Pan-Seared Chicken with Bacon, Corn & Lime
Ingredients
- 4chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
- 6 slicesbacon
- 2 cupscorn (fresh or frozen)
- 2lime
- ½ mediumred onion
- 1jalapeño
- ¼ cupcilantro
- 2 tablespoonolive oil
- 1 teaspoonsalt
- ½ teaspoonblack pepper
Prep
- 01
Dice 1/2 medium red onion.
- 02
Slice 1 jalapeño and mince or chop it.
- 03
Roughly chop 1/4 cup fresh cilantro.
- 04
Cut 2 limes in half for juicing.
Method
- 01
Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel and break into pieces when cool. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from the pan.
- 02
Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels and season both sides generously with salt and pepper.
- 03
Heat the skillet with bacon fat over medium-high. Working in two batches if needed, sear chicken 5–6 minutes per side until golden and cooked through (internal temp 165°F). Transfer to a cutting board and rest 2 minutes.
- 04
In the same pan, add corn and diced red onion. Sauté for 2–3 minutes until corn is warm and onion softens slightly.
- 05
Slice chicken and return to the pan with the corn mixture. Toss in bacon pieces. Squeeze lime juice over everything and scatter cilantro on top. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
- 06
Serve warm with lime wedges on the side.
Spice Tips
For heat, leave the jalapeño seeds in or add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the corn. For deeper flavor, stir in 1/2 teaspoon cumin with the corn, or finish with a splash of hot sauce.
If using fresh corn, cut kernels off the cob. Frozen corn works just as well and saves time. The dish comes together in under 30 minutes start to finish.