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Spicy Chicken Sauté with Jalapeño

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LIZ DELLA CROCE

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Tender chicken breast cubes are sautéed with garlic, onion, and tomatoes. Thinly sliced jalapeños add a spicy kick that mellows when cooked.

Spicy chicken sauté with jalapeño on a plate.

Summer is ending and school is beginning; autumn is right around the corner. And with the return of that autumn chill, there’s nothing like a nice, spicy recipe to warm you up. This chicken sauté, with delicious caramelized onions and a kick from the jalapeño, is sure to do just that.

Ingredients

  • Chicken Breast: Chicken is one of the most versatile proteins, and healthier for your heart and body than red meats.
  • Jalapeño: The most commonly found chili pepper in American cuisine, it adds a great kick to any meal, but mellows out really nicely when cooked.
  • Garlic: One of my favorite ingredients to cook with, garlic somehow maintains a strong aroma and taste of its own, while helping to bring out the strong flavors of the ingredients it is cooked with.
  • Onion: I used a white onion in this recipe, as it is the mildest and you don’t need too much extra kick when cooking with jalapeños.
  • Tomato: Cooking with a freshly diced tomato brightens the dish while adding much needed moisture, creating a saucy feel.
  • Cilantro: The perfect topper to any spicy dish, the fresh green adds color and flavor to the dish, although it can be substituted with other fresh herbs.

How to make Spicy Chicken Sauté with Jalapeño

Liz cutting her chicken into cubes.

The first thing you’ll want to do for your Spicy Chicken Sauté with Jalapeño is cut your chicken into cubes. Cutting your chicken before sautéing not only reduces cooking time, it also helps your chicken cook more evenly.

Sauteing chicken in a pan

Slowly add it to your pan and after cooking for 7-8 minutes, it’ll be all browned up.

Plated sauteed chicken

Once the chicken is done cooking, remove it and set aside. Don’t worry about keeping your chicken warm, we’ll be adding it back to the pan later.

Liz cutting an onion

When adding ingredients in quick succession, I like to prepare them all before cooking.  For this spicy sauté, that includes thinly slicing an onion and jalapeño, mincing your garlic, and dicing a tomato. Whenever onion is involved, I cut it last so that I can get it into the pan cooking as quickly as possible. This helps prevent stinging eyes and crying.

Liz cutting a jalapeno

People all react differently to the capsaicin oil in jalapeños, but it has the potential to leave a lingering burning sensation on your skin. I like to be safe rather than sorry, so I keep single use plastic gloves on hand specifically for when I cook with jalapeños.

Sautéing onions with jalapeños and garlic.

Add the onion, jalapeño, and garlic to your still hot pan and sauté for about 5 minutes . I love how sautéing really brings out the flavors and blends everything together, and cooking the jalapeño helps mellow out the kick. If you’re still concerned about the level of spice– whether for you or some little ones– be sure to remove all of the seeds and the pith (the lighter, middle section) from your jalapeños before adding them to the pan.

Onion jalapeno and tomato sauteing

Next you’ll add your diced tomato, seasoning with some salt and pepper, and let it cook for a couple more minutes.

Adding chicken back to pan

Stir the chicken back in and let it warm up. With that, you’re basically done! If you’re a fan of cilantro, sprinkle some on top once you’ve served your dish.

Cooking spicy chicken sauté with jalapeño.

Frequently Asked Questions:

I don’t like cilantro, what else can I use?

If you don’t like the taste of cilantro, Italian parsley is a great substitute in any recipe.

How do I store my leftovers?

Kept in an airtight container, your spicy chicken sauté will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge.

My family isn’t a huge fan of spicy food, can I still make this?

Of course! Jalapeño is one of the most commonly used peppers, and is still found in lots of mild dishes. Like I mentioned above, make sure you fully remove the seeds and pith to keep the spice mild.

Complimentary Side Dishes

More Spicy Dishes to Try

Can’t get enough of the heat? I have plenty of spicy recipes for you to try, but to get you started, here are some of my favorites:

Spicy chicken saute with jalapeno

Whether you love the spicy kick of a jalapeño, or are a bit intimidated by it, this recipe can be a hit. My friend–who typically doesn’t like spicy food–cleared his plate easily. While he still felt the heat, it wasn’t overpowering to his palate. Give it a try yourself!

Liz enjoying spicy chicken sauté with jalapeño.

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Spicy chicken saute with jalapeno

Spicy Chicken Sauté with Jalapeño

4.82 stars average
Liz Della Croce
Tender chicken breast cubes are sautéed with garlic, onion, and tomatoes. Thinly sliced jalapeños add a spicy kick that mellows when cooked.
PREP: 10 minutes
COOK: 15 minutes
TOTAL: 25 minutes
Pin
Servings4

Ingredients
 

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 20 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts (cubed)
  • salt and pepper (to taste)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 medium onion (thinly sliced )
  • 1 jalapeño (thinly sliced )
  • 1 large tomato (diced)
  • ¼ cup cilantro (minced (or fresh herb of choice))

Instructions
 

  • Sprinkle chicken cubes with salt and pepper evenly on both sides; set aside.
    20 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, salt and pepper
  • Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Add the seasoned chicken to the pan and sauté until browned, about 7-8 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from pan; set aside.
    1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • To the hot pan, add the onion slices, jalapeño and garlic. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and sauté until tender and slightly caramelized, about 5-6 minutes stirring frequently. Add tomatoes to the pan and season with another pinch of salt and pepper. Continue sautéing until tomatoes are softened, about 3-4 additional minutes.
    2 cloves garlic, 1 medium onion, 1 jalapeño, 1 large tomato
  • Return chicken and any residual juices to the pan and stir well. Heat until chicken is warmed through, about 3-4 minutes. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Garnish with fresh herbs before serving.
    1/4 cup cilantro

Last Step:

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Liz’s Notes

To keep mild, remove seeds and pith from the jalapeño.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 215kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 169mg | Potassium: 692mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 527IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg

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4.82 from 11 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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8 responses to “Spicy Chicken Sauté with Jalapeño”

  1. Ashley Avatar
    Ashley

    This is a go to dinner for us! We have it at least twice a month! So yummy and super easy! We serve over rice and it’s delicious! Thank you!!

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      It makes me so happy to hear you enjoy it enough to eat it so often, thank you!

  2. C Avatar
    C

    I FOLLOWED your recipe. It’s very good. Thank you

  3. Beka Avatar
    Beka

    Very good. I spread over penne pasta w/ a cream cheese/ pepper jack sause to cut a little of the heat. Delicious. Thank you!

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Oh that sounds delicious, I’ll have to try it!

  4. Ashley Avatar
    Ashley

    This is sooooo yummy! My husband and I enjoy it almost every week! Thanks for posting!

  5. rita Avatar
    rita

    i decided to make this to get ridding the oil and making it in the slow cooker overnight and have fork tender chicken
    flavors still good

  6. Bryant Avatar
    Bryant

    I used toasted sesame oil instead of olive and added turmeric, garlic power, ginger powder to the chicken. Unbelievably good will be cooking often