Smothered Nacho Chicken with Tomatillo Avocado Ranch Dressing

Smothered nachos for dinner.  Does it get any better than this?

Recipe showing Nacho Chicken with cheese sauce on a red plate.


 

A while back I told you about my looooooooove for nachos.  I want to inhale them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.   Yesterday, I told you about my  looooooooove for my new 5 Minute Blender Tomatillo Avocado Ranch Dressing.  I want to smother everything in it.

So I created a new love that IS  crunchy, cheesy nachos and IS  creamilicious Mexican ranch goodness:   Smothered Nacho Chicken with Tomatillo Avocado Ranch Dressing!

Recipe showing Nacho Chicken with nacho cheese sauce on a red plate and tomatoes..

Chips, cheese, tomatillos, avocados, jalapenos, ranch – there is just so much to love about this chicken!  It reminds me of a Mexican country fried chicken (except that its baked) with both crunchy and creamy in every savory bite.  Every time I make this smothered chicken, I continuously exclaim to to myself  how amazing it is.  But now, I’m excited to share with YOU how amazing it is.

To make this exclaim worthy chicken, you first marinate the chicken in some of the 5 Minute Blender Tomatillo Avocado Ranch.  Next, coat chicken in crushed, spiced tortilla chips…

Showing how to make Nacho Chicken by putting tortilla ships in a blender.
Showing how to make Nacho Chicken by putting tortilla ships in a blender after they are blended.

Then bake and top with Jack cheese…

Showing how to make Nacho Chicken by putting blended tortilla chips on chicken breasts.

…That broils until golden and bubbly and screams “eat me”…

Nacho Chicken with blended tortilla chips on chicken breasts baked with cheese on a red plate.

But wait, don’t give into the siren cries…yet. The crunchy cheesy chicken is about to enter flavor overload…overload I tell you!

Nacho Chicken with blended tortilla chips on chicken breasts baked pouring a spoon of sauce over top.

The chicken is then smothered in Tomatillo Avocado Ranch Dressing.  A creamy ranch packed with tomatillos, avocado, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro and smoked paprika.  A creamy ranch so dreamy its earned its place smothering this chicken.

Nacho Chicken baked with cheese on a red plate topped with sauce.

After I have smothered my chicken with the most heavenly dressing known to man, I like to top my chicken with fresh mangoes and tomatoes, and I’ve even topped my chicken and dressing with Chipotle Mango Salsa with Black Beans Avocado and Sweet Corn.  Talk about A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Nacho Chicken baked with cheese on a red plate topped with sauce and red and yellow bell peppers.

Nachos.  Its what for dinner.  I’m pretty sure your entire family will love the sound of that!

Smothered Nacho Chicken with Tomatillo Avocado Ranch

Servings: 4
Total Time: 50 minutes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients

Additional Toppings (optional)

Instructions

  • Prepare Tomatilla Avocado Ranch Dressing according to directions but do not add any milk (you can prepare the dressing days in advance).
  • Add chicken to freezer bag and pound thin with meat mallet or side of a can, cutting the breasts in half if they become large. Add ¼ cup Tomatillo Avocado Ranch Dressing and marinate for 6 hours up to overnight.
  • Add chips to food processor and process until crushed (or crush with rolling pin). Transfer to a large bowl and mix in chili powder, cumin and black pepper.
  • Lightly spray a baking rack with nonstick cooking spray and place on top of a baking sheet lined with foil (for easy cleanup). Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Remove chicken from marinade then dredge in the chip mixture, pressing chips into chicken to securely coat. Place chicken on the baking rack and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Top chicken with an additional ¼ cup cheese per breast (more or less to liking) and broil until golden.
  • To Serve, top each chicken breast with desired amount of Tomatilo Avocado Ranch Dressing and any additional toppings.

Notes

*I used 2 HUGE Costco chicken breasts that equaled 1.5 pounds instead of 4 in my pictures but 4 smaller breasts is preferable – more surface for chips!

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24 Comments

  1. Renee's Kitchen Adventures says

    Fantastic way to serve chicken. I just bought some chicken breasts (coleman brand) from costco, and they were so big, I sliced them in half longways to make cutlets! 🙂

    • Jen says

      Cutlets are definitely the way to go! I love Costco and their jumbo everything!

  2. Sophia @ NY Foodgasm says

    OMG this totally sounds amazing Jenn! You got it going on! Did you bake these on the rack shown? Where do you get something like that? I imagine it save loads of fat since nothing sticks to it!

    • Jen says

      Hi Sophia! yes I baked on the rack shown. Honestly, I have had it SO LONG, I have no idea where I got it. You can probably get them anywhere, but when all else fails, Amazon!

    • Jen says

      Thanks Carrie! I think you will love it! Opens up a whole new world!

  3. Michele @ Flavor Mosaic says

    Wow! That is just layer upon layer upon layer of flavor. Every one of your recipes I’m like, Oh. I have to make that. This is no exception.

    • Jen says

      You are so sweet Michele, thank you so much! My husband and I are both flavor addicts. 🙂

  4. Angie K says

    I have no experience with tomatillos… I don’t even know what they are, really… But I…must…make this. The avocado ranch dressing sounds and looks so delicious, and the idea of pulverizing tortilla chips to bread chicken sounds like fun in the kitchen to me 😀 😀
    Your recipes consistently have a certain something that screams DROP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND MAKE ME!!
    That is to say… thanks for all the amazing inspiration! You rock! 😀

    • Jen says

      This is the nicest comment/compliment ever Angie, thank you so much!!! I am so thrilled you are liking my blog and that my recipes are screaming “eat me” at you – in a non bossy tone, I hope 🙂 ! You will LOVE the dressing – and tomatillos are super easy to work with – normally found next to the jalapenos. All you do for this recipe is remove the husk (it slips right off), wash, chop a couple times and add to the blender. you will b a believer 🙂 Have fun pulverizing your tortilla chips and thanks again for making my day!

  5. shelby says

    This looks and sounds amazing Jen! I think your dressing is what really sets it off for me. I love all the flavors involved!

    • Jen says

      Thanks Shelby and yes the dressing is amazing. Everything in my life has become a vehicle to eat that dressing!

  6. Rachael says

    Okay, wiping my keyboard off now from all the drool dribbling down my chin. I probably would have given in to the siren’s call! Thanks for waiting so we can have the final product!

    • Jen says

      LOL! It was a hard wait but worth it for you guys 🙂 Thanks Rachel!

    • Jen says

      Thank you so much Thalia! Can’t go wrong with Tomatillo Avocado Ranch smothering anything – let alone nacho chicken :)! I hope you enjoy!

    • Jen says

      Ah, thanks Katie! Much appreciated!

  7. Hilary says

    This looks SO tasty, you always have great stuff (and then I post it on my social media). 🙂

    • Jen says

      Thanks so much Hilary, for your kind words AND for sharing my recipes! I hope you are able to try this soon, I think you will love it!