Queso Smothered Chicken

Queso-smothered chicken is a delicious and easy-to-make dish that will please both your taste buds and your stomach. To make it, start by cooking chicken breasts in a skillet until they are golden brown and cooked through.

Have you ever heard of Lawry's marinades? They can be super good marinaded with chicken or seafood during the Summer. Empty bottle into a ziplock bag a long with whatever choice of protein you used. Then grill it. The thing about those marinades is how much salt is in them. According to their website, 1 tablespoon has 350 mg of sodium! That is crazy.

The whole bottle probably has like 10,000 mg of sodium. I decided to give myself a challenge and make my own version of Lawry's Baja Marinade.  Hardly any salt is used and your heart will thank you! Add the ingredients to a ziplock bag and then the chicken breast. It can marinate overnight or up to hours. The longer it sits the better the chicken gets.

If you like chicken recipes please try Slow Cooker Crack Chicken, Chicken Tortilla Rollups, or Air Fryer Parmesan Chicken.

Ingredients Needed

• Olive oil - Look for olive oils that are labeled as extra virgin, cold-pressed, and unfiltered for the highest quality.
• Chicken stock fat-free - The best type of stock to use is one that is homemade. For canned stock, I look for ones that say reduced sodium or fat free.
• Chili powder - Is a blend of mixed red chilis that have been dried up and pulverized until it resembles powder. Sometimes other spices like cumin and paprika.
• Smoked paprika - is a spice made from ground, dried fruits of Capsicum annuum, a type of pepper plant. It is typically sweet and mild, but can also have a slightly bitter or spicy taste depending on the variety used.
• Cumin - is a member of the parsley family. It is a dried seed that is made from a plant called Cuminum cyminum.
• Onion powder - is dehydrated, ground onion that is commonly used as a seasoning. Some people do not like the taste of freshly chopped onion so onion powder is a great substitute if you have a picky eater like that in your house. 
• Garlic powder -  is made from dehydrated garlic cloves and like the chili powder above it gets pulverized into a powder or flour consistency.
• Lime - This adds a nice burst of citrus flavor to the marinade to help enhance the choice of protein. Use freshly squeezed over bottled juice. 
• Chicken Breasts - They’re lean and quick-cooking and always come out juicy and tender. Use an instant-read thermometer to make sure that the chicken is not over cooked.  When reading labels for chicken breasts try to find ones that say Organic or Free Range. 
• Orzo Pasta - is a short cut pasta shaped like long grain rice.
• Tostitos Medium Con Queso Sauce - No substitutes for this, this is unless you want to make your own queso sauce. I just really like this stuff.
• See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

How to make Queso Smothered Chicken

Step 1: Mix all the ingredients for the chicken marinade in a bowl or in a zip lock bag. Place the chicken inside the marinade and let it sit for 30 minutes or overnight. I didn't have any zip lock bags just used a bowl.

Step 2: You can grill the chicken or cook the chicken in the oven. I cooked mine in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Then I let the chicken rest for 5 minutes. To grill the chicken, set your grill to high heat between 400 to 600 degrees and cook the chicken on each side for 5 minutes.

Step 3: While the chicken is cooking, make the orzo pasta. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan and add in the uncooked orzo. Stir the orzo around in the olive oil for a bit so that it gets toasted. Be careful not to let it burn. Pour in the chicken stock and let the chicken stock cook for 8 minutes. Add in tomato paste and seasoning. The water should be absorbed when the orzo is done.

Step 4: Serve the chicken with the orzo and top with scallions, diced Roma tomatoes, and queso dip. Enjoy! Serving Size: ½ cup orzo + chicken breast and 2 tablespoons of queso

Sometimes I leave the chicken whole as it is in the picture on top or I'll dice the chicken in strips.

Once the chicken is done cooking and the orzo pasta, place the chicken on top along with some queso cheese sauce. I really like Tostitos Medium Con Queso cheese sauce. 2 tablespoons is only 1 smart point on WW. Depending on whether or not I have the ingredients, I will make a pico de gallo to go on top. If not, just use whatever tomatoes you have on hand. This is one of the most delicious dinners I've ever made!

Other Recipes To Try

If you tried this  Queso Smothered Chicken  orany other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Follow along on Tiktok @jennarecipediaries

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Queso Smothered Chicken

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review

• Author: Jenna
• Prep Time: 30min
• Cook Time: 20min
• Total Time: 50min
• Yield: 6 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Grill
• Cuisine: Mexican

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Description

Seasoned grilled chicken smothered in queso sauce and served with orzo

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the marinade

• 2 tsp of olive oil
• ¼ cup of chicken stock fat-free
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder
• 1 tsp of smoked paprika
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of onion powder
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• juice of 1 lime
• 3 medium chicken breasts split in half lengthwise

Orzo pasta

• 1 cup of orzo
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 2 cups of low sodium chicken stock
• 2 tsp of Mrs Dash Chipotle Seasoning blend
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste (no salt added)

Toppings

• 1 jar of Tostitos Medium Queso Cheese Sauce
• 2 or 3 medium scallions, chopped
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced.

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

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Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients for the chicken marinade in a bowl or in a zip lock bag. Place the chicken inside the marinade and let it sit for 30 minutes or overnight.
2. You can grill the chicken or cook the chicken in the oven. I cooked mine in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Then I let the chicken rest for 5 minutes. To grill the chicken, set your grill to high heat between 400 to 600 degrees and cook the chicken on each side for 5 minutes.
3. While the chicken is cooking, make the orzo pasta. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan and add in the uncooked orzo. Stir the orzo around in the olive oil for a bit so that it gets toasted. Be careful not to let it burn. Pour in the chicken stock and let the chicken stock cook for 8 minutes. Add in tomato paste and seasoning. The water should be absorbed when the orzo is done.
4. Serve the chicken with the orzo and top with scallions, diced Roma tomatoes, and queso dip. Enjoy!
5.  Serving Size: ½ cup orzo + chicken breast and 2 tablespoons of queso

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Notes

MyWW points: Blue: 5; Green: 9; Purple: 5

 ½ cup orzo + chicken breast and 2 tablespoons of queso

Points are calculated with the WW recipe builder app and not using the nutrition info. 

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1
• Calories: 467
• Sugar: 2
• Sodium: 181mg
• Fat: 27
• Saturated Fat: 7
• Carbohydrates: 13G
• Fiber: 2G
• Protein: 45mg