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    Home > Mexican Southwest Recipes > Spicy Mexican Chicken Zarape

    Spicy Mexican Chicken Zarape

    Published: Oct 10, 2019 · Modified: Oct 29, 2022 by Lea Ann Brown · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Spicy Mexican Chicken bacon wrapped and served with yellow rice

    Spicy Mexican Chicken Breast. Drenched in a sweet and spicy Chipotle Cream Sauce and topped with a zesty tomato salsa. This one pan cast iron chicken breast recipe, makes an easy, no fuss, chicken dinner that presents itself a bit on the fancy side.

    Chicken breast wrapped in bacon topped with a tomato salsa served over yellow mexican rice

    Inspiration for Chicken Zarape

    This spicy Mexican chicken breast recipe is one I’ve been wanting to make for about five years now. It’s from notes that I wrote down at a Mexican Restaurant here in Denver where I was served this dish.

    The restaurant has since gone out of business but this Mexican chicken recipe lives on in my kitchen.

    And having discovered Costco Bacon (delicious by the way) and given the amount I had to purchase, I’ve been on a bit of a chicken with bacon kick lately.

    This is a recipe that I enjoyed several times and vowed to make in my own kitchen. What took me so long? I have no excuse really. Perhaps I finally grew tired of looking at its name staring back at me on the culinary list I’ve titled, “Must Make Soon”.

    Once I made the commitment last week to actually dive in and prepare this Mexican spiced chicken,

    I have to admit it took some planning. As simple as it sounds, I needed to come up with a way to make it easy for us home cooks. After all we don’t have all that restaurant equipment to push out perfectly planned chicken breast meals at the blink of an eye.

    Culinary School taught me that restaurant use sous vide machines and commercial toaster/broiler ovens like a Salamander to finish dishes. A cast iron skillet and our home oven will replace those. And, by the way, if I had room I’d love to have my own personal Salamander. Loved that machine.

    Recipe Development Tips From Ina

    My theory for bringing recipes to life, stems from my mantra. WWID. What would Ina do?

    I saw Ina Garten speak last year, and I took her advice for recipe development very seriously. As soon as a recipe comes out of Ina’s test kitchen, her and her crew always ask themselves, “How could this recipe be better?” A recipe may go through several test batches before deemed suitable to share with her fans.

    This spicy chicken breast recipe took about 30 dirtied pans and three trips to our dinner table before I felt the method I had chosen was the best route.

    Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breast

    Once I decided my cast iron skillet and my oven was the key to the success of this recipe, the rest of a breeze. Here’s the route to take for a no-full chicken dinner:

    • Make the Creamy Chipotle Sauce and set aside.
    • Make the tomato salsa. Chop a few orange and red small tomatoes. Add a bit of fine chopped jalapeno pepper and chopped onion, and a splash of red wine vinegar. A sprinkle of salt and pepper and set aside.
    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    • Wrap two sliced of bacon around two boneless skinless chicken breasts in a criss-cross pattern.
    • Heat your cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add one tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is shimmering add the bacon wrapped chicken breasts.
    • Add them with the criss-crossed side of the bacon facing up.
    • Once the breasts have browned, using tongs, turn them over and sea the other side.
    • Move the skillet to the oven and cook about 25 minutes, or until instant read thermometer reads an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
    • In the meantime, prepare rice.
    • To plate, add a good scoop of rice to each plate. Snuggle that chicken breast up against the rice. Spoon a good amount of the Creamy Chipotle Sauce over each chicken breast and top with a spoonful of the tomato salsa mixture.

    Simple and oh so flavorful.

    Recipe For Spicy Mexican Chicken Breast with Creamy Chipotle Sauce

    Spicy Mexican Chicken breast wrapped in bacon served with yellow rice and garnished with cilantro. Topped with lemon cream sauce and chopped tomatoes.

    I hope you give this Mexican Chicken Breast Recipe a try, and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating and leave a comment about your experience with the recipe.

    And if you have a favorite spicy Mexican chicken recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.

    More Mexican Chicken Breast Recipes

    • Chorizo Chile Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast
    • Crispy Roasted Yucatan Chicken Breast
    • Toasted Pueblo Chile Chicken Sandwich
    • Chicken in Tangy Escabeche
    • Ancho Chile Lime Chicken Kabobs
    • Casa Grande Mexican Chicken Salad

    And if you’re looking for a ton of Mexican Recipes, don’t miss my Mexican Southwest Recipes Category. You’ll find some zesty recipes to liven up your dinner plans. You’ll find the most popular Southwestern recipe on my site, Hatch Green Chile, Colorado Style.

