Caramelized Chicken with Jalapeno Cream.
Good. Because I was going to tell you anyway.
First up.
Chop up some jalapenos and other good stuff. Saute them in a little butter. Don’t stick your face over the pot. That is… unless you want to feel what it’s like for your entire head to burst into flames.
Caramelize some chicken. Yesss…. caramelize it. No secret over here that I like to caramelize, well… everything. I want to caramelize my life.
Then that whole jalapeno saute thing? Turn it into a creamy sauce. A fairly lighter creamy sauce, that is. Yep yep yep. It can be done.
Dump that sauce all over the CARAMELIZED chicken.
Mmmm. Let’s say it again. Caramelize.
Comfort food at it’s finest!
Isn’t that what life is all about? At least mine is.
And don’t worry about this meal being super spicy because frankly – it’s not. Not at all. The jalapenos are seeded and you simply get a touch of heat at the end of each bite. Just a leeeetle tiny bit. The flavor just about punches you in face though, so uh… watch out for that.
Caramelized Chicken with Jalapeno Cream
serves 4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 shallot, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour (any kind will do, I used whole wheat)
1/4 cup low-fat or skim milk
1 12-ounce can fat-free evaporated milk
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
Add chopped jalapenos, shallots and garlic to a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped (not pureed). Set aside.
Tenderize chicken breasts if desired and pat completely dry with paper towels. Season on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon canola oil. Once the oil is hot, add chicken breasts (make sure they are COMPLETELY DRY) and cook for about 8-10 minutes per side, until each side is caramelized and golden. If needed, use the remaining canola oil when flipping the chicken.
While the chicken is cooking, heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add butter. Once sizzling, add in the chopped jalapeno mixture, stirring to coat, and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once fragrant (do NOT put your face directly over the jalapenos!), whisk in flour and stir continuously to create a roux. Cook mixture for 1-2 minutes, then add in milks, reducing the heat to medium-low. Continue to stir continuously until mixture begins to thicken (about 6-8 minutes), adding in parmesan cheese and reducing the heat even more. Once the desired thickness has been reached, turn off heat. Stir every so often – it may thicken even more while sitting – and you can add additional milk to thin it out if needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
Serve chicken over rice, vegetables or pasta and top with jalapeno cream. This reheated beautifully for us!
Note: I got the idea to try out evaporated milk from Pam’s recent video post!Â
P.S. you can’t even imagine how amazing that rice up there gets with the cream and stuff… oh mylanta.
221 Comments on “Caramelized Chicken with Jalapeno Cream.”
This chicken looks amazing. I am going to try it out for my husband. He would love it!
Heaven help me this looks delicious!!! I can’t wait to try this soon! It is a definite must-make!!!
haha ohmylanta! love it!
I’m with you – LOVE caramelized anything. The sauce sounds top-notch!
I just started toying with the idea of subbing ff evaporated milk for cream in recipes…you now have me convinced! yum!
Oh. Oh my. My mouth just filled with drool. FULL. OF. DROOL. YUM!
If you don’t mind my asking, what kind of camera do you use??
Nikon D5000!
This reminds me of jalapeno poppers for some reason….and now I’m hungry.
Omg!! I am going to have to make this for dinner this week :)
How often do you update your recipe index? Because I find recipes through your facebook then like 2 weeks later I try to search through your recipe index and they are not listed.
PS: I LOVE your blog<3
Thanks Kristen! Ugh, I’m really bad at updating it. I wish there was a way it automatically did it. I usually update every two weeks or so if I fall behind. Some things can be named weird tho, like if I made “crunchy chicken fingers” people usually only remember that it’s chicken and look under chicken and can’t find them. So if there is something that you can’t find, leave me a quick comment or email and I will send you the link!
YUM! Looking forward to making this dish! I like a meal that packs a good punch of flavor. ;-)
I made this tonight. It was delicious! It didn’t look as pretty as yours but it tasted super yummy.
This looks amazing. I’ve definitely got to try this one. Pinning it.
Now this looks like a great chicken dish! This is going to be tomorrows dinner. I can’t wait! I love jalapeno anything. Jessica, I think you out did yourself! I can’t wait for lunch left overs!!!
Oh gosh that looks wonderful!! And I would like not to have my face burst into flames, thank you very much!
looks so yummy!!!
What a great dish and would that be under a Crate and Barrel stitch plate as well that was on sale a few weeks ago?? :) Great pics!
I definitely have to book mark this for my fiance. I’m a vegetarian and he eats meat. I get a lot of inspiration for meat dishes from you. FYI, your roasted chicken is to die for (so says that fiance of mine and his dad).
MMMMMM bring it on!! caramlized anything and I am there…seriously
OH.MEH.GOD! Made this for dinner tonight..HAD TO!! My fiance and I were moaning and groaning through the entire thing! It was uh-mazing!! I will definitely share this!!Fabulous creation, as ALWAYS!! Thank you !
xo
I think I just died and went to heaven!
I think this sounds and looks fabulous! I love good chicken dishes and it appears like it would be an easy weeknight fix. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I use pinterest to bookmark my recipes. You’re pinned.
