With shredded chicken, smokey BBQ sauce, crispy bacon and Monterey jack cheese, this Skillet Monterey Chicken makes for a delicious and simple one-pan meal that everyone will love.
Skillet Monterey Chicken Recipe
This dish comes together so quickly, I first want to highlight just how convenient this recipe is for weeknight meals. As well, it’s perfect for those days when you don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. I know we all LOVE recipes that are both easy and tasty.
This recipe happily joins my one skillet dinners, because cutting down on dishwashing is always welcome in our home. This is why I also suggest our other one-pan dinner ideas. They are so very handy on more days thn you’d imagine!
Skillet Dinner Recipes:
- Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
- One Pan Cheesy Sausage and Tortellini Skillet
- Stuffed Tuscan Chicken
- Stovetop Honey Dijon Garlic Chicken
- One Pan Orange Chicken
Yet this recipe in particular? Well, sometimes you’d think of a skillet pasta dish as ordinary and rather plain. Yet, this Monterey Chicken is so loaded with amazing and flavourful ingredients, there won’t be one dull bite. It’s actually a copycat version of a very popular Chili’s dish.
I’ve gotten into the habit of adding in a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken into my weekly shopping, because there are so many great dishes that can be made on the fly using shredded cooked chicken. Baked Chicken Spaghetti and the amazing Chicken Stuffing Bake are perfect examples of a dinner recipe with shredded chicken. The Chicken Stuffing Bake proves that it’s simple to have a taste of the holidays all year long, so that is definitely one you’ll want to bookmark.
This Monterey Chicken recipe is very versatile too, because we all have differing tastes. You could cook boneless skinless chicken breasts ahead of time, instead of using rotisserie. As well, if the spice of ROTEL tomatoes (chopped tomatoes with green chiles) aren’t your thing, you can also use ordinary diced tomatoes instead. When I first made this for my kids, I thought the ROTEL spice might be too much for them, yet they love it, so consider me impressed.
So, if you want a recipe that you can be proud of when it comes to flavour, you’ll want to make this Monterey Chicken recipe as is. I won’t be surprised when you add it into your regular rotation, because we did long ago. Yes, it’s that good!
What To Serve with Monterey Chicken
Since this is a chicken dish, you have so many options for sides. I’m always a fan of a side salad with chicken, yet this is also a meal in itself so you might not need one. Just in case, here are our suggestions on sides to serve with Monterey Chicken:
Skillet Dessert Recipes
If you are a fan of convenient one-pan skillet recipes like we are, then you’ll definitely want to stock up on some skillet dessert recipes as well. We think the best ones would be Kentucky Apple Skillet Cake and Salted Caramel Skillet Brownies!
Skillet Monterey Chicken
With shredded chicken, smokey BBQ sauce, crispy bacon and Monterey jack cheese, this SKILLET MONTEREY CHICKEN makes for a delicious and simple one-pan meal that everyone will love.
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken, shredded pre-cooked
- 1 284ml can ROTEL diced tomatoes with green chiles
- 250 grams Rotini pasta, dry
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/3 cup BBQ sauce
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 green onions, diced
Instructions
1. Place the pasta, chicken, and ROTEL tomatoes (not drained) into a large skillet.
2. Add the chicken broth and stir to combine.
3. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook on high until it comes to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring about every 5 minutes.
4. When the pasta is al dente and most of the liquid absorbed, drizzle the BBQ sauce over top of the skillet. Scatter the shredded cheese on top and place the lid back on the skillet.
5. Turn to low heat and allow the skillet to sit for about five minutes to allow the cheese to melt.
6. Top with the crumbled bacon and green onions, and enjoy!
Notes
- for a less spicy dish, use a can of regular diced tomatoes instead of ROTEL
- If you don't have precooked chicken or bacon at the ready, allow for extra time to cook these beforehand.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 375Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 1414mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 7gProtein: 26g
Lynda Cook says
This looks very good, thanks for sharing a tasty recipe!
Jackie says
I just printed the recipe and can’t wait to try it. I love one dish meals like this.