33 EDT Reply
Think about it…
” My question deals with the chicken I find at the supermarket. Some brands have labels on them boasting that they are “hormone-free.” I thought all farmers were prohibited from giving their chickens hormones. Is that true? If so, this seems like a sneaky way for these companies to make their product appear superior to others when it’s not. It seems like someone needs to cry “fowl play” on this!
— Terry B., Woodinville, Wash.
You are absolutely right. USDA regulations prohibit poultry growers from giving hormones and steroids to their birds, so all chicken is hormone-free. This label, while truthful, is also potentially misleading. It’s like putting a “cholesterol-free” sticker on a banana — sounds good until you realize that all bananas are cholesterol-free.
“Don’t be fooled by this,” warns Urvashi Rangan, a senior scientist at Consumer Reports. This chicken “isn’t worth any more money than a poultry product that does not make this claim,” she says.
And get this: While hormones are prohibited, growers can still give their hormone-free chicken “antibiotics every single day,” Rangan says. These drugs, commonly used by farmers, serve the same purpose as hormones — to increase the growth rate.
Missie — Sat, 20 Jun 2015 @ 16:28:49 EDT Reply
I’m interested in an alternate way of cooking the chicken. Could it be baked or cooked on the stovetop instead of BBQ’d on a grill?
- Christy Denney — Sat, 20 Jun 2015 @ 23:05:52 EDT Reply
  Sure! You could bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is done.
Lesley Estes — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 @ 10:27:22 EDT Reply
Just wanted to say my family LOVED this recipe! Also wanted to say I love your blog! I have cooked MANY of your recipes and keep coming back for more!!
- Christy Denney — Sat, 20 Jun 2015 @ 23:08:38 EDT Reply
  Thank you Lesley!
Zest to impress — Tue, 19 May 2015 @ 20:27:21 EDT Reply
This looks great! I love the Monterey chicken at Chili’s, but I haven’t thought to make it at home. Can’t wait to give this a whirl. Really like your blog, would love to welcome you to mine! 🙂
Christy Lewis — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 @ 18:43:00 EDT Reply
I inadvertently stumbled upon your site today, and what a blessing!! God certainly has given you a gift :). I am a teacher with four small children, 3 of whom can be very picky (the other one MUST be your twin as she is another girl who eats everything haha). Your recipes and ideas for kids’ recipes are so creative and well thought out that I’m over here praise dancing shouting, “yes! Yes! My children WOULD eat that!”
- Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} — Sun, 12 Oct 2014 @ 23:00:09 EDT Reply
  Thank you! I’m glad I could help. My kids, okay 1 in particular, can be so picky.
Carrie — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 @ 01:04:51 EDT Reply
OMG, that looks so yummy! Will have to try this soon.
Ashley@blondegirlcravings — Sat, 04 Oct 2014 @ 20:32:55 EDT Reply
That marinade sounds fantastic- this is going on my menu this week!
Carol at Wild Goose Tea — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 @ 15:37:28 EDT Reply
It certainly looks like it was a most excellent idea to use it on chicken. I would be a happy camper to find I on my plate—especially now because I am looking at this at lunch time. Sigh.
- Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 @ 22:56:58 EDT Reply
  Thanks Carol!
Sandy Steckler — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 @ 07:04:58 EDT Reply
I agree with using Tyson chicken, that is all I use too. I’m glad that Target carries it as our other store quit carrying the Tyson brand and went only with the generic. I think some brands taste like water. This recipe looks fantastic, thanks for sharing and I’ll be trying it next week.
- Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 @ 22:58:22 EDT Reply
  I totally agree!
pati — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 @ 01:07:53 EDT Reply
I cook this dish as well, I first tried it at Chilli’s. Its very simple and easy to make and delicious of course!