Monterey Chicken

Monterey Chicken is an easy grilled BBQ chicken topped with bacon and melted cheese. This recipe is a fun Chili’s copycat and perfect for any weeknight meal.

Who is ready for a ultra delicious grilling recipe! I love grilling season, it is one of my favorite times of the year, because we grill out a lot and we literally never get sick of it.

I also love copycat recipes and this Monterey Chicken Recipe is one for the books. It is so delicious and so easy that you will want to make this over and over again.

Every time we go out to Chili’s (which is about every 3-4 months, we have one a couple miles from our house so it’s pretty convenient.) My husband gets the Monterey Chicken and it’s always great.

We love the combination of bacon, cheese, and BBQ sauce. I’ve made Monterey Chicken at home a couple times in the oven but taking it out on the grill is where it’s at!

Some of my other favorite grilling recipes that we have include Mustard Grilled Chicken Sandwiches, Easy Grilled Asparagus and Herb Marinated Grilled Pork Chops.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

• With minimal ingredients it whips up in no time.
• It can easily be doubled to serve a larger family.
• This only takes 15 minutes to cook up!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE BELOW):

Thick-cut bacon
Chicken breasts
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Salt
Pepper
Mozzarella cheese
Monterey/Cheddar blend cheese
BBQ sauce

HOW TO MAKE MONTEREY CHICKEN:

1. Place the bacon into a medium-sized skillet over medium-low heat and cook until crispy, drain on a paper towel-lined plate, set aside. Season chicken breasts with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Place on a plate until ready to grill.
2. Place chicken on the grill over medium heat. Let cook until almost done. When the chicken has an internal temperature of 150°F, baste with BBQ sauce on both sides and continue cooking until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. (Don’t baste the chicken as soon as it hits the grill or else the sugars in the BBQ sauce will burn.)
3. When chicken is cooked through, place half of the bacon on top of each piece. Mix the cheeses together and spread evenly over each piece.
4. Place the top of the grill down and let the cheese melt, this will only take a couple of minutes. Serve immediately. 

CAN I PUT THE BBQ SAUCE ON AS SOON AS I START GRILLING?

Don’t baste the chicken as soon as it hits the grill or else the sugars in the BBQ sauce will burn. And we don’t want that!

HOW TO STORE MONTEREY CHICKEN:

This Monterey Chicken Recipe can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

TIPS AND TRICKS:

• You can easily double this recipe to serve a larger family.
• We completely recommend a using a good meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is properly cooked.
• You can use any cheese you want, but Monterey Cheddar blend and Mozzarella are the usuals.
• You can use any BBQ sauce you like, test out different flavors to see what you like best or make your own Homemade BBQ Sauce.
• We like to chop our bacon and cook it in a skillet before hand but you could also leave it whole and place it on the chicken itself.

If you like this recipe you might also like:

• Baked Parmesan Chicken Tenders
• Southern Fried Chicken
• BBQ Chicken Nachos

If you’ve tried this MONTEREY CHICKEN let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
 

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4.88 from 8 votes

Monterey Chicken

Monterey Chicken is an easy grilled BBQ chicken topped with bacon and melted cheese. This recipe is a fun Chili's copycat and perfect for any weeknight meal.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken, chicken monterey, copycat recipes, grill, monterey chicken, monterey chicken chili's

Servings: 2 servings

Calories: 664kcal

Ingredients

• 4 slices thick-cut bacon medium-diced
• 2 chicken breasts boneless skinless
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded Monterey/Cheddar blend cheese or just cheddar is good!
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce

Instructions

• Place the bacon into a medium-sized skillet over medium-low heat and cook until crispy, drain on a paper towel-lined plate, set aside. Season chicken breasts with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Place on a plate until ready to grill.
• Place chicken on the grill over medium heat. Let cook until almost done. When the chicken has an internal temperature of 150°F, baste with BBQ sauce on both sides and continue cooking until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. (Don't baste the chicken as soon as it hits the grill or else the sugars in the BBQ sauce will burn.)
• When chicken is cooked through, place half of the bacon on top of each piece. Mix the cheeses together and spread evenly over each piece.
• Place the top of the grill down and let the cheese melt, this will only take a couple of minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes

1. You can easily double this recipe to serve a larger family.
2. We completely recommend a using a good meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is properly cooked.
3. You can use any cheese you want, but Monterey Cheddar blend and Mozzarella are the usuals.
4. You can use any BBQ sauce you like, test out different flavors to see what you like best or make your own Homemade BBQ Sauce.
5. We like to chop our bacon and cook it in a skillet before hand but you could also leave it whole and place it on the chicken itself.

Nutrition

Calories: 664kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 147mg | Sodium: 2112mg | Potassium: 775mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 481IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 221mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutriton Disclaimer

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Dana DeVolk

Dana is a professional Chef turned blogger, recipe developer, food photographer, cookbook author, brand ambassador, local tv personality, and more! Her passion is writing about food and posting recipes while offering tips and tricks of the trade. She lives in Florida with her Hubby and fur babies. Interested in working with Dana? Email her at [email protected]

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