This Everything Bagel chicken with scallion cream cheese sauce is pure NYC bagel heaven! Chicken breasts are coated in Everything But the Bagel seasoning and baked to perfection then smothered in a delicious scallion cream cheese sauce. Keto and low carb with paleo and dairy-free options.
True or false: the Everything bagel is the perfect bagel.
True, duh. Well, maybe. If I’m in the mood for sweet, it’s cinnamon raisin all the way. But savory? Everything bagel is king.
And Everything But the Bagel seasoning? She might be the queen. With a classic garlicky, oniony flavor and tons of crunch from the sesame and poppy seeds, I want to coat just about everything in Everything Bagel seasoning.
Including, or maybe especially, this Everything Bagel Chicken with Scallion Cream Cheese Sauce. Yep – this recipe takes the very best parts of a classic Everything bagel and scallion cream cheese (Except maybe the squishy carbs and post-bagel bloat…) and turns it into a keto and low carb dinner that’s super easy to throw together.
Why This Everything Bagel Chicken Is So Good
- It’s really easy to make! Prep only takes about 5 minutes for both the chicken and the sauce.
- The Everything Bagel seasoning creates a super flavorful and crunchy crust.
- The scallion cream cheese sauce is crazy easy and absolutely delicious. I’d eat it on everything.
- This recipe is keto and low carb with only 2g net carbs per serving.
Everything But the Bagel Seasoning
Everything But the Bagel Sesame Seasoning started as a Trader Joe’s concoction but quickly spread in popularity. I personally ordered this giant container from Amazon and love how generous I can be with it.
If you don’t have any on hand and want to make this recipe tonight, you can always make your own Everything Bagel seasoning. You’d be a-OK to swap the white poppy seeds for black and vice versa.
How to Make Everything Bagel Chicken with Scallion Cream Cheese Sauce
Start by preheating your oven to 400º F and taking your cream cheese out of the refrigerator. You’ll only use half a block, so save the rest!
Place your chicken breasts top-down (meaning the smooth, rounded side) in a baking dish. A 9×9″ pan will work, as will a larger pan. Brush the surface of the chicken with half the melted butter using a pastry brush, then season with salt. You’ll use less than you normally would because most Everything Bagel seasonings contain salt.
Then, sprinkle half of the Everything But the Bagel seasoning over the chicken. It should be pretty coated.
Carefully flip the chicken and repeat: brush the tops with half the butter, sprinkle with salt, and finish by coating the chicken with the remaining Everything But the Bagel seasoning.
Bake for about 25-35 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken breasts. 25 minutes for small, 30 for medium, 35 for large – that will get you pretty close!
I recommend using an internal meat thermometer with a probe to produce the best chicken. Your chicken will be done when the internal temperature reaches 160º F; it will rise to 165º as it rests.
Meanwhile, melt the 1 tablespoon butter in a medium bowl. Next, mix together all sauce ingredients, whisking well to combine. Taste and season with salt.
When the chicken is fully baked, remove from the oven and let sit, preferably on a cutting board or plate, for 5 minutes. Serve, smothering with plenty of scallion cream cheese sauce!
Tips & Variations
- Make sure you soften your cream cheese before trying to stir in the scallions, butter, and seasoning.
- If you forget to take your cream cheese out to soften, microwave it in a medium bowl at 50% power in 20-second intervals until softened.
- If you’re paleo, use ghee instead of butter, nondairy cream cheese like Kite Hill, and your favorite plain, unsweetened nondairy milk like macadamia or almond milk.
- If you’re dairy-free, use avocado oil or vegan butter in place of butter and follow the remaining swaps in the tip above.
- Use an internal thermometer for the best chicken ever. I use this internal thermometer with a probe when baking meat and poultry in the oven; it sounds an alarm when the desired temperature is reached. Set your temperature to 160º F for moist chicken; it will rise to 165º upon resting.
If you like this recipe, you’ll love:
- Mashed Potato Pancakes
- Grilled Baked Potatoes
- BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches
- Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
- Chickpea Gyros
- Loaded Greek Chicken Bowls
- Healthy Creamy Tuscan Chicken with Artichokes
- Creamy Tomato Artichoke Chicken
- Cauliflower Fried Rice with Chicken
- Lemon Pepper Chicken
And if you’re counting grams of net carbs, make sure you bookmark our Net Carb Calculator to easily calculate carbs for a keto or low carb diet.
Hey – you’ve made it this far, and now we’re best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, too!
Everything Bagel Chicken with Scallion Cream Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
Everything Bagel Chicken
- 2 tablespoons butter melted, see Note
- 4 medium chicken breasts
- salt
- 1/4 cup Everything But the Bagel seasoning
Scallion Cream Cheese Sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon Everything But the Bagel seasoning
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened, see Note
- 6 tablespoons chopped green onions 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
- 1/4 cup half-and-half or milk see Note
Garnishes
- green onions thinly sliced
- Everything But the Bagel seasoning
Wine Pairings — See Notes
- 2019 Adelante Sauvignon Blanc click to buy
- 2019 Etnico Rosé click to buy
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F. Place chicken breasts top-down in a baking dish. 9×9" or larger. Using a pastry brush, brush surface of chicken with butter then sprinkle with salt. Don't use as much salt as you normally would, since most Everything But the Bagel seasonings have salt in them.
