• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Buy This Cook That
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Meal Plans
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Chicken

    Cheesy Southwestern Grilled Chicken

    Updated Aug 8, 2022

    570 shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Cheesy Southwestern Grilled Chicken

    This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sargento®. The opinions and text are all mine.

    Get ready to dig into this smoky and savory recipe for Cheesy Southwestern Grilled Chicken. Fire up the grill and fire up the flavor this summer. This recipe features tender spiced chicken topped with ooey-gooey-melty cheese and a fast + fresh black bean salsa. Everyone in the family is going to love this recipe!

    Cheesy Southwestern Grilled Chicken

    If you have followed Buy This Cook That for any amount of time, you know that I love three things: grilling, spices, and cheese.

    This recipe combines all of the things I love in a summer-sensational grilled chicken dinner. Our inspiration? Sargento® Blends™ 4 Cheese Southwest Slices from the dairy case at Publix. It was love at first sight. (And taste.) 

    Sargento Blends Sliced Cheese combines your favorite cheese varieties in one all-natural slice. There are two combinations to choose from at Publix:

    • Sargento Blends 5 Cheese Italian Slices - Mozzarella blended with Romano, Parmesan, Fontina and Asiago
    • Sargento Blends 4 Cheeses Southwest Slices - Monterey Jack blended with Chipotle Cheddar, Colby, and Pepper Jack

    Ingredients Needed:

    • Chicken breasts - Boneless + skinless is the way to go with this recipe.
    • Extra virgin olive oil
    • Garlic cloves - Four cloves should be enough, but you do you.
    • Lime
    • Honey
    • Spices - Paprika, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt + black pepper.
    • Sargento Blends 4 Cheese Southwest Slices
    • Black beans - You'll need 2 cups of canned or otherwise cooked black beans. (Not dry.)
    • Tomato
    • Jalapeno

    How to make EASY Southwestern-style grilled chicken:

    Grilled chicken is one of my go-to meals in the summer. I like to toss it in marinade a few hours ahead of time so the chicken can soak up all of the flavor. In this case, the smoky + bold flavors of the Southwest.

    1. Cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make smaller cutlet sizes.
    2. Prepare an easy marinade with olive oil, fresh garlic, lime zest and lime juice.
    3. Mix up a bold blend of spices (cumin, peppers, onion powder + more).
    4. Toss the chicken in the marinade and spice blend and chill.

    For the best results, you want to marinate the chicken breasts for a minimum of one hour. (I chilled mine for four hours.) Ovenight also works if you are doing some prep work the night before.

    All of the spices, lime juice, garlic and oil blend into this amazing flavor that is perfect with the chipotle blend cheese from Sargento.

    TIP: Make sure you start with a hot, clean grill so the chicken will not stick. This is a thick marinade, so a lot of the spice is going to cling to the chicken. (This is a good thing.)

    We cooked our chicken breast cutlets for approximately 5 minutes per side, rotating half way through each side*.

    *Always use a meat thermometer to ensure proper doneness. Cooking times will vary based on your grill temperature, type of grill, and thickness of chicken. 

    Now comes my fave part of any cheesy recipe. Adding the CHEESE! Once the chicken is done, transfer the breasts to a shallow pan and top them with one or two slices of Sargento Blends.

    Looking for more Chicken Recipes?

    Crispy Baked Chicken Nuggets

    Thai Sticky Chicken Wings

    Chicken + Cheese Tortellini Soup

    For the bigger pieces of chicken, I used two slices. No bite of chicken is going without the cheese in my house, ya'll. The Monterey Jack blended with cheddar, chipotle and spices melts and wraps around the juicy chicken. So good.

    TIP: To get the cheese super melty, I simply placed the pan into the grill THAT HAS BEEN TURNED OFF and close the lid. Just a few minutes will create that ooey-gooey everyone loves.

    Serve this Cheesy Southwestern Grilled Chicken with our fast + fresh black bean salsa. Seriously, just a few ingredients and a minute or two and you have another layer of flavor that blends with the spice, the chicken and the cheese.

    This meal is perfect with a light, green salad. Or how about a serving of Mexican-style rice?

    More serving suggestions for Cheesy Southwestern Grilled Chicken:

    1. Slice and serve the grilled chicken with Sargento Blends Sliced Cheese on warm tortillas for a spicy quesadilla.
    2. Cool + creamy guacamole on top. Yes.
    3. Skip the rice and serve with shredded lettuce to cut back on carbs.
    4. Leftovers? Add another slice of cheese and make a Mexican Grilled Chicken + Cheese Sandwich.

