Cheesy Chicken & White Bean Skillet

Our Chicken & White Bean Skillet is a creamy, cheesy dish the whole family is sure to love. The perfect recipe if you are trying to get more fiber-rich beans into the weeknight meal rotation, this one-skillet meal is packed with Tex-Mex flavors like smoky cumin and cilantro, as well as onions, garlic, corn and jalapeño. The corn and white beans pull double duty as a source of fiber and protein, and with even more protein from the chicken, this is a filling meal. Keep reading for our expert tips, including how to tailor the spice level to your liking. 

Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen

These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too! 

• Buying precut chicken cutlets can help you save on prep time in the kitchen.
• If you want to increase the heat in this recipe, add more jalapeños. To reduce the heat, remove the seeds from the jalapeños before cooking or substitute them with a milder pepper, such as a green bell pepper.
• This recipe can also serve as a great base for white chicken chili. Simply increase the amount of liquid and chop the chicken into bite-size pieces.

Nutrition Notes

• Chicken cutlets are simply chicken breasts sliced in half to be thinner. Chicken is an excellent source of protein, which is great for maintaining muscle mass and for keeping you full and satisfied well after your meal. Chicken breast is also a source of many B vitamins, including B12, B6 and niacin—essential for your metabolic health. 
• Pepper Jack cheese is buttery Monterey Jack cheese studded with jalapeño peppers to give it a spicy kick. It’s a softer cheese, but still firm enough to be shreddable. A serving of pepper Jack is a good source of calcium, which is needed for strong bones and teeth, but also to keep your heart healthy. 
• Cannellini beans have incredible versatility because of their neutral flavor and creamy texture. They are rich in fiber, which is great for your heart health and digestive system. They are a plant-based source of protein, which can help you stretch the chicken in this recipe and still keep the protein amount high.