Baked Chicken Salsa Verde

Baked Chicken Salsa Verde is a great weeknight dish combining baked chicken breasts with melted cheese and salsa verde (green salsa). So easy and full of flavor.

My inspiration, as many readers know; should be called fridgespiration. I was very happy to have a container of my homemade salsa verde in the fridge and while it is great with chips, I thought a more concerted effort to use it would be nice too. Baked Chicken Salsa Verde was the result!

It took only minutes to decide to combine chicken and salsa with melted cheese and a nice handful of cherry tomatoes. I admit that in the back of my head I was certainly inspired by my own recent story about tomatillo salsa verde. I had mentioned that my daughter had made a chicken dish with it…so I asked her for the recipe. She had done it on the fly and couldn’t remember exactly what she had done so I was on my own…but had to try; chicken with salsa had been on my mind.

If I don’t have a container of my homemade Tomatillo Salsa Verde on hand, I use a store brand. I’m partial to the 505 Green Chile Salsa, it’s also made with tomatillos and available in most larger grocery stores; try finding it if you want to try this and not make your own salsa.

Baked Chicken Salsa Verde was a real winner. HA; winner-winner chicken dinner right?! I love chicken but most often use dark meat, I’ve preferred it since I was a kid, but I like using chicken breasts for dishes just like this; ones that have a substantial amount of flavor delivered from the condiments and spices used in the making of it.

I loved that this was a one pot dish too. I made it all in my Amazon Basics Enamel Cast Iron Covered Casserole (affiliate link) which is really like a frying pan with short handles; it works on the stove-top, in the oven, and as a serving dish. I’ll be honest…I bought this for a second one, and then gave my first baby, a beautiful blue LeCreuset, to my niece; I knew she would get years and years of work out of it.

She coveted a specialty pan like that, I have so many so I sent mine to her after I bought this; and it’s worked just as well (although I do miss it sometimes; it was SO pretty!). For FAR less $$$$ too; always a plus in my book! Lots of colors if white isn’t your thing.

But I’m not here to try and sell you a pan for your cooking, but to sell you on making this Baked Chicken Salsa Verde for your family! Steps are easy enough too…

• Chicken is sauteed in butter and olive oil until brown on both sides; then simmered covered for ten minutes.
• I added the salsa and tomatoes to the pan, topped the chicken with cheese and then covered and cooked it for an additional 10 minutes; check the internal temperature of your chicken and either remove or cook until 165° (the thickness of your chicken is going to have the time vary). Really easy. Really delicious!

I served it on rice with sliced avocado on the side and a dollop of sour cream on top. Honestly it was as good as a restaurant meal and made for a pretty plate too.

For most of my life I stayed away from chicken white meat, avoiding the breast on turkey at Thanksgiving too. It took a lot of years and my own experience to figure out the simple reason why. Way too often it is over-cooked. When done to the proper temp it should be moist and tender; letting it cook too long ruins both of those.

Dark meat is different, it is fattier and can take more variation; truth is when I grill or fry dark meat I let it get closer to 175-180° internally; I think that is when the meat is really ‘fall off the bone’ tender; even if there is no bone!

For me a temperature probe is the answer; sure maybe some people can press the flesh of the meat and discern the unique difference between too raw and overdone, but not I! I remember when I bought this and shared on Facebook how much I loved it. A woman had to let me know that I should have bought the pricier Thermapen.

People are funny aren’t they…I bought this because it wasn’t so pricey and it has worked just fine so no, pricier does not always mean better. Maybe with perfume but not a kitchen utensil like this; I’ve had mine for years and it works like a champ.

Baked Chicken Salsa Verde was easy and delicious and even better? I made more than I needed. Sometimes I find myself having the same thing for dinner four nights in a row but sometimes I’m smarter than that and freeze portions for leftovers later. This froze beautifully; I made it last week and thawed a portion last night, made some rice, and had a wonderful and EASY dinner. Don’t you love those?

PIN IT! ‘Baked Chicken Salsa Verde’

Chicken Salsa Verde

Barb

A delicious and easy chicken dish with Mexican cheese and tomatillo salsa verde.

5 from 50 or more votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Chicken and Turkey

Cuisine American, Mexican

Servings 4 Servings

Calories 389 kcal

Equipment

• Amazon Basics Enamel Cast Iron Covered Casserole

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 large chicken breasts boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.5 – 2 lbs. total), cut in half with a diagonal cut
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 9-12 slices Queso de Oaxaca can substitute Mozzarella cheese
• 8 ounces Salsa Verde (green salsa)
• 6 ounces cherry tomatoes halved

For Garnish (optional)

• 2 green onions sliced
• ½ cup Sour cream

Instructions

 

• Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Season chicken with garlic powder, salt and pepper on both sides; place in the hot skillet.
• Sear chicken on each side until golden brown (about 4 minutes per side). Cover and let simmer on low for 10 minutes.
• Remove the skillet lid and top the chicken with the cheese, add the salsa verde and tomatoes to the skillet, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for another 10 more minutes or until chicken’s internal temperature is 165° F.
• Serve chicken over rice; top the chicken and rice with the tomatoes, salsa verde from the pan, and sour cream. Garnish if desired with green onion.

Notes

You can find my homemade Tomatillo Green Salsa here.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Chicken Salsa Verde

Serving Size

 

1 Serving

Amount per Serving

Calories

389

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

25

g

38

%

Cholesterol

 

103

mg

34

%

Sodium

 

885

mg

38

%

Carbohydrates

 

8

g

3

%

Protein

 

32

g

64

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Calories

389

Keyword chicken, green salsa, salsa, tomatillos

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