Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken

US & Canada cookbook release day! 🇺🇸🇨🇦

YES, the day has finally arrived – my cookbook hits the stores across the US and Canada!!! For those of you who pre-ordered, you get to enjoy the luxury of Dinner being delivered right to your doorstep. I can’t wait to hear and see what you make first (tag me on Instagram), what you think of the recipes, my photos and whether there is too much or too little Dozer & cheese throughout the book. Drop your thoughts in today’s recipe, I want to know!

Let’s celebrate: Jalapeño popper stuffed chicken!

I wanted to share something celebratory to mark the occasion but it didn’t feel sensible to post party food on a Wednesday. So instead, I did the next best thing – a recipe that turns a party food favourite into dinner. 😂 Introducing: Jalapeño popper stuffed chicken! To those who are unfamiliar with the wonderful world of jalapeño poppers, let me describe it to you. You basically take a jalapeño, stuff it with a flavoured cream cheese, then either crumb and fry it or (for those trying to take the high road), bake it. In short – they are spicy, cheesy, warm little bundles of goodness. An all-rounder appetiser favourite and especially in high demand on game day! So today, we’re taking everything we love about jalapeño poppers and stuffing it inside chicken breast to turn it into dinner. It’s like chicken breast with an oozy cheesy sauce with a little warm buzz from the jalapeño. SO GOOD!

What you need for jalapeño popper stuffed chicken

Not that many ingredients!

The filling

Jalapeños – You will need 2 whole jalapeños to get good jalapeño flavour in the filling and a warm buzz. The jalapeño is spicier when raw than it is once cooked in this dish. This is because the spiciness in the jalapeño spreads throughout the filling as it bakes which reduces the spiciness of the jalapeño itself.For a non-spicy option use green capsicum/bell pepper instead. Do the best you can to finely mince it like I do the jalapeño. Cream cheese – This acts as the binder and is our shortcut ingredient for the stuffing. We only need 60g/2oz which is about 1/4 of a standard 250g/8oz block so you can make this recipe 4 times! (You’ll want to 😊) Cheeses – Mozzarella for cheesy ooze and parmesan for salt + flavour. Feel free to substitute the mozzarella for another type of melty cheese. Garlic powder – For earthy garlic flavour. Substitute with fresh garlic.

The seasoned chicken

Just a touch of paprika is all we use to flavour the chicken. We really don’t need much because the jalapeño popper filling does the heavy lifting in this dish! For a non-spicy option use green capsicum/bell pepper instead. Do the best you can to finely mince it like I do the jalapeño.

How to make jalapeño popper stuffed chicken

Don’t fret about the stuffing and sealing part. Oozage is good. In fact, the melty bits with the crispy edges in the pan are the best part!

TIP: Leave the smooth edge intact, cut through the other edge. Looks neater and holds the filling in better. Did you stuff up the pocket? I’ve stuffed it up plenty of times! Don’t fret, just use toothpicks to seal tears on the base/surface/sides. And don’t worry about filling oozing out into the pan when it bakes. There’s always some ooze, it never stays in completely, it’s just a question of how much oozes. If you have a lots of ooze, just scoop it up and put it on your chicken. (Also, I promise to try very hard not to use the word “ooze” again for the rest of this post!). Got filling bursting out through the seams? LUCKY YOU! Imagine it when it’s all melty in the pan and crispy golden edges. The jalapeño stuffed chicken breast is pictured with a handful of rocket/arugula and cherry tomatoes tossed with my Everyday Salad Dressing. Because I was so caught up making sure I captured the perfect cheese ooze I forgot to prepare sides for the photo! If I had been more prepared, I probably would have added cauliflower mash or mashed potato on the side along with simple garlic green beans. A seasoned butter rice would also be a great starch option and for many more salad/vegetable sides, head here and browse my vegetable! But what do you think? What would you serve it with? Bread for mopping, pasta, rice, beans? Love reading your ideas. – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

My other stuffed chicken

I’m surprised I only have these – I was sure I had more!

Life of Dozer

My publisher sent me the most gigantic bunch of flowers I’ve ever seen to celebrate the US/Can publication of my cookbook! Dozer did a thorough check to see if there was anything in there for him.