Prep & Bake Crispy Pepper Jack Chicken
Includes recyclable aluminum tray
- Milk
- Wheat
With just five minutes of prep, you’ll have 30 minutes of “me” time while dinner bakes! Juicy pepper jack panko-crusted chicken is served with fluffy fajita-spiced rice tossed with sweet corn, butter, and fresh lime. Finish the plates with a generous drizzle of smoky red pepper crema, and enjoy dinner knowing there’s practically no cleanup!
Ingredients
1 unit
Corn
1 unit
Microwavable Rice
1 unit
Oven-Ready Tray
6 tablespoon
Smoky Red Pepper Crema
(Contains: Milk)
½ cup
Pepper Jack Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 tablespoon
Fajita Spice Blend
12 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
1 unit
Lime
¼ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
Not included in your delivery
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce.
In a small bowl, reserve half of one packet smoky red pepper crema (whole packet for 4 servings). (Save remaining crema for serving.)
Place 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4) in a medium microwave-safe bowl; microwave until melted, 30 seconds. Stir in panko, pepper jack, half the Fajita Spice Blend, salt, and pepper.
Quarter lime.
Pat chicken* dry with paper towels and place in oven-ready tray; season all over with salt and pepper. (For 4 servings, divide between two trays.)
Brush a thin layer of reserved smoky red pepper crema over tops of chicken; mound with panko mixture, pressing to adhere (no need to coat undersides!). Wash out bowl.
Transfer tray to middle rack (be sure your oven has preheated!). Roast until topping is crisp and chicken is cooked through, 20-25 minutes. (For 4, roast two trays side by side on middle rack.)
When chicken has 5 minutes remaining, drain corn and add to bowl used for panko.
Massage rice in package to separate grains and add to bowl with corn. Season with remaining Fajita Spice Blend, 2 TBSP water (4 TBSP for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave until warmed through, 1-2 minutes. Let rest 1 minute.
Carefully uncover bowl; stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4) and a squeeze of lime juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.
Divide chicken and rice between plates. Drizzle with remaining smoky red pepper crema and serve with remaining lime wedges.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Feb 2026- Flavor: Many loved the crispy, flavorful chicken, though some found the rice bland and in need of extra seasoning.
- Ease of prep: Customers appreciated how quick and easy this meal was to prepare, with minimal cleanup required 🎉.
- Suggestions: Consider adding a vegetable side or salad for color and nutrition; some suggest charring the corn for more flavor.
- Portions: A few mentioned the portion size was small, particularly for the rice and corn component.
- Spice level: Some found it perfectly spiced, while others thought it was too spicy; adjust fajita seasoning to taste.
Reviews from our home cooks
So tasty and easy to make. I love the prep and bake entrées.
I loved this, will definitely order again. I did need to bake the chicken at least 12 min longer but both chicken and rice were delicious and relatively very simple and easy to prepare.
The rice was surprisingly mild and could have used a punch of tomato or salsa. The chicken and red pepper cream were absolutely amazing.
Delicious! The chicken came out great. The rice/corn was soggy and inedible though. I recommend less water and longer cooking time.
Very good and easy to make but didn't know it was gonna be so spicy since it didn't have the red pepper.
Pretty tasty. I enjoy that I can cook the rice in the microwave as I live in a studio and can only use the hot plate or toaster oven.
Love the chicken! The microwave rice was firm/undercooked in the end though.
Was really easy, I could have done a little more of the work myself to get from scratch. Rice was a tiny bland, the chicken was a 10!
Not sure what to improve on. It was very good. This was our first Hello Fresh meal and we are pleased with the taste and quality. Portion is a bit small, but we are trying to cut back on portion size, so that's fine.
Great! Tastes good and is super quick, easy and fast cleanup!
