Calling all Chili’s lovers! This Chili’s copycat recipe tastes like the real deal without you having to take one step out of your kitchen to enjoy it!
The tender chicken breasts are seasoned and baked, smothered in a tangy barbecue sauce and shredded Monterey cheese and then baked again before topped with juicy tomatoes, crisp bacon, and chopped green onions.
Enjoy this chicken Monterey straight out of the oven with your favorite side dish for a midweek family meal or special dinner.
Jump to:
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- It’s no harder to make than standard sauteed chicken, yet it tastes just like Chili’s Monterey Chicken!
- A budget-friendly meal made with simple ingredients.
- It’s low in carbs and gluten-free. Perfect for anyone watching their calories or catering to food allergies.
Make this restaurant-quality Monterey Chicken in the comfort of your kitchen as a hearty and flavor-packed family meal or dinner to impress your guests.
🛒 Ingredients
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are in the recipe card below.
- chicken breasts -- use boneless and skinless
- seasonings: dried parsley, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
- barbecue sauce -- use whatever kind you like.
- Monterey Jack-- may use other cheese if you prefer
- Roma tomatoes -- diced
- bacon -- chopped and cooked
- green onions (scallions) -- sliced
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Cover the chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound the thick sections to flatten them slightly.
- Combine the seasoning in a small bowl.
- Mix well.
- Place chicken breasts in a lightly greased 9x13-inch oven safe pan and sprinkle the seasoning evenly over the chicken breasts.
- Bake the chicken for 15 minutes at 425F.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and brush each piece with barbecue sauce.
- Top with grated cheese.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the internal temperature of the chicken is 165F.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and place on a serving tray.
- Garnish each chicken breast with tomatoes, crispy bacon, and green onions.
🔪 Equipment
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- Baking dish
- Measuring spoons
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making the Chicken Monterey recipe.
Monte Carlo Chicken is battered chicken breast that’s been pan-fried and topped with bell peppers, sliced tomato, mushrooms, black olives, and grated cheddar cheese. The chicken is baked in the oven until the cheese has melted.
“Pechuga” means poultry breast in Spanish. Pechuga Monterey refers to chicken breast that is cooked in the same way as this Monterey chicken dish.
There are about 17 grams of carbs per serving in this delicious chicken recipe. This can increase if you choose to serve a carb-rich side dish with this chicken.
Smothered chicken is typically very saucy - perfect to serve with foods such as rice, mashed potato, and couscous to soak up all the delicious liquid.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- You can use a rolling pin or a mallet to pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness. Pounding meat ensures even cooking.
- Covering the chicken with plastic wrap to pound is good kitchen hygiene practice.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken before serving. It should register 165F to be safe to eat.
- Spraying the baking dish with non-stick cooking spray helps to prevent the boneless chicken breast from sticking. You can also lightly grease the dish with olive oil.
- Use chicken breasts of similar size for even cooking.
📚 Variations
- Use boneless chicken thighs instead of boneless skinless chicken breasts. Turkey breast is another option.
- Colby Jack is a great substitute for Monterey Jack cheese. You can also use Cheddar cheese, Pepper Jack, or Muenster.
- Add an extra kick of heat to this easy recipe by incorporating chili powder into the seasoning mixture.
- Use turkey bacon instead of regular bacon.
- Use store-bought or homemade bbq sauce.
🥫 Storage
Store leftover Monterey chicken bake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Remove the tomatoes and green onions before freezing, as these toppings will turn mushy from freezing and thawing.
Reheat leftover Monterey chicken in the oven, covered with aluminum foil, to prevent the chicken from drying out. Thaw frozen chicken in the fridge before reheating.
📗 Related Recipes
- Chicken Parmigiana - This Italian-American dish celebrates tender chicken breasts in marinara sauce and a baked cheese topping - perfect over pasta!
- Marry Me Chicken - The name of this chicken dish hardly needs any explanation! It consists of juicy chicken breasts cooked in a garlic sun-dried tomato and parmesan cheese cream sauce.
- Tuscan Creamy Tomato Chicken - Another low-carb family meal made with rich and creamy tomato sauce with wilted kale and melted Parmesan cheese that infuses into tender chicken breasts.
🍽 Serve with
Enjoy this Monterey chicken dinner with rice, couscous, parmesan roasted broccoli, or a crispy green salad.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
When I sampled this chicken at Chili's I couldn't believe how delicious delicious this mouthwatering dish was and I knew I had to duplicate it. Since enjoying it the first time, it's become a regular on our menu rotation.
We love this chicken recipe so much that we've made it several times for family and guests. Each time we make it we get requests for the recipe. So beware and be prepared to be deluged with requests for this recipe.
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
This Monterey Chicken is packed with flavor from a combination of tender chicken breasts, sweet and tangy barbecue sauce, melty cheese, crispy bacon, fresh tomato slices and chopped green onions.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Copycat Chili's Monterey Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken Seasoning:
- 4 chicken breasts boneless & skinless boneless and skinless about 1.5-2 lb
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Monterey Chicken:
- ½ cup barbecue sauce
- 1 ⅔ cups Monterey Jack shredded but may substitute
- ⅔ cup Fresh Roma or Plum tomatoes diced
- 3 slices bacon chopped and cooked until crispy
- 3 green onions sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and lightly grease a 9x13" casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound the thick end with a rolling pin or meat mallet to flatten slightly. This will ensure the chicken cooks more evenly.
- Combine seasoning: parsley, salt, garlic powder, paprika, pepper, and onion powder. Sprinkle evenly over chicken breasts and place in the prepared dish.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
Assembling Monterey Chicken:
- Remove chicken from the oven (it won't be done -- that's okay). Brush with barbecue sauce and top with cheese.
- Return to the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes. Let the cheese melt and bake until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F when checked with a meat thermometer.
- Top with tomatoes, crispy bacon, and green onions before serving.
Notes
Freezing: you can easily prep this recipe ahead and freeze it. I recommend freezing it after it is baked, then thawing completely in the refrigerator before reheating it according to the instructions above. Keep in mind that the tomatoes will soften considerably if frozen.
Comments
No Comments