Quick and Healthy Santa Fe Chicken
On the look out for a good chicken breast recipe? This Quick and Healthy Santa Fe Chicken meal is a super easy dinner idea that’s perfect for your family, but also works great if you’re feeding a large group.
Seasoned chicken breasts are surrounded with colorful bell peppers and purple onion, topped with a good sprinkle of cheddar cheese. Fast, easy, delicious….and a healthy, low fat meal.
Quick and Healthy Santa Fe Chicken Recipe
Howdy! Chef Alli Here. Let’s Get You Cookin’….Shall We?? 🙂
Chicken is kind of a treat for us around here since we raise beef cattle. Our freezer is always stuffed with all kinds of beef cuts, so that’s what we eat primarily.
Chicken provides us some variety and I really like that. Plus, it cooks quickly so I can get dinner on the table in a flash.
Save this Recipe
Enter your email address and we will send you this recipe to your mailbox for easy reference! Plus, we will send you our latest recipes every week!
A couple of my family’s favorite chicken meals are Alma June’s Crescent Roll Chicken Bundles and Cast Iron Chicken Marsala. I also like Instant Pot Low-Carb Tuscan Chicken.
If you’re looking for a Mexican meals that include chicken, give Chicken and Bacon Black Bean Enchiladas and 6-Ingredient Baked Chicken Tacos. Ole!
What to love about this recipe –
- Tons of flavor and color.
- A hearty meal, yet low in fat and carbs.
- Feed a family or feed a crowd – this chicken recipe is easily doubled or tripled!
Which ingredients do I need to make Santa Fe Chicken?
- Chicken breasts, thin cut, or sliced in half horizontally if super thick
- Olive oil
- Spices: Chili powder, cumin, kosher salt, pepper
- Sweet bell peppers – red, orange, yellow, or green
- Red onion
- Diced green chilies
- Fresh lemon juice
- Shredded cheddar cheese
How to make this baked chicken casserole in 5 easy steps –
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray.
- Place the chicken breasts onto the baking sheet; drizzle with a bit of olive oil, then season with the spices. Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of each chicken breast is 160-165 degrees F.; keep warm. Don’t overcook or your chicken will be dry and chewy!
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, preheat 1-2 Tbs. olive oil over medium high heat; when the oil is hot, add the bell peppers and onions. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are softened but still vibrant in color; toss with the lemon juice and green chilies.
- Top each chicken breast on the baking sheet with the vegetable mixture, then top with cheese.
- Return the chicken to the oven for 3-5 minutes, or just until the cheese has melted. Serve at once.
Common Questions Asked About This Recipe
Which tools are helpful for making this chicken breast recipe?
- You’ll need a rimmed baking sheet and a skillet for this recipe. I love to use my 12-inch Lodge cast iron skillet for just about everything that I cook on my stove top. Cast iron is inexpensive and it’s heavy so it holds the heat well and cooks evenly. And, they last forever!
- If you want to pound out the chicken breasts so they are thinner (and cook more quickly), a good mallet is super handy. When and if you need to trim some fat from your chicken breasts, a good pair of kitchen shears work the best.
- I really like silicone spatula spoons for stirring ingredients. Once you get used to using this tool, you’ll have a really difficult time ever going back to using a mixing spoon or wooden spoon. My favorite brand of silicone spatula spoons is Le Cruset and they last forever. Love all their colors, too – so dang pretty!
What should I serve with Santa Fe Chicken?
We usually have Mexican rice, seasoned black beans with corn, warm flour or corn tortillas, and salsa.
Can I substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the chicken breasts in this recipe?
Yep and I do so all the time. I love boneless, skinless chicken thighs since they are much more juicy than breasts and also a whole lot cheaper at the grocer.
If I want my chicken breasts to be thinner so they cook faster, how should I do that?
You can use a mallet to pound out a chicken breast so it’s thinner, OR, you can take a nice, sharp knife and slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally.
Either way, you’ve just turned your chicken breasts into chicken cutlets and they will definitely cook much more quickly.
What’s the best way to pound out a chicken breast with a mallet?
Place the chicken breasts, one at a time, in a gallon freezer bag. Using the smooth side of the mallet, proceed to pound of the chicken breasts until it’s the thickness you desire. Use your other hand to feel the breast at you’re pounding it out so you know exactly where you need to pound.
The freezer bag keeps all the splatter inside the bag instead of all over your counter. If you don’t own a mallet, you can always slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally, no problem.
How do I take the internal temperature of the chicken breasts?
- Use an instant-read thermometer to test the internal temperature. Since chicken breasts are rather thin, it’s best to insert the thermometer from the side, making sure you go to the center of the breast.
- After you’ve inserted the instant-read thermometer, you’ll see that after about 10-15 seconds, the dial will stop moving, indicating that’s the internal temperature of the chicken. The ideal and safe internal temperature for cooked chicken breasts if 160-165 degrees F.
- Keep in mind that instant-read thermometers are not designed to remain in the food while it is cooking but rather used near the end of the estimated cooking time to check for the final temperature.
More Favorite Recipes to Enjoy –
- INSTANT POT CHICKEN TENDERS WITH CREAM GRAVY
- TEX MEX CORNBREAD CASSEROLE WITH GROUND BEEF
- JUICY CAST IRON SKILLET STEAK
- LOADED BUBBLE UP CHICKEN POT PIE
- AIR FRYER HONEY-GLAZED SALMON
- BIG ISLAND MOJO PORK TENDERLOIN
Printable Quick and Healthy Santa Fe Chicken Recipe –
Quick and Healthy Santa Fe Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts may substitute 8-10 boneless skinless chicken thighs, if desired
- 3 Tbs. olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 2 sweet bell peppers, seeds and membranes removed, thinly sliced (red, orange, yellow, or green)
- 1 medium red onion, sliced
- 4 oz. can diced fire-roasted green chilies
- 2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese for topping, as desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray.
- Place the chicken breasts onto the baking sheet; drizzle with a bit of olive oil, then season with the spices. Bake the chicken breasts, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of each chicken breast is 160-165 degrees F; keep warm. **Don't overcook or your chicken will be dry and chewy!
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, preheat 1-2 Tbs. olive oil over medium high heat; when the oil is hot, add the bell peppers and onions. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are softened but still vibrant in color; toss with the lemon juice and green chilies.
- Top each chicken breast on the baking sheet with the vegetable mixture, then top with cheese.Return the chicken to the oven for 3-5 minutes, or just until the cheese has melted. Serve at once.
Nutrition
Thanks for visiting! I hope you return soon for more yummy recipes for your family.
We love hearing from our readers and followers, so leave us a comment if you’d like. If you don’t hear back from us shortly, know that we may not have seen your comment. Feel free to reach out to us by email: ChefAlli@ChefAlli.com.
Let’s Get You Cookin’,
Chef Alli
Please Note: We do use referral and affiliate links here for products and services that Chef Alli loves and recommends. I may receive a small compensation when you use these links. This really helps me keep my recipe blog moving forward. Thank you so much!
Yum!!! You can never go wrong with bell peppers , onion and cheese!!!!!