Nacho-Inspired Crispy Crust Chicken
served with Green Bell Pepper Rice & Traditional Fixings
- Wheat
- Milk
Crispy chicken is always a recipe for success. Add melty Monterey Jack cheese and bold spices to the mix, and you’ve got a winning dinner. Once baked, the crust turns golden brown while the meat stays juicy and tender. But wait...there’s more! The crunchy cutlets are topped with a homemade salsa fresca, then served with bell-pepper-studded rice and drizzled with tangy lime crema. Together, it’s a meal as elegant as it is satisfying and delicious.
Ingredients
1 unit
Green Bell Pepper
½ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
4 tablespoon
Sour Cream
½ cup
Jasmine Rice
¼ cup
Monterey Jack Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Tomato
1 unit
Lime
10 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
2 unit
Scallions
1 tablespoon
Southwest Spice Blend
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly oil. Wash and dry all produce. • Core, deseed, and dice bell pepper into ¾-inch pieces. Toss on one side of prepared sheet with a drizzle of oil, 1 tsp Southwest Spice (2 tsp for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. (You’ll use the remaining Southwest Spice in the next step.)
• Place 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) in a medium microwave-safe bowl; microwave until melted, 30 seconds. Stir in panko, Monterey Jack, remaining Southwest Spice, salt, and pepper.
• In a small pot, combine rice, ¾ cup water (1½ cups for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
• While rice cooks, pat chicken* dry with paper towels and season all over with salt and pepper. Place on opposite side of sheet from bell pepper. Spread half the sour cream (you’ll use the rest in the next step) onto tops of chicken. Mound with panko mixture, pressing to adhere (no need to coat the undersides). • Bake on middle rack until chicken is cooked through, crust is golden, and bell pepper is tender, 15-18 minutes.
• Meanwhile, finely dice tomato. Trim and finely chop scallions. Zest and quarter lime (for 4 servings, zest and halve 1 lime; quarter remaining lime). • In a second medium bowl, combine tomato, scallions, juice from half the lime (both lime halves for 4), and a pinch of salt. • In a small bowl, combine remaining sour cream, a pinch of lime zest (you’ll use the rest later), a squeeze of lime juice, and a pinch of salt. Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.
• Fluff rice with a fork; stir in roasted bell pepper, 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings), and remaining lime zest to taste. Season with salt and pepper. • Divide rice and crispy crust chicken between plates. Top with salsa fresca and drizzle with lime crema. Serve with remaining lime wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the crispy, flavorful chicken crust, though some found the dish surprisingly spicy 🌶️.
- Ease of prep: Customers appreciated the simple preparation, with several noting it was quick and easy to make.
- Suggestions: Consider using less Southwest seasoning for milder taste; some recommend adding jalapeños or hot sauce for extra kick.
- Portions: Rice serving was smaller than expected for some; a few wished for more substantial side dishes.
- Texture: The crunchy chicken coating was a hit, though some found the bottom layer soggy from the sour cream.
Reviews from our home cooks
This was really good and simple to make. The chicken is not breaded all the way around, just on the top making the crust crispy and not soggy. The rice was excellent.
This is so delicious! The chicken was actually super crispy. The spices for the chicken were perfect. Sour cream, peppers, and pico were a perfect complement. Highly recommend.
One of my favorite meals, I liked that it was baked and not fried. Loved the lime and the crust on the chicken. I also was surprised that I liked the rice with peppers.
This one is so easy to make, very delicious and it's a one sheet pan recipe. I've included this into my recipe book because I would have never thought about combining bell peppers with rice. Wow, you guys blew me away with this dish. I hope to see it in the future.
This was amazing! I really loved the addition of bell pepper to the rice. This was like a lighter version of nachos, the crema sealed the deal. Delicious!
The crispy coating on the chicken is one of my favorites. This is a mild, not spicy, and really tasty. Super easy to make!!
Surprise of the week! Picked this just to finish my box & it ended up being my favorite. The crust was perfectly crispy & cheesy.
The seasoned panko crust for the chicken was amazing. My husband and I now want to cook chicken like that all of the time.
The green pepper didn't really make sense with this meal and felt like an afterthought. A different roasted vegetable should round it out a bit better. Also the topping seemed like way too much for the chicken. I wish for these panko crusted chicken there was a way to fully coat all sides of chicken safely.
This was so good, we both wanted more! The peppers really made the rice shine and the crust on the chicken was so yummy!
