This easy cheesy chicken recipe is an awesome way to dress up a delicious weeknight dinner. The chicken breast? Wonderfully light and tender. It pairs perfectly well with our rich and savory cheese sauce. Sprinkle fresh parsley and ground pepper on top, then serve with toasty-roasty French baguette.
Is Cheesy Chicken Healthy?
Yes, it is relatively healthy. Overall, our dish is low in carb, and high in fat and lean protein, with a total of 460 calories per serving.
The skinless boneless chicken breast is an excellent source of high-quality protein, offering many health benefits. For this recipe, one serving can provide you with 40 grams of protein, up to 83% of the average reference daily intake.
Plus, we have broccoli for a boost of fiber and antioxidants. These hearty greens have a bounty of essential nutrients, which can have heaps of benefits for your body.
Of course, we also add dairy products to the dish, including cheese and heavy cream, contributing to the amounts of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A and calcium.
As for the amount of fats, one serving of our cheesy chicken contains 24 grams total fats, including 7.9 grams saturated fats, which follows our nutrition guidelines taken from the 2020 – 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. However, it’s best to keep an eye on the serving size to enjoy the dish in moderation.
Ingredients for Cheesy Chicken
- Chicken
We use skinless boneless chicken breast for this recipe. We butterfly the chicken breasts, then rub the meat with paprika and garlic powder for a kick of flavor.
To give the chicken a nice golden-brown exterior, we pan-sear both sides of the meat for a couple of minutes and remove from the heat before tossing them into the cheese sauce.
- Cheese sauce
We’re talking cheesy chicken, right? It’s all about the cheese.
What we need for this luscious sauce are garlic, olive oil, flour, thyme, chicken broth, heavy cream, salt, and cheddar cheese.
This orange type of cheese is a little tangy and salty, perfect when paired with other savory spices and ingredients.
- Broccoli
A touch of greens makes our dish more fresh and filling. Nutty, tender-crisp broccoli works great in this savory cheesy chicken dish.
- French Baguette
Slice or cut your baguette into diagonal slices and toast them up in an oven or air fryer before serving. Dip the baguette in the cheesy sauce and taste the delicious flavors that melt with each crispy bite.
How to Store and Reheat the Leftovers
You can store the remaining dish in an airtight container in the fridge, but since this dish contains dairy products, make sure to consume it within 24 hours for the best quality.
For reheating, simply cover the plate with plastic wrap, then microwave it at high heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
What to Serve With Cheesy Chicken
Check out these refreshing salad recipes to serve with our satisfying cheesy chicken:
- Healthy Watermelon Arugula Salad Recipe
- Beet and Feta Cheese Salad Recipe
- Mustard Potato Salad Recipe
- Spinach Salad Recipe
- Kale Salad Recipe
Cheesy Chicken Recipe
This simple cheesy chicken recipe is quick to make: In 30 minutes, you'll have delicious savory chicken breasts cooked in a luscious cheese sauce with fresh broccoli. Served with crunchy toasted French baguette for a complete meal.
- cook TIME 23 mins
- prep TIME 7 mins
- total TIME 30 mins
- COURSE Main Dish
- CUISINE American
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 460 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 0.5 tsppaprika
- 22 ozskinless boneless chicken breast (butterflied)
- 3 tbspolive oil (divided)
- 0.5 tspgarlic powder
- 3 ozbroccoli (cut into florets)
- 1 tbspgarlic (minced)
- 0.5 tspground black pepper
- 4 tbspheavy cream
- 0.5 tbspall-purpose flour
- 1.5 ozcheddar cheese (shredded)
- 0.5 tspsalt
- 2 tbspparsley (chopped)
- 1 tspthyme
- 0.5 cupunsalted chicken broth
- 4 ozFrench baguette (cut into diagonal slices)
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep:
Butterfly the chicken breast: Place the chicken breast on a cutting board. From the long side of the chicken breast, slice the meat in half using a sawing motion, but leave about 1/4" so that the two pieces are still intact. Set it aside and repeat with the remaining pieces.
Cut the broccoli into florets: Wash the broccoli under running water, then pat dry. Place the broccoli on a cutting board, the large stem facing up. With a paring knife, slice the large florets away from the large stem, one by one. Half or quarter the florets to have even pieces.
Peel and mince the garlic: Cut to remove the root part of each garlic clove and mash them down with a knife to remove the peel with ease. Mince the peeled cloves.
Finely chop the parsley.
Cut the French baguette into diagonal slices.
Cook:
Season the chicken: In a large plate/bowl, add 22 oz skinless boneless chicken breast, 1/2 tsp paprika, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Rub the meat with the seasonings to coat evenly.
Pan-sear the chicken: In a skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and the chicken breasts. Pan-sear both sides of the chicken for a total of 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Sauté the garlic in olive oil: Add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp garlic. Stir well for 30 seconds.
Add the flour and thyme: Add 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour and 1 tsp thyme. Stir for 30 seconds.
Add chicken broth, heavy cream, broccoli, salt, and cheese: Add 1/2 cup unsalted chicken broth, 4 tbsp heavy cream, 3 oz broccoli, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1.5 oz cheddar cheese. Stir well.
Add the chicken again: Add in the pan-seared chicken and cook over low heat for 4 minutes.
Add parsley and pepper: Sprinkle 2 tbsp parsley and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper on top, then remove from the heat.
Air-fry the baguette: Brush a thin layer of olive oil on the French baguette slices and air fry at 400 °F for 4 minutes.
Serve the cheesy chicken with toasted baguette.
NUTRITION
Luna Regina
Founder