Chicken breasts are much-loved in the kitchen for their versatility when it comes to weeknight dinner options and can be incorporated into endless dishes. Although since it contains less fat than other parts of the animal, there’s a risk of it being dry.

Cooking enthusiasts have shared the ultimate top tips for cooking chicken breast properly for the most flavoursome of meals. Not to mention, it’s Simply Foods’ most popular online recipe. With just three ingredients and half an hour, you can make the perfect, succulent Salsa Verde Chicken, cooked to perfection.

Salsa verde chicken recipe

First things first, the secret to making this simple yet delicious dish is jarred salsa verde.

This ingredient is similar to traditional Mexican salsa but with more of a kick; with onion, jalapeño, lime and cilantro, it’s the ultimate addition to your dish. While you can make your own salsa verde from scratch, buying it pre-made will save you a lot of time while still packing a punch of flavour.

The thicker the better, as it’s ideal for pouring over the chicken and soaking through for flavour, but still leaving you with a thick sauce. It’s important to not ignore the other key ingredient, shredded pepper jack cheese, for the top of the dish. This finishing touch is what gives the perfect gooey cheese for tucking into once it’s broiled.

Simply Food recommends seasoning your chicken evenly with pepper and drizzling with oil before pouring the salsa over the chicken breast. It’s important to bake until the salsa is bubbling, which usually takes 20-25 minutes.

Then, they recommend removing it from the oven and changing the setting to broil before sprinkling the chicken with the cheese – a key to this recipe. The cheese should, after around four minutes, be melted and browned in some spots.

To make the dish your own and suit your taste buds, you can add a load of variations or swap out ingredients for more versatility. One example of this is adding drained black beans or kidney beans underneath the chicken to help soak up the sauce before cooking and bulk up your dinner.

They also suggest that if pepper jack cheese isn’t to your taste, you can play around with the cheese and mix it up. Monterey Jack is a great alternative for this recipe if you’re not looking for some spice. Or you can try a shredded Mexican cheese blend, mozzarella, cheddar, or Oaxaca cheese.

Another way to use up the go-to recipe, while still savouring the salsa flavour, is shredding the chicken. Then, you can use it to add to filling tacos, burritos or quesadillas.