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Copycat Sizzling Chicken and Cheese

copycat sizzling chicken and cheese

This Copycat Sizzling Chicken and Cheese – my rendition of the infamous TGI Fridays dish – is pretty easy to make, but it does require some multi-tasking and quality time management skills since there are a few moving parts. You can opt to cook the potatoes first and keep them warm while you work on the actual sizzling chicken and cheese part of this recipe.

I haven’t been to TGI Fridays in maybe a decade or so – I haven’t lived near one in a very long time – but when I used to frequent it I remember how often a waiter would pass by me with a steaming and sizzling platter of this dish. I ended up trying it just to see what the damn fuss was about and yeah. I could see why there was a fuss.

I saw someone make this on Instagram or TikTok, I can’t remember which, and it took me back so I had to put my spin on it too! I posted the videos yesterday and a few of you requested a written recipe and that’s the whole point of this site, right? So let’s get started.

Copycat Sizzling Chicken and Cheese

Copycat Sizzling Chicken and Cheese Ingredients

Feel free to jump to the full recipe, but here are useful notes about the ingredients you will need to make this Copycat Sizzling Chicken and Cheese recipe:

  • Boneless skinless chicken breasts: Thighs would work here, too. Cook them longer.
  • Red potatoes: You could also use yellow/yukon gold. I don’t recommend russet but if that’s all you’ve got make sure to peel them first.
  • Bell peppers, sweet onion: I used red, yellow, and orange.You can use whatever colors you want. Green will hold its shape and flavor for longer than other colors – they tend to soften more quickly in my experience.
  • Salted butter, sour cream, heavy cream: For our mashed taters! You can swap for unsalted butter, and half-and-half would be OK for heavy cream.
  • Colby jack, sharp cheddar: The cheeses for the bottom of the skillet. Melty and flavorful, and they can handle heat a few more minutes than softer cheeses: if you heat cheese too high and too long it separates, making everything oily. It’s Copycat Sizzling Chicken and Cheese not Greasy Chicken and Oily Potatoes!
  • Garlic, pureed garlic, parsley: Minced garlic and parsley for our chicken marinade, and pureed garlic for the potatoes. I puree garlic but blending it with a bit of water, but you can just mince it super fine if you don’t have or want to make pureed garlic.
  • Olive oil: For the marinade. You can also use it to keep the surace of the pan nonstick while you’re cooking.
  • Kosher salt, all-purpose seasoning, cracked black pepper: Our seasonings! For the chicken pictured I used my own all-purpose seasoning “Yes” which will be available in the shop sooner than you might think! Use whatever favorite chicken seasoning or versatile blend you have.
  • Lemon juice: To help tenderize the chicken while it marinates.
copycat sizzling chicken and cheese with mashed potatoes

How to Make Copycat Sizzling Chicken and Cheese 

Full instructions are included in the recipe below, but here is a basic overview of what you’ll need to do, along with some important tidbits to help you make the most of this Copycat Sizzling Chicken and Cheese recipe:

  • Marinate the chicken. At least an hour before you’re ready to start cooking, make your marinade: in a small container mix together the olive oil, all-purpose seasoning, lemon juice, minced garlic, and parsley. Whisk together, then add the chicken and work the marinade into the meat. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to start making dinner.
  • Boil the taters. Add your potatoes to a pot and cover with water. Salt the water generously. Place on a burner on high heat and cover loosely with a lid. Bring the water to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to medium-high. Continue cooking the potatoes until just fork-tender, about 10-12 minutes, then drain. Return them to the pot – off the heat – and set it aside.
  • Cook the chicken. Place a 10” or 12″ cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and let it preheat for two minutes. Add the chicken in a single layer and let sear undisturbed for 2-3 minutes. When the edges of each piece of chicken start to become opaque, go ahead and flip them. Add olive oil to the pan if you have issues with sticking. Continue cooking the chicken until cooked through, flipping once more. It will depend on the thickness of your chicken but should take around 8 more minutes or so.
  • Mash the taters. While the chicken is cooking go ahead and start building the mashed potatoes: add the sour cream, garlic puree, and butter to the potatoes and use a potato masher to mash it all together. Once you have a mash and not just a pile of broken potatoes, stir in the heavy cream with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. Taste and adjust for salt, as needed, and crack in the black pepper. Check on the chicken. It should be done.
  • I love onions and bell peppers. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside. Reduce the heat to medium. Wipe the pan out so the surface is clean, then add a small drizzle of olive oil. Add the onion, a pinch of kosher salt, and cook for three minutes, stirring frequently. Next, add the peppers, and another fat pinch of salt. Stir the peppers and onions together, then leave them alone for a couple of minutes so they can char; return to the mashed potatoes.
  • Mash the taters more. After you’ve stirred everything potato-related together, switch back to the potato masher. Work it through the potatoes a bit more so the mash is creamy and smooth for the most part, but with some nice lump action in there, too. Taste again, adjust as needed, then set them aside.
  • Char the veggies. Increase the heat under the peppers and onions to medium-high. Toss them around so they char evenly, just until the peppers are done to your liking. Remove and set aside. Make sure the surface of the pan is clean before you continue to the next step.
  • Time to serve. Reduce the heat to medium-low and sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the surface of the cast-iron pan, covering the entire thing. Dollop two super large mounds of mashed potatoes into the pan on one side. Turn off the heat entirely, add the chicken breasts to the pan, and beside it a mound of grilled peppers. Make the plates directly from the skillet, buffet-style. Alternatively, if you have individual-sized cast-iron dishes, heat those bad boys up and you can follow this four times, with individual-sized portions. Don’t forget to scoop up some cheese! Dassit.

