Name: Cheesy Everything Bagel Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts (~1lb, sliced in half widthwise to create cutlets); homemade seasoned salt and pepper (see notes); 4 oz cream cheese (softened to room temperature); 2 green onions (chopped); 1 batch Everything Bagel Seasoning (see below); 3/4 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese; 1-1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds; 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic; 1 teaspoon dried minced onion; 3/4 teaspoon white sesame seeds; 3/4 teaspoon black sesame seeds; pinch of salt

Cheesy Everything Bagel Chicken is a low carb, gluten free chicken dinner recipe that's easy, light and full of flavor!

cheesy everything bagel chicken on a plate with a salad

Some friends of ours own a bagel shop here in town and according to my husband they have the best bagels in the country. I don’t have to take just his word for it it – their shop is wall-to-wall packed every single day, even with a national bread and bagel chain restaurant directly across the street.

They are SLAYING the bagel game, and I love to see it!

Would I ever cheat on my gluten free diet? No. Do their soft and squishy New York Style bagels sandwiching 1/2″ of homemade cream cheese make me dream about it? Guilty!

Their everything bagels schmeared with homemade scallion cream cheese call to me, especially, so I decided to turn the irresistible combo into a baked chicken dish. This super easy and quick cooking recipe squashes a bagel craving in a delicious, gluten free, low carb way!

What’s Inside

Softened cream cheese is mixed with everything bagel seasoning plus sliced green onions then the mixture is slathered over chicken cutlets and baked. Shredded cheese is sprinkled on top then the dish is returned to the oven until melted.

This is a favorite of my chicken cutlet recipes because you simply load everything into a baking dish then put it into the oven. No muss, no fuss – plus, since the cutlets are baked, they stay nice and juicy. Honestly cannot say enough about this awesome everything bagel seasoning chicken recipe!

Chicken Cutlets vs Chicken Breasts

Chicken cutlets are large, boneless skinless chicken breasts that have been sliced in half widthwise to create two pieces of chicken which stretches this somewhat expensive protein to feed more people. When you’ve got five people to feed, three times a day, this is a handy, money-saving trick so we’re not blowing through pounds and pounds of chicken each week.

That said, if you prefer to use a full chicken breast per person, be sure to pound them to an even thickness first so they bake evenly, and plan on baking the chicken breasts longer than the 20-30 minutes needed for cutlets.

Tips for Success

I use 1/3 less fat cream cheese in this recipe but feel free to use luxurious full fat. I would skip fat free cream cheese.
I wrote this recipe to include shredded Monterrey Jack cheese melted on top, but you can use whatever you’ve got in the fridge. I think a shredded pizza blend, white cheddar, or fontina cheese would be divine!
This recipe includes a homemade everything bagel seasoning mix using spice cupboard staples. If you have a jar of pre-made mix from Trader Joe’s or somewhere else, you can use that instead. The store-bought mixes generally contain more salt than my homemade one, so be sure to read the note in the recipe card about how to combat this.

Cheesy, creamy, and surprisingly light – you are going to adore this easy baked chicken recipe!

Step 1: Make the Homemade Everything Bagel Seasoning

Start by making a homemade everything bagel seasoning. Like I said, if you have store bought on hand, you can use that instead – check the recipe card below to see how many Tablespoons of store-bought everything bagel seasoning to use. To make the homemade version you’ll need:

Poppy seeds
White sesame seeds
Black sesame seeds
Dried minced garlic
Dried minced onion
Salt

Step 2: Make the Cream Cheese Blend

Add the everything bagel seasoning plus chopped green onions to softened cream cheese then stir to combine. I typically use 1/3 less fat cream cheese though full fat is fabulous too. I don’t recommend using fat free cream cheese.

Step 3: Spread the Cream Cheese Mixture onto Chicken Cutlets

Next, slice 2 large chicken breasts in half widthwise to create 4 cutlets, then place them in a nonstick sprayed baking dish and season both sides with homemade seasoned salt and pepper.

Spread the green onion and everything bagel cream cheese mixture evenly over the top. We’re not looking for perfection here!

Step 4: Bake then Sprinkle with Shredded Cheese

Cover the baking dish with foil then bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Lastly, remove the foil and sprinkle shredded Monterrey Jack cheese on top and bake for 7-10 more minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

That’s all she wrote!!

Top the Cheesy Everything Bagel Chicken with sliced green onions for freshness and color then dig in! I hope you love this low-carb yet highly delicious take on bagel and schmear – enjoy!

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