Chicken is definitely a staple protein for many families across America. However, the old favorite family recipe sometimes needs an upgrade. No offense Grandmas of the world, sometimes we all like some variety. This cheesy chicken salsa bake is easy, fun and delicious. Ooh.. and let me point out! This is super easy!
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1 C salsa, (heat level optional)
- 1 C Mexican cheese
- 1 tsp taco seasoning
- salt and pepper
- garnish: dollops of sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Season chicken breasts with taco seasoning and salt and pepper
- Place ½ C of the salsa in a parchment lined baking pan
- Place the chicken in the pan, and cover with the remaining ½ c of salsa
- Bake for approximately 25 – 30 minutes.
- Open oven door and sprinkle the cheese on top of the chicken. Bake for another 8 – 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and gooey.
- *Garnish with sour cream and chives if you wish
Hints:
- If you don’t have salsa, you can make a quick mix of chopped onion, diced tomatoes and a squeeze of lemon juice. Salt, chili, coriander, and cumin powder are optional.
- You don’t have to rinse your chicken, but if you do, be sure to disinfect your sink after!
- You can use shredded chicken instead of chicken breast if you have that, just spread evenly in the pan.
- If you have extra spice desire add in some shredded pepper jack cheese or use a spicy salsa.
You can serve this with quick rice to make it a complete meal (if you have a half cup of salsa, that is a vegetable serving too!) Another option is to serve with a side of salsa and chips, or guacamole and tortilla chips. My boys like it with chips and I will pair this with quinoa rice at times, or if I’m watching my carbs, just as is! It is filling enough as is!
This is one of the easiest recipes out there, and it takes little preparation so it is perfect for one of those super busy days.
Need more delicious, weeknight recipes? Try these other chicken recipes too!
Raspberry-Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Baked Firecracker Chicken Wings
We are vegetarians so I’m going to make this with my tofu/tempeh slices and I imagine it will be scrumptious! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my this looks delicious! Love the raspberry balsamic – that flavor must be amazing!
I love adding a scrumptious twist to an old favorite! This one looks so delicious! My family will surely love to have this again and again!
That Cheesy Chicken Salsa Bake looks absolutely amazing. I bet your family is already asking you to make that delish-looking recipe again.
This looks so delicious! We love different takes on chicken dishes around here since I buy it in bulk when I go to the store. Adding this one to my lineup.
That cheesy chicken salsa bake looks and sounds so delicous. I would really like to make that for my kids. What’s not to like about cheese, chicken and sals?
Anything with cheese like this is AOK in my book!
This looks really delicious. Add cheese to anything and I’m there. I’m trying this.
I can’t wait to make this. Cheesy and salsa are my faves!!! Thank you for sharing it!
My family is going to love this recipe. We like spicy food so a medium salsa will be perfect.
This recipe looks so delicious and easy to make. It will be perfect for all those busy nights. I am excited to give it a try.
I love to cook with salsa. This chicken looks so delicious. I will have to give it a try this week.
We have a version of the salsa chicken that we love, but we use salsa verde. The raspberry balsamic and the firecracker wings look so yummy! I can’t wait to try them!
Yum! I’ve always loved the pairing of salsa and chicken! I bet this would make for a delicious dinner.
That looks divine! Chicken can be so boring so when I can find a whole bunch of different recipes all doing something awesome with chicken I condemn. This will be one of those.
I can’t wait to make this. “Cheesy” and “salsa” won me over. I love anything with cheese on it.