Obligatory Pinterest graphic – 

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copycat sizzling chicken and cheese with mashed potatoes

Copycat Sizzling Chicken and Cheese


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  • Author: María
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 4 1x

Description

TGI Fridays, but at home!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts, sliced lengthwise)
  • 3 lbs red potatoes, cut into even-sized chunks
  • 2 medium bell peppers, any color, sliced
  • 1 medium sweet onion, sliced
  • 4 tbsp salted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 C sour cream, room temperature
  • 1/4 C heavy cream, warm
  • 1 tbsp pureed garlic
  • 1/2 C Colby jack
  • 1/2 C Sharp cheddar
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 tbsp minced parsley
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste
  • 2 tsp all-purpose seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice


Instructions

  1. At least an hour before you’re ready to start cooking, make your marinade: in a small container mix together the olive oil, all-purpose seasoning, lemon juice, minced garlic, and parsley. Whisk together, then add the chicken and work the marinade into the meat. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to start making dinner.
  2. Add your potatoes to a pot and cover with water. Salt the water generously. Place on a burner on high heat and cover loosely with a lid. Bring the water to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to medium-high. Continue cooking the potatoes until just fork-tender, about 10-12 minutes, then drain. Return them to the pot – off the heat – and set it aside.
  3. Place a 10” cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and let it preheat for two minutes. Add the chicken in a single layer and let sear undisturbed for 2-3 minutes. When the edges of each piece of chicken start to become opaque, go ahead and flip them. Add olive oil to the pan if you have issues with sticking. Continue cooking the chicken until cooked through, flipping once more. It will depend on the thickness of your chicken but should take around 8 more minutes or so.
  4. While the chicken is cooking go ahead and start building the mashed potatoes: add the sour cream, garlic puree, and butter to the potatoes and use a potato masher to mash it all together. Once you have a mash and not just a pile of broken potatoes, stir in the heavy cream with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. Taste and adjust for salt, as needed, and crack in the black pepper. Check on the chicken. It should be done.
  5. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside. Reduce the heat to medium. Wipe the pan out so the surface is clean, then add a small drizzle of olive oil. Add the onion, a pinch of kosher salt, and cook for three minutes, stirring frequently. Next, add the peppers, and another fat pinch of salt. Stir the peppers and onions together, then leave them alone for a couple of minutes so they can char; return to the mashed potatoes.
  6. After you’ve stirred everything potato-related together, switch back to the potato masher. Work it through the potatoes a bit more so the mash is creamy and smooth for the most part, but with some nice lump action in there, too. Taste again, adjust as needed, then set them aside.
  7. Increase the heat under the peppers and onions to medium-high. Toss them around so they char evenly, just until the peppers are done to your liking. Remove and set aside. Make sure the surface of the pan is clean before you continue to the next step.
  8. If you have individual-sized cast-iron dishes, heat those bad boys up and you can follow the next steps four times, with individual-sized portions.
  9. Reduce the heat to medium-low and sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the surface of the cast-iron pan, covering the entire thing. Dollop two super large mounds of mashed potatoes into the pan on one side.
  10. Turn off the heat entirely, add the chicken breasts to the pan, and beside it a mound of grilled peppers. Make the plates directly from the skillet, buffet-style. Don’t forget to scoop up some cheese! Dassit.
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 45
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