Roasted Red Pepper Chicken
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Apr 19, 2025 
Skillet Roasted Red Pepper Chicken is our latest family favorite and a fab mid-week meal to serve with rice or pasta. It has just nine ingredients and a lot of kick!
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Chicken
This simple recipe consists of pan-seared chicken in a silky roasted red pepper sauce. It’s a true one-pan meal you can make in less than 30 minutes.
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Keeping ingredients you love in stock is a sure bet for pulling together a simple meal that satisfies you as if it were planned. I try to keep proteins in the freezer for impromptu meals, as well as, onions, garlic, and canned and jarred items my family loves in the pantry.
This Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Recipe is a pantry-staple dish my kids ask for regularly, and I think yours will, too!
This is also a great meal to stretch when extra guests show up. Instead of serving one whole chicken breast per person, slice the chicken and cover it with sauce to feed up to eight people.
Ingredients You Need
- Chicken – boneless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Butter – to sear the chicken (or olive oil)
- Garlic – minced, for a zesty note
- Onions – for depth
- Fresh basil – for a fresh pop of herby sweetness
- Cream cheese – regular or low fat cream cheese
- Chicken broth – or water to thin out the sauce
- Roasted red bell peppers – jarred or homemade roast peppers
- Crushed red pepper flakes – optional
How to Make Roasted Red Pepper Chicken
Find the full Roasted Red Pepper Chicken recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, video tutorial, and extra cooking tips in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Do I Cook Chicken In A Skillet? Don’t worry; cooking chicken in a skillet is really simple.
Sear average-sized chicken breasts for 5 minutes per side. Then remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside. If the chicken pieces are larger than normal, cook them for up to 7 minutes per side.
Sure! Consider adding black pepper, smoked paprika, ground cumin, or cayenne pepper to the sauce. You can make it extra rich by adding shredded mozzarella cheese, or grated parmesan cheese.
Try adding heavy cream to the sauce in place of cream cheese. The sauce will be thinner, but still delicious. Or substitute full-fat coconut milk (and olive oil) for a dairy-free option.
If you want the sauce to be extra smooth, use an immersion blender to puree the cooked sauce before adding the chicken back to the sauce.
This healthy recipe is low in fat and high in protein. It’s wonderful served over rice or pasta, or add a side of Steamed Potatoes with Garlic Herb Butter or Best Mashed Potatoes. Or add Roasted Cauliflower Rice for a low carb meal.
Add a Couscous Salad (with Pickled Vegetables), Broccoli Cauliflower Salad, Air Fryer Asparagus, or Crispy Fried Brussels Sprouts.
And a loaf of Focaccia Bread or Easy Garlic Bread to round out the meal.
See? Quick and simple can be dazzling.
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Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, 4 pieces
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 ounces roasted red peppers, finely diced (1 jar or fresh roasted peppers are fine)
- 1 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 4 ounces lowfat cream cheese
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/4 cup basil leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and once melted, add the chicken breasts. Sear the chicken for 5 minutes per side. Then remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- In the same skillet, sauté the onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the diced red peppers and sauté another 1-2 minutes. Then add the chicken broth, cream cheese, and crushed red pepper. Simmer and stir to melt the cream cheese into the broth.
- Once the sauce is smooth, add the chicken breasts back to the skillet to warm. Stir in the chopped basil and simmer another 2 minutes before serving. Salt and pepper to taste. Slice and serve the chicken covered in the creamy pan sauce.
Can sour cream be substituted for cream cheese?
Hi Cindy,
Yes, it can! However, the sauce will have a slightly different flavor and texture. Be sure to stir the sour cream in thoroughly, so it does not curdle.
I stumbled across this recipe much the same way that you made it – I had frozen chicken breasts and a random bottle of red peppers and was wondering what on earth I could make with those two main ingredients. I found your recipe and it has seriously become one of my family‘s favorites! It’s now in heavy rotation! Thank you so much
Agreed. 100%.
Thank you! This is seriously a restaurant quality recipe. I double the sauce and puree the red peppers in the blender.
Flavor was great, but sauce thin, didn’t stick. I added 3 tbsp of Alfredo sauce I made from a rue the night before. Would suggest using a rue to thicken more. Just melt 2-3 tbsp butter and add 3 tbsp flour, stirring constantly 3-5 minutes before starting the sauce.
I’m a slow lady and this didn’t take long to make. It was delicious, thank you!
Hi I am wondering if I leave out cream cheese, what can I use as a substitution?
Hi Laura,
Are you looking for a dairy-free option? We have a great cashew cream recipe on the site that would make a good substitution: https://www.aspicyperspective.com/magic-all-purpose-cashew-cream-recipe/
I never leave a rating but my husband and I can’t say enough about how delicious this recipe is, thus I felt obligated to leave a comment. Thanks for sharing this simple yet amazing meal!
I am making it again tonight as requested by dear hubby. I served over white rice. We both think we’d be happy with this red pepper sauce on rice even without the chicken but the chicken is, of course, a bonus! Tonight I am going to cut my chicken before searing simply because we wanted more of the sauce flavors infused into more of the chicken. I am also not a fan of basil or hot peppers so I left those out… obviously it was still amazing.
This will be a staple recipe in my home every other week!! I had to share it with all my kids. Truly can’t express the comparison of the result based on ease of recipe.
Thank you so much!!!!
WOW! This was amazing! It took a bit longer than 5 minutes to prep, but it was well worth the effort. I pounded out the chicken breasts so they would cook on the sear alone, but found I needed to finish in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350º. Regardless, the dish turned out fantastic — it will definitely be added to our repertoire! Thank you for such a delicious, easy recipe.
Thats absolute yummy…. I am drooling even just by seeing the photos. Cant wait to try it out myself.
Absolutely stunning! Thank you on a detailed impressive guide!
Amazingly good! Hearty and something new. Thank you for sharing!
It was DELITCHIOUS!! I made butter mashed potatoes and Elote. It was a very. Olodful and yummy combination!! I added smoked paprika and left it a little thicker to coat the chicken (diced). Five stars!