Some recipes require only simple adjustments to make them keto-friendly. And Chili’s famous Monterey Chicken is ripe for a low carb makeover. All it takes is swapping out the sugary stuff for some of my Easy Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce. Voila!
If you’re craving a restaurant-style, family-pleasing meal, Keto Monterey Chicken is the answer. Juicy chicken breasts are smothered in tangy barbecue sauce, then topped with melted cheese and bacon. Finish the dish off with some fresh chopped tomatoes and a little bit of green onion. It’s packed with flavor and has 54 grams of protein per serving.
This easy skillet meal comes together quickly, making it ideal for busy weeknights. Serve it with easy low carb sides like cilantro lime cauliflower rice or caramelized Brussels sprouts for a hearty meal the whole family will love.
Why you will love this recipe
- Comfort food meal: All the flavor of the original without the added sugar.
- Easy to make: Ready in under 30 minutes with a handful of ingredients.
- Bursting with flavor: Tangy, smoky, cheesy goodness!
- Meal prep friendly: The leftovers heat up well for lunch or dinner the next day.
- High protein: Each serving has a whopping 54 grams of protein!
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken: This recipe takes boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Try to get medium sized breasts so that they cook through more easily. You can also use skinless chicken thighs.
- Barbecue Sauce: My easy keto BBQ sauce is a snap to make, no cooking required. You can use store bought sugar free sauce as well.
- Cheese: You can use shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese.
- Bacon: Get it nice and crisp so it won’t soften when added to the topping.
- Fresh tomatoes: Ripe, red tomatoes give the dish flavor and color.
- Green onions: Both the white and green parts.
- Pantry staples: Olive oil, salt, and pepper
Overview: How to Make This Recipe
- Prep the chicken: If any of the breasts are thicker than the others, pound them with a meat mallet so they are of even thickness. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pan-sear: Brown both sides of the breasts in hot oil. Spread BBQ sauce over each breast, then sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- Bake: Place the skillet in the oven until the cheese is melted.
- Add the toppings: Remove and top with bacon, tomatoes, and green onion.
Tips for Success
Chicken breasts come in a wide range of sizes, from 4 ounces to almost a full pound. I recommend using medium chicken breasts (5 to 7 ounces) so that they cook through more easily in the skillet. If you can only find really big ones, consider cutting each one in half horizontally to make two thinner cutlets. Otherwise they can become tough as the cook.
This recipe makes for a very high protein meal that is hearty and filling. I found I could only eat about three-quarters of a serving at a time. The great part is that the leftovers heat up nicely so this really could be 6 servings instead of 4.
Frequently Asked Questions
Monterey Chicken is a popular dish from the Chili’s chain restaurant. It features pan-seared chicken breasts topped with barbecue sauce, Monterey Jack cheese, tomatoes, bacon, and green onion.
Most barbecue sauce is loaded with sugar and should be avoided on the keto diet. However, my sugar-free sauce has no added sugar and only 3 grams of carbs per serving. It’s also extremely easy to make and requires no cooking!
This Keto Monterey Chicken recipe has 5.1 grams of carbs per serving.
More mouthwatering keto chicken recipes
Keto Monterey Chicken Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup Easy Keto BBQ Sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, or Monterey Jack
- 4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
- 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
- 2 green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Pat the chicken breasts dry and season all over with salt and pepper. If one or two are thicker than the others, pound them with a meat mallet so they are of even thickness.
- Heat the oil in a 10-inch oven proof skillet over medium high heat until shimmering. Cook the chicken 4 to 6 minutes per side, until the center reaches 160ºF on an instant read thermometer.
- Spread BBQ sauce over each breast, then sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- Place the whole skillet in the oven for 5, until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and top with bacon, tomatoes, and green onion.
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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Amazing and quick!
Made this today, delicious, quick & easy! I’ll admit, I did make this meal into wraps by dicing the chicken up prior to cooking. My, oh my!
We LOVE this recipe! Made it about 4 times already! I use the air fryer instead of the oven. ❤️
Wow, thanks!
Super easy and tastes so good. I’d been using a similar recipe but I like the tomatoes on this.
We loved the flavor combo and this was really easy to make. I used boneless, skinless thighs and it came out nice and juicy. Didn’t have fresh tomatoes so I used pico de gallo instead of the tomatoes and green onions.
Perfect substitute!
This is so good! I added the tomatoes and onions before putting the skillet into the oven so they would not be quite as raw, but otherwise followed the recipe. It is a great way to dress up plain old chicken breasts!
I made this last night and it was Amazing!! Only thing I changed is I used my air fryer to melt the cheese.
OMG! This was Awesome! I did melt the cheese instead in the air fryer since I only made 1 chicken breast.. hubby & I split one Tks!
Smart!
Such an easy recipe and absolutely delicious 😋