Some of the best meals are often the ones that are the most simple to make. So it is with this Salsa Verde Chicken Bake. There’s very little prep before it goes into the oven, then as it bakes you have time to whip up a few sides and before you know it dinner is done. If you don’t believe me when I say this is easy then just take a look at that list of ingredients – there’s just four so it won’t take you long to read it.
I like that this recipe takes advantage of one of my favorite convenience foods – a can of Herdez salsa verde. Why is it my favorite? Because it packs a whole lot of flavor without any artificial ingredients in those little bitty cans. The fact that those cans are pretty inexpensive doesn’t hurt either.
I was a little nervous when I served this to my kids – they are notoriously picky, and although this is a mighty tasty dish, it does have a bit of a green color. But even so, they both ate it up and even asked for a little extra sauce for their rice. It must be the rich, sweet flavor that comes from roasting the salsa.
In my mind this recipe falls into the comfort meal category. It’s warm and satisfying but still light enough to enjoy on even the hottest summer evening. Which we will, often.
Salsa Verde Chicken Bake
serves 4
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
16 ounces prepared salsa verde (see note below)
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped – optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place chicken breasts in a baking dish so they fit relatively snug. Pour salsa over top of chicken. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Remove baking dish from oven and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Increase temperature to 400 degrees and return chicken to oven. Bake for 5-8 more minutes, or until cheese has melted and sauce is bubbling. The internal temperature should be at 160 degrees. Serve warm over rice.
Recipe from Very Culinary, originally from Simply Recipes
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yummy! It never occurred to me to use the Herdez Salsa Verde like this. I use it whenever the tomatillo is too expensive to make my own. But I usually only use it to make green enchiladas. Thanks for the recipe I will definitely add it to my list of recipes to try.
Would you consider this spicy? My husband cannot eat anything spicy (or peppery, big sigh) I really want to try this, but may need to save it for when he is out town.
The roasting process really mellows the salsa out. If he can eat a very mild green salsa he should have no trouble with this. You might want to try it yourself first though – I’d hate for him to have any trouble with it and its hard to know what someone elses tolerance for spicy is.
I did not want to wait! Made it tonight and loved it, great flavor and super easy!! Husband said it had a little kick but still enjoyed it and would eat it again (woohoo!). Thank you!!
I’m so glad you all liked it! I had my fingers crossed that it wouldn’t be too spicy for your husband! That deserves a big Whoohoo!
This is genius! All the flavors of verde enchiladas but so much easier! We loved this for dinner tonight, even my extremely picky kids. We shredded it into burritos. Fantastic! Thanks!