Salsa Roja Chicken

Name: Salsa Roja Chicken
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 37 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into six 4-ounce portions; ¼ cup all-purpose flour, or more as needed; 1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste; 1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed; 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes; 1 cup tomato salsa; 1 tablespoon chili powder; ½ teaspoon ground cumin; ½ cup chicken stock; 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice; 4 ounces crumbled cotija cheese, divided; 1 (6 inch) corn tortilla, cut into 1/2-inch squares; 1 cup stemmed and chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Rating: 4 stars

1 Rating
1 Review
1 Photo

Quick pan-seared chicken breasts served with salsa, cotija cheese, and cilantro for a wonderful south-of-the-border taste. The whole family loves this! Easy and quick. Garnish with chopped avocado and sour cream if you like. Serve with Mexican rice and a tossed green salad.

By Sherbg

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Recipe Summary

prep:

25 mins

cook:

12 mins

total:

37 mins

Servings:

Nutrition Info

Directions

Step 1

Place chicken between 2 sheets of heavy plastic on a solid, level surface. Firmly pound chicken with the smooth side of a meat mallet to 1/2-inch thickness.

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Step 2

Combine flour, salt, and ground black pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour mixture.
Step 3

Coat a large skillet with olive oil; heat over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add chicken; cook until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip chicken and continue cooking until second side is golden brown, about 4 minutes more.
Step 4

Stir diced tomatoes, salsa, chili powder, and cumin into the skillet. Cook until flavors combine, 2 to 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and lime juice; stir to blend. Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Add 3 ounces cotija cheese and tortilla pieces to the sauce; simmer, about 1 minute. Spoon sauce over chicken on the platter.
Step 5

Garnish chicken with remaining 1 ounce cotija cheese and fresh cilantro.

Cook's Notes:

Substitute chicken thighs for the chicken breasts if desired.

Substitute canola oil for the olive oil if preferred.

You can use fire-roasted diced tomatoes if desired. You can use homemade salsa instead of store-bought.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

297 calories; 12.1 g total fat; 89 mg cholesterol; 699 mg sodium. 13.8 g carbohydrates; 32.1 g protein; Full Nutrition

Reviews (1)

Most helpful positive review

Soup Loving Nicole

03/10/2018

Made as written and this turned out pretty good. I am glad that I used the fire roasted tomatoes that the recipe submitter mentioned. They gave the dish a nice smoky taste. The one thing I did not like about this recipe was getting the chicken crispy just to turn around and mush it up. I know a lot of recipes call for this but if I were to make this again I'd set aside the chicken after it was crispy and then pour the sauce over it in the end. The corn tortilla flavor got lost in the sauce which was a shame. I recommend using two or even three. Overall a good recipe but I think it could use a tad bit of tweaking. Read More

1 Ratings