Chicken Breasts with Cranberry Salsa and Cilantro Cream

Submitted by ciao4293

"Very fast and very easy, but oustanding flavor! The flavors of the cranberry salsa with the cilantro cream are a surprisingly good combination. One word of advice: the cilantro is a standout flavor in this dish, so if you don't like the herb, you may not like this one."

 

• Ready In: 22mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken breast halves
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1⁄3 cup minced green onion
• 1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 (12 ounce) container orange cranberry sauce (like Ocean Spray)
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro, divided
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened

directions

1. Combine green onions, jalapeno, vinegar and cranberry sauce in a medium sized bowl.
2. Stir in 1 tbsp of the cilantro, and 1 tbsp of the lime juice.
3. Set aside.
4. Combine the remaining cilantro and lime juice with the cream cheese in a small bowl, combining well.
5. Set aside.
6. Put each chicken breast half between plastic wrap, and flatten to about 1/2 inch thickness using a mallet or rolling pin.
7. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
8. Heat medium skillet over medium high heat, cook chicken 4-5 minutes on each side, till done.
9. Spoon cranberry salsa evenly into 4 serving plates.
10. Top with chicken breasts, and add a dollop of cilantro cream over each chicken breast, then serve.

Reviews

[venus2]

We served this at a dinner party & it was a huge hit! I had to make copies for everyone. I used regular cranberry sauce instead of the orange/cranberry. It's easy & so tasty.

 

[Southern Lady]

This was good in our opinion but not great. The cilantro cream was okay but I think it could be done differently for a different presentation and taste delivery. Possibly the cream could be thinned using a bit of the cranberry sauce (warmed to mix well) and then drizzled over the chicken. Add a sprig of cilantro on top of cream for a colorful presentation.

 

[rocketteena]

This is a *lovely* dish for company. It really made us look good – thanks! :-) For our tastes, I knew the citrus would be an integral part of this dish. So to remedy the fact that I only had regular plain cranberry sauce, I added 1 t. lime zest (any citrus zest would work, I’m sure – but hey, you have to get those limes for their juice, so might as well use their zest!) This really worked well, we thought. True to my name, I also added a little more chopped jalapeno than called for – and also, 1/8 t. cumin, which I felt added to the Southwestern flavor. None of us could say enough about the cilantro cream! My gosh, so easy and sooo “gourmet tasting.” I’m trying to think of other uses for it… as a dip paired with salsa, as a topping for taco salads… In fact, Ciao, you might think of posting that as a stand-alone recipe - it was superb. Thanks so much!