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Pollo fundido is an easy cheesy chicken dish based on the popular dish at many Mexican restaurants. This take on the classic queso fundido recipe substitutes chicken for sausage and turns it into a winning chicken dinner to change up your taco night!
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Is there anything better than queso? Cheesy, zesty, gloriously delicious queso.
It’s my favorite when we go out for Mexican food.
So it’s no secret that I absolutely love pollo fundido with its cheesy goodness.
Plus it’s super easy to make and the sons adore it!
What is pollo fundido?
Pollo fundido is grilled seasoned chicken covered in a creamy, zesty white queso sauce.
It results in the richest, cheesiest chicken that we can’t get enough of thanks not just to the queso but to the seasoned salt mix you liberally season the chicken with.
Sometimes, you might see variations of this where you wrap the chicken in a soft flour tortilla chimichanga style before slathering on the queso.
Ingredients
To make this, you’ll need:
- Chicken breasts– Trim them and cut them thinly.
- Butter– To saute the onions in.
- Onion– Any onion will work in a pinch though white onion is best. Thinly slice them.
- Queso blanco white cheese sauce– Make it easy on yourself and use store bought, but if you are feeling ambitious you can make it from scratch.
- Green chili pepper– Use the diced kind in the can.
- Spices to make chili salt– Sea salt, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika.
How to Make Pollo Fundido
Making this cheesy chicken recipe is easy!
Start by mixing all the ingredients for the chili salt together in a small bowl and set it aside.
Then, pat the chicken breast dry with a piece of paper towel and season both sides of the chicken breasts liberally with the seasoning mix.
Now, add the butter to a skillet and let it melt before sautéing the onions until they just begin to caramelize.
Transfer the onions to a waiting bowl and set them aside while you cook the chicken in the hot skillet,until the chicken is cooked through.
Once the chicken is cooked, you can transfer it to a cutting board.
Let it rest for a couple minutes, then thinly slice the chicken into strips.
After you slice the chicken, put the cut chicken back into the pan along with the onions.
Now make the sauce by whisking together the queso and the chiles.
Pour the queso mix over the chicken and bring it to a slow simmer.
To finish let it simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Youre fundido is now ready!
Serve it while still warm, and you can choose to style it as an appetizer/dip or as an entrée for dinner.
What to Serve with Pollo Fundido
I like to serve pollo fundido over plain white rice, yellow rice, or evenMexican rice.
You can also put this out as part of a Mexican spread with tortilla shells and all the fajita and taco fixings. It makes the best gourmet fajitas!
Don’t forget thethree bean saladandstreet corn!
One game days though we serve this chicken queso fundido appetizer style, as a dip with our favorite (sturdy) tortilla chips. I highly recommend taking the time to make a batch of homemade tortilla chips, but store bought ones work too!
Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers of this dish in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through.
Leftovers can be repurposed into casseroles by mixing with rice and baking with more cheese and queso.
TIPS & TRICKS
- Use lean chicken, this will prevent you from having to trim strips of fat off and make dinner prep so much faster.
- To save even more time, use precooked rotisserie chicken breasts.
- You can even use pre cut strips of raw chicken to really speed up the process
- If you like a little heat in your dish, skip the canned chiles, and sub in a seeded, diced small jalapeno pepper.
- For a smoky background, substitute a chopped up chile pepper in adobo sauce for the diced chiles.
- Don’t worry when you pour the cheese sauce over the chicken, when the dish is simmered it will thin out perfectly & naturally.
Other Cheesy Chicken Dishes You Might Love
This pollo fundido recipe is a winner when you are looking for zesty Mexican cheesy chicken. Make it tonight and wow your family!
Need some other Mexican-style meal time inspiration? Here are some other deliciously cheesy chicken dishes you might love:
- Doritos Cheesy Chicken Casserole
- Cheesy Chicken Chilaquiles
- Cheesy Mexican Chicken Spaghetti
If you’ve tried thisPOLLO FUNDIDO RECIPE, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me onPINTEREST,FACEBOOK, andINSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Pollo Fundido Recipe
Pollo fundido is an easy cheesy chicken dish based on the popular dish at many Mexican restaurants. This take on the classic queso fundido recipe substitutes chicken for sausage and turns it into a winning chicken dinner to change up your taco night!
4.18 from 23 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Mexican, Tex Mex
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 209kcal
Author: Meaghan @ 4 Sons R Us
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breasts slivered
- 1 large white onion thinly sliced
- 1 15 oz can queso blanco white cheese sauce
- 1 4 oz can diced green chili peppers
To Make The Chili Salt
- 1/8 cup sea salt
- 1/8 cup chili powder
- pinch cayenne pepper
- pinch smoked paprika
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
Making The Chili Salt
Add all of those ingredients together, and use a fork to stir them together until evenly combined.
Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Season each chicken breast liberally with the prepared salt seasoning. Set aside.
In a large skillet, melt a two tablespoons of butter. Once melted & hot add the onions. Stir the onions, cooking them until tender and lightly caramelized. Remove them from the skillet and set aside.
Season the chicken liberally with the prepared salt, to your preference. Add them to the hot skillet and cook, turning as needed, until the chicken's cooked through.
Transfer the cooked breasts to a cutting board and thinly slice them into strips. Transfer the strips back to the pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, add the queso sauce & green chiles. Whisk them together until combined.
Add the onions back to the skillet, and stir them in with the cooked chicken strips. Pour the white sauce evenly out over the chicken and onions.
Bring the mixture to a slow simmer, and let it simmer for 5 minutes- stirring occasionally. Cover in between stirrings.
Serve as is over a bed of rice, or serve it Mexican buffet style with tortillas and all the fixings on the side.
Notes
recipe adapted from Neagle's Nest
Nutrition
Calories: 209kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 3737mg | Potassium: 682mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 51IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg
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This post may contain affiliate links. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full Disclosure Policy for details. As always, all opinions are my own.
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