Monterey Chicken Braid
The ultimate comfort food, Monterey Chicken Braid combines flaky dough with creamy chicken and cheese for an easy weeknight dinner. Perfectly braided, it's a show-stopping dish that everyone will love. Make it tonight for a delicious meal!
Equipment
- Cookie Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Chef Knives
- Cutting Board
- Rotary Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chopped chicken
- 1¼ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- ½ (10-oz) package frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained
- ⅔ cups sour cream
- ¼ tsp garlic powder or to taste
- ¾ cup French fried onions
- 1 (13.8-oz) can refrigerated pizza dough
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400ºF. This step ensures that your braid cooks evenly and gets that beautiful golden color.
- Roll out the pizza dough vertically onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. This helps the dough bake perfectly without sticking.
- In a large bowl, mix together the cooked chicken, sour cream, 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese, spinach, garlic powder, and ½ cup of French fried onions. Stir until everything is well combined, and you see a creamy filling that’s ready to go.
- Spread the chicken mixture down the center of the pizza dough, leaving some space at the ends for folding over.
- Cut 12 strips on each side of the dough, about 1 inch wide. Be careful not to cut into the filling. This is what will create the braid effect.
- To braid, lift the strips of dough across the filling to meet in the center. Alternate pulling strips from each side to form a beautiful braid. This step is where the fun begins, and it’s a great way to get the kids involved!
- Once braided, place the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. You’ll want to keep an eye on it; it should be lightly browned and puffed up.
- Remove the braid from the oven. Top with the remaining ¼ cup of Monterey Jack cheese and the rest of the French fried onions.
- Return it to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and becomes bubbly. The smell will be irresistible!
Notes
- Tip 1: You can use rotisserie chicken in this recipe. Any cooked chicken that you have on hand works great.
- Tip 2: I used a can of refrigerated pizza dough for this recipe, but you can substitute a can of crescent dough. Just make sure to seal the perforations and seams.
- Tip 3: Make sure to get as much water out of the frozen spinach as possible.
- Tip 4: Feel free to add more veggies to the chicken mixture. Red bell pepper and sundried tomatoes are delicious options.
- Tip 5: You can assemble the braid and refrigerate it overnight before baking.
- Tip 6: Once baked, let the braid cool completely. Wrap it in plastic wrap and aluminum foil to freeze. When ready to eat, thaw and reheat in the microwave or oven.