This Spicy Cheesy Chicken has been a favorite recipe for us since Amy was a little girl. Yes, she has always liked spicy food! We took the original recipe and reimagined it to cut out close to 600 calories per serving!
Making Spicy Cheesy Chicken
We air-fried the chicken to save some calories and much easier clean up than pan frying the chicken. The chicken could be baked instead of air frying it would just take a few more minutes to ensure the chicken was done.
Cut the chicken into bite-size chunks. Mix the spices together and toss onto the chicken pieces and sit aside for at least 10 minutes. At this point, the chicken can be covered and refrigerated overnight.
After the chicken has rested for at least ten minutes with the spices. Add the egg whites and the cornstarch. The cornstarch will help the chicken get a nice crisp (just like pan frying but without the oil!). Lightly spray the chicken and the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
Air fry for 8 minutes in a 375-degree air fryer and then flip the chicken and air fry for an additional 8 minutes.
While the chicken is air frying chop the onion, and peppers. Then heat a sauté pan with some oil and add the garlic, onions, peppers, and spices. After the veggies are soft about 3 to 5 minutes add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil an simmer for a few minutes. Make a cornstarch slurry (a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch and water) and mix it with the veggies and broth. This will thicken the broth.
Stir in the Chicken from the air fryer. Then add the sour cream, yogurt, and cheese. Serve over rice or cauliflower rice.
Enjoy!!!!
Little things help to cut calories:
- Substitute the Air Fryer for frying the chicken in oil
- Cut the cream by using fat-free yogurt
- Use Low-Fat Sour Cream instead of regular Sour Cream
- Cutting the amount of Cheese. Trust me the extra cheese is not missed. The dish is still really cheesy!!!
- Using skinless Chicken Breast vs a whole chicken
NOTE:
If you don’t have an air fryer, no worries! You can easily pan-fry the chicken in some oil. Just keep in mind that this will add a few extra calories to the recipe. Enjoy your cooking!
Other Chicken Recipes:
Crunch chicken Flautas, Chicken Chimichangas, Chicken Taquitos Taquitos, Chicken parmesan, and more. Just search for Air Fryer on our blog.
Spicy Cheesy Chicken
A Few Things We Use
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken Breast 1 ½ Pounds Chicken
Spice Mix
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- ½ teaspoon White Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Thyme
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
Marinade mix
- ¾ Cup Cornstarch
- 2 Egg Whites
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
Cheesy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Red Pepper
- 1 Green Pepper
- 1 Medium Onion
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 Jalapeno
- ½ Cup Green Chilies
- 2 Cups Chicken Broth
- ½ Cup Greek Fat-Free Yogurt
- ½ Cup Lite Sour Cream
- ¾ Cup Monterey Jack Cheese
- ¾ Cup Cheddar Cheese
- 2 teaspoons Corn Starch
- Cooking Spray I like to use Butter or Olive Oil spray
Instructions
- Cut Chicken into bite-size pieces
Spice Mix
- Mix together all Spices that make up the spice mix.
- Mix Spices into Chicken
- Set Chicken aside for 10 minutes (at this point the Chicken can be refrigerated overnight)
Marinade
- Separate Egg white from YolkStir Egg White over Chicken
- Sprinkle the Cornstarch over the Chicken mixture and stir to coat the chicken
- Marinade for 10 minutes
Air Fry
- Lightly spray the air fryer with cooking spray
- Place marinated chicken in Air Fryer
- Spray Chicken with cooking sprayAir Fry Chicken for 8 minutes at 375°
- Flip Chicken pieces and spray with cooking sprayAir Fry Chicken for 8 minutes at 375°
Making the Sauce
- Chop OnionsSlice Garlic (or mince)
- Chop Red Pepper
- Chop Green Pepper
- Chop Jalapenos
- While the chicken is cooking in the air fryer start the sauceHeat 1 Tablespoon Oil in a large pan
- Saute Onions, garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt until the onions start to get soft. About 3 - 4 minutes
- Add Green and Red Peppers Saute with Onion/Garlic for 2 minutes
- Add Bay Leaf, Jalapeno, Black Pepper, and Cayenne Pepper. Saute for 1 minute
- Stir in Chicken BrothBring to a Boil
- Mix 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of water.
- Stir Cornstarch into Sauce
- Add Chicken from Air Fryer to the SauceBring back to BoilSimmer for 10 minutes
- Remove Bay LeafAdd Green Chilies to the mixture and stir
- Slowly stir in Sour Cream and Yogurt
- Stir until combined
- Gently stir in Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheese
- Remove the pan from the heatContinue to stir until the cheese is completely melted
- Serve with Rice or Cauliflower RiceEnjoy!!!!
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