Chicken Jalapeno Popper Dip

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Servings: people

Author: Sam Maccini

Equipment

8inch baking dish or crockpot

Ingredients

¾ lb chicken breast
12 oz jalapeños
8 oz cream cheese softened
2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup ranch
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt
¾ cup Panko bread crumbs
2 tbs unsalted butter melted
optional: jalapeño slices for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°
Bake jalapeños: On a baking sheet or cast iron, add whole jalapeños. Bake 15 minutes or until browning or charring on both sides. Every 3-5 minutes, shake baking pan to flip some of the jalapeños. Once browned & charred, remove from oven. They will collapse as they begin to cool.
Boil & Shred the Chicken: While jalapeños broil, make chicken. Fill sauce pot ¾ full with salted water. Bring to a boil. Add large chicken breast or chicken breast pieces and let it come to a boil again for 2-3 minutes. Turn heat to low and simmer 10-12 minutes or until chicken breast is cooked through. Remove from water & shred with two forks. Alternatively (and my favorite method): add chicken to a mixing bowl and shred with hand mixer or stand mixer.
Chop Jalapeños: Slice off and discard stems of jalapeños. Peel away any very peely, papery skin. Chop jalapeños. For extra hot, leave in all of the seeds. (I like to slice each jalapeño in half first and discard the seeds from half of the jalapeños because I can be a baby about heat!). Leave a whole roasted jalapño aside for garnish.
Make Dip: In a large mixing bowl add shredded chicken, softened cream cheese, shredded pepper jack cheese, sour cream, ranch, garlic powder, salt & chopped jalapeños (totally fine if they are still warm). Mix together until evenly distributed.
Bake Dip: Add mixture to 8 or 9 inch baking dish. Bake 15 minutes until bubbling around the edges. Stir. Should be melty and cheesy!
Broil with Breadcrumbs: Mix melted butter with panko bread crumbs. Stir until melted butter is mostly dissolved. Sprinkle over the top of the dip. Broil on low 2-5 minutes until toasty and golden brown. Garnish with slices of jalapeño - raw or roasted!
Crockpot Instructions: Broil or bake jalapeños following the same instructions as step 2. Chop them as in step 4. Add raw chicken and the rest of the ingredients (including roasted, chopped jalapenos) to a crock pot. Cook on low 3-4 hours until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken pieces and shred OR alternatively, use a hand mixer and shred chicken inside the crockpot with the rest of the ingredients (this is my favorite way).

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