    Love this post? Sign up for the Buy This Cook That Newsletter for a weekly email of new content. You can also follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram for our latest + greatest ideas.

    Cheesy Southwestern Grilled Chicken

    Tender, grilled chicken marinated in a bold + smoky blend of spices, topped with melted cheese and a fresh black bean salsa.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Email Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Marinating Time 2 hrs
    Total Time 40 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Mexican
    Servings 6
    Calories 445 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 3 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
    • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 4 cloves garlic finely minced
    • 1 lime juice and zest, divided
    • 1 tablespoon honey
    • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
    • 2 teaspoons mild crushed red peppers or chili powder
    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon onion powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
    • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
    • 1 package Sargento Blends 4 Cheese Southwest Slices
    • 2 cups black beans rinsed well and drained
    • 1 cup tomato chopped
    • 1 jalapeno seeded and finely diced
    • 1 teaspoon sugar

    Instructions
     

    • Cut the chicken breasts in half LENGTHWISE to create 6 cutlet sized pieces. Set aside.
    • In a shallow dish, combine the olive oil, juice of half a lime, zest of one lime, garlic and honey. Add the chicken cutlets to the mixture, turning to coat both sides.
    • Stir together the paprika, crushed peppers, cumin, onion powder, salt, pepper and cayenne in a small bowl. Pour over the coated chicken, and rub into both sides of the chicken until all pieces are well coated. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of one hour up to four hours.
    • During the last half hour of marinating, prepare the black bean salsa. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the black beans, tomatoes, jalapenos, 2 tablespoons of lime juice and the sugar. Stir well. Season with salt + pepper to taste. Let rest at room temperature until ready to serve, stirring often.
    • Heat grill to approximately 400 degrees. Place the spiced chicken onto the grill. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side, rotating a quarter turn on each side. (Total cook time is about 10-12 minutes.)

    Notes

    Cooking times will vary based on grill temperature, type of grill and thickness of chicken. Please use a meat thermometer to ensure chicken is properly cooked.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1gCalories: 445kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 37gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 733mgPotassium: 776mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1155IUVitamin C: 11.4mgCalcium: 263mgIron: 2.6mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    More Chicken

    • Easy Grilling Recipe - Honey Citrus BBQ Chicken
    • Learn How to Make Easy + Delicious Caprese Chicken
    • How to Make Pecan Chicken Wraps
    • The BEST Country Chicken Cacciatore Recipe

    SUBSCRIBE

    for weekly recipes.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Ben Myhre

      July 02, 2018 at 6:56 am

      5 stars
      There is so much tasty stuff going on with this breast that I think I would love this! It looks great. Would eat 10/10. 🙂

      Reply
      • Teri

        July 04, 2018 at 8:53 pm

        Thanks, Ben! It turned out better than expected. My hubby gave me the two thumbs up, which automatically makes it a keeper around here.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Playoff Ready

    Game day. Today. Any day. These Pimento Cheese Bacon Jalapeno Poppers are legit snack time winners.

    Pimento Cheese Bacon Jalapeno Poppers

    Ultimate Buffalo Wings | Buy This Cook That

    Ultimate South of Buffalo Wings

    french onion dip, pretzels and chips for snacking

    Sour Cream + Cheddar French Onion Dip

    Nashville Hot Chicken Wraps

    Nashville Hot Chicken Wraps

    More Game Day Recipes →

    Salad Recipes

    Chicken Salad

    The Best Chicken Salad. Ever.

    Delicious Salads That Don't Suck

    Delicious Salads That Don't Suck

    Italian Pasta Salad recipe. Seriously, this is the recipe that my family asks me to make for all of our gatherings. Loaded with colorful veggies and tri-color pasta, this side dish is easy to make ahead. My kids can't stop eating it, either. The best part is how easy it is to make with a few basic tips. And our not-so-secret ingredient. :)

    Zesty Italian Pasta Salad

    Fried Chicken Salad

    Blueberry + Fried Chicken Salad

    More Salad Recipes →

    Free Meal Plans

    Footer

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy + Disclosure

    Free Meal Plans

    • Sign Up! for Free Meal Plans

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 Buy This Cook That