OMG that looks amazing. I’m going to try making that next week. Another great looking recipe!
Holy crap, that sounds amazing! I’ll be making this one night this week for sure.
Just so you know, I made this last night for dinner. Instead of adding Parmesan, I added about a cup of shredded Cheddar.
I’ve never seen my husband cry like that before…
INCREDIBLE!
I will definitely be trying this out tomorrow or later this week. Only thing is I really don’t want to go out and buy evaporated milk. Can it be substituted with anything or should I put my “big girl” pants on and go out to the store?
Yep – you can use regular milk. If you end up using all skim though, it might not thicken very much. But it should still taste good!
Hehe, sounds like you discovered not to stick your face over the pan the hard way. :)
OMG that looks so amazing!!! I think I will be making it this weekend!!! But I dont know if I can wait! I love jalapenos, may have to keep some seeds in there!!! Your recipes are amazing!!! Thank you tons!!
Mmm, I can almost smell that chicken in the pan.
PS. I’ve totally made the mistake of sticking my face over the pot when cooking chilis. Also when blending up lots of chilis in a food processor. Makes my nose itch!!
I made this last night and let me tell you, EVERYONE NEEDS TO MAKE THIS ASAP! Best chicken dish I’ve had in years. SO good, I can’t stop thinking about it. Basically I wanted to drink the sauce, but instead I’ll just put it on everything I come across. AMAZING.
Not to be a giant buzz-kill, but does anybody have a guesstimate as to Weight Watcher points? Sorry. This looks fabulous and I’m making it tonight for sure:)
Wow girl I don’t know where you learned to cook but your amazing! Side note…I don’t get the bachelor at all either…I just can’t get into this season.
if my husband read your blogs, he’d be asking me to make ALL your recipes.
Thank you for sharing! This looks delicious, can’t wait to try the recipe!
Would it be alright if I used those pickled jalapenos from the jar instead of fresh?
I am unfamiliar with them as I’ve never used them, but I think they’d be fine!
I made a version of this tonight, subbing green chiles for the jalapenos, since it wouldn’t require a trip to the store. Absolutely in love, and glad there is enough sauce to have with biscuits tomorrow! Great recipe!!!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was excellent. But my sauce didn’t look like yours, mine was yellow looking. I hope it’s ok, I wanted to share the recipe on my blog. But my pictures of the chicken were not pretty at all, but it was so good! So I showed them a picture of yours and told them to go to your site and told them it was your picture.
I made this tonight and my husband was beyond impressed. I decided to add in a third jalapeno, and unfortunately didn’t read the instructions…i didn’t take out the seeds!! Let’s just say, there was a whole lotta heat in that cream sauce! But, as I said, my husband was in love.
Pingback: It’s not summer, but I have Summer Squash | Peanut Butter and Peppers
I tried this last night…it was great! Although mine didn’t look as pretty as yours. And the rice…OH YEAH BABY!
I made the carmelized chicken with jalapeno cream sauce last night and O.M.G.
So delish! My daughter and i loved it! I *might* have licked the plate clean. :)
Thank you so much for the recipe!!!
I tried this last night with serranos instead of jalapenos (both for a little extra kick and because my grocery store was shamefully out of jalapenos) and it was absolutely delicious. Caramelizing that chicken was the perfect excuse to break in my new cast iron skillet.
Sounds so good with the rice. I’m bookmarking this post! Looks just delicious.
made this last night, and my husband says it’s awesome! my head was all stuffed up, so i couldn’t really taste it. i’m hoping to be able to taste it tonight. and i have pretzels, so can’t wait to try those dipped in the sauce like someone commented above. i love the texture of the chicken cooked like this, and i had everything except the jalapenos and the shallot. thanks for being so freaking awesome jessica. you. complete. me.
I made it for dinner and it was DELISH! So fantastic! I didn’t have fresh jalapenos or shallots so I subbed pickled jalapenos (14 rings) and some onion flakes…worked out fine!
Caramelized chicken? Really? That’s pan fried chicken. That’s like calling toast grilled bread.
As soon as I saw this I ran downstairs lap top in hand and started cooking. It came out amazing, my family loved it! Can’t wait to make more of your recipes :) Thank you!
It does sound good, but it’s not caramelized chicken. Given the fact that you’re working with a protein and not incorporating any additional sugar, you’re technically more in line with the Maillard reaction.
Say it again– CARAMELIZED: Caramelization (British English: caramelisation) is the browning of sugar, a process used extensively in cooking for the resulting nutty flavor and brown color. As the process occurs, volatile chemicals are released, producing the characteristic caramel flavor.
Like the Maillard reaction, caramelization is a type of non-enzymatic browning. However, unlike the Maillard reaction, caramelization is pyrolysis, as opposed to reaction with amino acids.
Just to clarify, I’m sorry that came off sounding like a jerk-bag. It sounds great, I was just feeling inclined to a semantic battle I guess. Just don’t punch me too hard with the citrus. :p
These look delicious !Thank you!
i think my husband may fall in love with me all over again if i make this for him.
ps: don’t you love using evap milk for creamy sauces?!? it’s the best! it’s my secret ingredient in most “cream” soups, too.