Creamy, rich, and packed with flavor, this Jalapeño Popper Chicken is an easy, budget-friendly meal the whole family will adore. Succulent chicken thighs topped with cream cheese, jalapeños, cheddar and bacon – it’s a surefire win for everyone at your table.
Every time I think life is going to slow down a bit, I find myself just as busy as ever. So creating easy keto dinner recipes is always top of my priority list.
But those easy dinners have to taste great, too. It’s no good creating healthy meals if no one wants to eat them. I threw this Jalapeño Popper Chicken together one day when I was short on time, and it was an instant hit with the whole family. Getting three grumpy teens to all agree on one meal? Priceless!
If you love jalapeño poppers, be sure to try my Keto Jalapeño Popper Pizza next!
Why you will love it
★★★★★
Yvette says: “I made this last night for dinner, followed the recipe exactly, and it was soooooo delicious. It is going to be a regular on our dinner menu. This is why I own so many of your cookbooks! Your recipes are all tried and true.“
Ingredient Notes
- Bacon: Thin sliced bacon tends to crisp up a little better.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs: Some readers used chicken breast instead. If you do use chicken breasts, cut them into thinner pieces.
- Cream cheese: Use full fat cream cheese.
- Heavy whipping cream: This adds
- Garlic: I prefer using fresh garlic, but you can also use garlic powder.
- Jalapeño peppers: If you want something less spicy, you can use poblano or anaheim peppers. If you like more spice, keep the seeds in the jalapeños.
- Shredded cheddar cheese: You can shred your own or use pre-shredded cheese.
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Jalapeño Popper Chicken
- Cook the bacon: In a large skillet over medium, cook the chopped bacon until crisp.
- Brown the chicken: Add the chicken thighs to the skillet and cook until nicely browned, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the thighs to a glass or ceramic baking dish.
- Prepare the sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, whipping cream, and garlic. Spread over the chicken in the dish.
- Assemble: Sprinkle with the jalapeno and cheddar cheese, then sprinkle with the chopped bacon.
- Bake the casserole: Bake for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the chicken is cooked through.
- Serve and enjoy!
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
I like to chop the bacon before cooking it, as it gets more evenly crisp this way. Drain most of the grease from the pan but keep about one tablespoon for browning the chicken.
Browning the chicken before baking brings out more flavor. If you just add the sauce and toppings to raw chicken, the casserole ends up more watery as well.
Make sure the cream cheese is really soft before making the sauce. I like to pop mine in the microwave for 15 seconds or so first. It makes the sauce more creamy and smooth.
Frequently Asked Questions
More Keto Chicken Recipes to Love
Jalapeno Popper Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 6 medium (6) chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
- Salt and pepper
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) cream cheese, softened
- 3 tbsp (45.65 g) heavy whipping cream
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 small jalapeno peppers, minced
- 1 cup (113 g) shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- In a large skillet over medium, cook the chopped bacon until crisp. Remove to a plate and remove all but 1 tbsp of the grease.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Add the chicken thighs to the skillet and cook until nicely browned, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from heat and transfer the thighs to a glass or ceramic baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, whipping cream, and garlic. Spread over the chicken in the dish.
- Sprinkle with the jalapeno and cheddar cheese, then sprinkle with the chopped bacon. Bake about 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the chicken is cooked through.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Even my non-low carb family loves this recipe! I chop up the chicken before putting it in the baking dish to make it a little easier to scoop.
I really love this dish! I just made it again a couple days ago. It’s easy to make and so flavorful. It’s definitely one of my favorites and a go-to for a great chicken meal. I try to keep cooked bacon in the freezer so it’s even handier when I want to make it again.
Just made this tonight and it was a huge hit. I used thin sliced chicken breasts as my husband won’t eat thighs, but it was still so good! It will be in our regular rotation of meals.
Made this tonight for the first time. Great recipe-and you can make it to your taste by adding more jalapeños if that suits you!
Satisfy my craving for jalapeño poppers with less work!
Delish! I’ve made this several times before but this time I used 8 thighs and increased the ingredients by a tad. I also made garlic caulirice and put it in the bottom of the dish to help absorb some of the grease. It was a big hit! Thanks for yet another great recipe Carolyn!
I found it to be greasy . My husband loved it but I I was not a fan of this one. Your recipes are really good. but this one I will skip.
Can’t imagine what would make this dish greasy?
I made this Keto Jalapeño Popper Chicken tonight for dinner. OMG, it was soooo good. It will for sure be in my regular rotation. It was tender and all the flavors meshed together into a delectable tasty bite.
Oh boy. This was sensational. I’ve yet to have a single recipe of yours that I don’t like. They are all amazing. Thank you for your genius recipes.
So glad to hear it!
I made this last night for dinner, followed the recipe exactly, and it was soooooo delicious. It is going to be a regular on our dinner menu. This is why I own so many of your cookbooks! Your recipes are all tried and true.
This recipe was amazing! I diluted the cream cheese mixture with a little chicken stock. That was the only change I made. Kids even loved it! Thank you! Definitely on my menu rotation!
Can you use breast and how many would you use? My family won’t eat thighs.
Sure but I would probably cut them down to size a bit. Maybe 3 breasts cut in half, depending on how big they are?
I love this! Hard to stop eating! I doubled the cream cheese sauce just because I love alot of sauce on everything…. wonderful recipe thank you!!
SSOOOOOO GOOD! My family loves it.
Easy and fast, .longest step was frying the bacon. This goes in the rotation for chicken dishes. Thank you Carolyn for sharing.
Made it again last night. Amazing & a huge family favorite. Next up – will try freezing for an easy casserole.
Started with poblano peppers and worked up to jalapeño peppers with seeds & membranes which I now use. The later has a kick, but we found very manageable given the volume of other ingredients.
Did you try to freeze it. I would like to add this to my monthly prep and freezer meals.
I made this tonight and used what I had on hand. So I used chicken breast tenderloins, pickled jalapeños and garlic powder but, even with the substitutions, it was so yummy! I’ll definitely make it again.
Amazing!