    And, don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter for more delicious recipes and cooking tips. Make it a delicious day … every day.

    If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating in the recipe card below. And write a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback.

    Chicken breast wrapped in bacon topped with a tomato salsa served over yellow mexican rice

    Zarape Chicken, Spicy Mexican Chicken

    A one-pan spicy Mexican Chicken Breast Recipe. Chicken breast wrapped in bacon is seared stovetop then transferred to the oven to finish. Topped with Creamy Chipotle Sauce and fresh tomato salsa.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course Chicken
    Cuisine: American/Mexican
    Prep Time: 25 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 699kcal
    Author: Lea Ann Brown

    Ingredients

    • For The Creamy Chipotle Sauce
    • ½ cup Greek yogurt whole milk
    • ¼ cup mayonnaise
    • 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce and 1/2 teaspoon adobo sauce
    • 1 clove garlic peeled
    • 1 teaspoon lime juice
    • 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon honey
    • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • For the salsa topping
    • 5 orange tomatoes cherry tomato size
    • 5 red tomatoes cherry tomato size
    • 1/2 jalapeno pepper diced, seeds and veins removed to lessen heat
    • 2 tablespoons sweet onion chopped
    • 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • For the chicken
    • 4 slices bacon thick sliced
    • 2 medium chicken breasts boneless, skinless
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • For the Creamy Chipotle Sauce
    • Place the yogurt, mayo, chipotle pepper, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, honey, and salt and freshly ground black pepper in to a food processor. Blend until smooth.
    • For the Salsa Topping
    • Chop tomatoes, onion, jalapeno pepper and add to a small bowl. Stir in the red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Set aside.
    • For the Chicken:
    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap two sliced of bacon around two boneless skinless chicken breasts in a crisscross fashion.
    • Heat your cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is shimmering add the bacon wrapped chicken breast. Add the chicken breast with the criss-crossed bacon facing up. Once the breasts have browned, turn them over using tongs and sear on the other side.
    • Move the skillet to the oven and cook about 25 minutes or until instant read thermometer reads an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
    • To serve, place the cooked chicken breast on a plate. Scoop a generous amount of the creamy chipotle sauce over the chicken. Top with a big spoonful of the Tomato Salsa. Yellow Rice for a side dish is nice here.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 699kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 59g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 188mg | Sodium: 751mg | Potassium: 994mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 106IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @lannisam or tag #CookingOnTheRanch!

    More Mexican Food Recipes

    • Easy Chicken Taco Casserole
    • Mexican Beef Machaca Recipe
    • Easy Cheesy Mexican Omelette With Chorizo
    • Adobo Shrimp Tostadas with Easy Lime Slaw

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Taylor Palepoi says

      July 01, 2021 at 3:41 pm

      5 stars
      I worked at park meadows mall and ate this dish once a week at La Sandia! I am now pregnant living in Utah CRAVING this and this only. I had real tears in my eyes when I found this recipe and I CAN NOT wait to make it ❤️❤️❤️

      Reply
    2. Jean | Delightful Repast says

      November 07, 2019 at 10:26 am

      Lea Ann, that sounds sooooo good AND it is so pretty! I might send this one directly to the top of my own “Must Make Soon” list!

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        November 15, 2019 at 3:09 pm

        Thanks so much Jean, that’s an honor to make that list. 🙂

        Reply
    3. mjskitchen says

      October 16, 2019 at 8:48 pm

      You bet I will be trying this. I’ve been on a bacon craving lately and this just fits right in there. Great presentation and wonderful recipe!

      Reply
    4. John / Kitchen Riffs says

      October 16, 2019 at 8:27 am

      This looks excellent! It’s always fun trying to recreate recipes — and sometimes what we do is better than the original! Betting that’s the case here. 🙂 Good stuff — thanks.

      Reply
    5. larry says

      October 11, 2019 at 5:06 am

      Looks like another goodie Chef.

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        October 11, 2019 at 5:37 am

        Thanks Larry – anything wrapped in bacon … right? 🙂

        Reply

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    I'm Lea Ann, A Culinary School Grad bringing you Wild West Colorado inspired recipes. You'll find lots of Southwestern, and Mexican food recipes, and some favorites from Culinary School along with pro cooking tips. If you're an adventurous home cook looking to spice up your meal plans, you'll find plenty of inspiration and reliable, approachable, easy to follow recipes.

    More about me →

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