Monterey Chicken takes BBQ chicken to the next level by smothering it with Monterey Jack cheese, bacon, and a few fresh veggies. It’s a fun new twist on leftover chicken or a delicious way to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts!
I don’t make it to Chili’s restaurant too often. So until recently, I had never heard of Chicken Monterey!
I can’t remember how the topic came up, but my friend Lara (from LaraClevenger.com) told me about it and I thought it sounded pretty good. BBQ chicken is never a bad idea, right?!
One day when I found myself with some leftover chicken and the bottom of a bottle of barbecue sauce in the fridge, I decided to give it a try.
This recipe is easy to make and packed with flavor, and it’ll be going on regular rotation in my house!
Pro Tip: If you don’t have leftover chicken on hand, cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts and use them instead.
In This Article
What is Monterey Chicken?
Monterey Chicken is a Chili’s copycat recipe. It’s chicken breast that’s smothered with BBQ sauce, Monterey Jack cheese, bacon, and tomatoes.
Chili’s discontinued their Monterey Chicken, so if you’re craving it, make it at home!
Easy Monterey Chicken Recipe
This recipe is very easy to make and requires minimal ingredients.
The best part is, you can use leftover chicken or cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts to use.
Ingredients:
- Chicken
- BBQ sauce
- Monterey Jack cheese
- Bacon
- Tomatoes
Monterey Jack Cheese
Monterey Jack cheese is a mild-flavored cow’s milk cheese with a slightly nutty flavor. It melts well and is great for making this chicken recipe!
However, if you can’t find Monterey Jack you could look for Colby-Jack, which is a marbled mixture of Colby and Monterey Jack. Alternatively, you could use a mild cheddar.
Monterey Chicken Casserole
To make this chicken dish into a casserole, add 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta to the casserole dish before topping with the chicken. Continue with the rest of the recipe as written.
Alternatively, to increase your veggies and keep the carbs lower, you could add 1 cup of cooked cauliflower or broccoli instead of cooked rice or pasta.
And bonus, this recipe is very easy to increase if you want to make enough to feed a crowd.
Monterey Chicken Sandwich
This recipe is very easy to make into a sandwich. Simply make the recipe as directed, and put it on bread or a bun!
More Single Serving Dinner (or Breakfast-for-Dinner) Recipes:
- 15-Minute Low Carb Zucchini Pizza Bake For One
- BLT Salad
- Single Serve Chicken Enchiladas
- Easy Roasted Salmon For One
- Single Serving Low-Carb Zucchini Noodles with Creamy Garlic-Parmesan Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Healthy Cobb Salad for One
- Herbed Eggs Baked in Cream with Feta
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below because I love hearing from you! You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media. To stay up-to-date FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Xoxo, Faith
Monterey Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cooked shredded chicken see Note
- 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
- 1 ounce Monterey Jack cheese shredded
- 1 scallion green and white parts, thinly sliced
- 1 slice beef bacon cooked until crispy and then crumbled
- 5 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 slice red onion optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Mix together the chicken and BBQ sauce and spread it into a 12-ounce gratin dish. Top with the cheese and scallion.
- Bake until the chicken is warm and the cheese is melted, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Top with the crumbled bacon, tomato, and red onion.
- Serve.
Faith's Tips
- You can use pulled BBQ chicken if you have that on hand! Alternatively, you can use cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts (per serving, use about 4 to 6 ounces of cooked chicken breast topped with 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce).
- Note that the nutrition information for this recipe was calculated using regular (not sugar free) BBQ sauce. For the low carb version, use sugar free BBQ sauce.
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products I believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, I will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items. Thank you for helping to support An Edible Mosaic!
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
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