- Sprinkle surface of chicken with half the Everything But the Bagel seasoning. Use tongs and carefully flip chicken breasts. Brush tops with the remaining butter, sprinkle with the salt and coat with the remaining Everything but the Bagel seasoning.
- Bake at 400º F for 25-35 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160º F. See Note.
- Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium bowl. Whisk in remaining sauce ingredients until very smooth. Taste and add salt to taste.
- When chicken is baked, remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Serve with plenty of scallion cream cheese sauce.
Video
Notes
- Make it Paleo: Use ghee or a neutral oil, like avocado oil or refined coconut oil.
- Make it Dairy Free: Use vegan butter or a neutral oil, dairy free cream cheese, and unsweetened, plain, non-dairy milk of choice.
- Cooking times will vary by size of chicken breast.
- Small chicken breasts: approximately 25 minutes
- Medium chicken breasts: approximately 30 minutes
- Large chicken breasts: approximately 35 minutes
Nutrition
Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She’s been a blogger for 10 years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of two who lives in Memphis, TN.
Christy says
Okay ….I’m nursing a 18 yr old broken heart !!! Can’t really fix it for her as my heart aches for her … But maybe …just maybe…. cook a meal with some of her fav ingredients she might love cause I tend to cook to show my love and appreciation to make others happy….. makes me happy and food helps!!!! She loved this and said to” keeper recipe” I did double sauce (cause of rave sauce reviews for extra ) to use for other veggies or whatever over the week
Debby says
Can you use chicken wings for this?
Amelia Camurati says
The cook time would definitely be less for chicken wings, but you could put this seasoning and sauce on any chicken cut!
Donyell says
Can this be made in a slow cooker/crockpot? This looks amazing and I want to try it.
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
It’d be pretty easy in the slow cooker! Just transfer all the ingredients to your slow cooker and cook on low for high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Prepare the sauce as usual!
Lindsay says
Making this tonight with the roasted brussels sprouts. I CANNOT WAIT.
Kristin says
Made this tonight with the Trader Joe’s seasoning blend. I didn’t have cream cheese on hand to use, as what we have is reserved for the pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting my daughter is making, but I used some sour cream and it still worked well enough that my family liked it!!! We had it with roasted asparagus and it was yummy. Next time I will be sure to try it with the real sauce!
Amy says
Soo yummy!!
Nancy says
Made this for dinner tonight and OMG it was soooooooo good! I could eat the cream cheese sauce on its own. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe.
Sandee says
What might be a good side to go with this?
Cheryl Malik says
Roasted asparagus, salad, roasted brussels sprouts, our carrot salad, etc. The options are endless!
Julie says
Very easy to make and delicious! The chicken was very moist. My boyfriend and I loved it – this recipe is a keeper!
Cheryl Malik says
Thanks, Julie!
Christy says
I’m in but I have questions about this. You say to “Start by preheating your oven to 400º F and taking your cream cheese out of the oven”. Why is the cream cheese in the oven?
Cheryl Malik says
Thanks for bringing it to our attention that the post should have read, “refrigerator”. The post has been updated!
Mia Woods says
Delicious. I was wondering how to use the Everything But the Bagel seasoning. I followed the recipe as written. Loved all the flavors. Served this with Trader Joe’s frozen corn. Went very well together.
Cheryl Malik says
Delicious!
Jillian says
Looks delicious.
But just a quick question…in the intro you mentioned to take your cream cheese out of the oven. Is that right?
Cheryl Malik says
We updated the post to say “refrigerator”. Thank you!
Brianna J. says
This sauce is EVERYTHING. I would take a bath in this sauce. Seriously someone needs to bottle this up because I am going to be putting this on everything. The chicken was also so good, I couldn’t find the seasoning packets listed in the recipe so I just bought one I found in the spice department and coated the chicken with that. I used about half of the bottle on 2 chicken breasts (sliced thinly to make 4). I tend to be heavy handed on seasonings though… so worth it. I will be adding this recipe to my weekly meals. Super easy and super tasty.
Cheryl Malik says
Wow, Brianna! We feel the same way, haha! We would LOVE to bottle this sauce up to take with us everywhere!
Lori says
I made this and really enjoyed it. The cream sauce is the bomb and could be used with other things besides chicken. I will say though, that I did not add any salt to the either part of the recipe. The bagel seasoning gave it plenty. I also added just a spritz of lemon juice to my sauce and brightened it up. This is an easy dish to make, yet has a gourmet edge to it.
Kristen Kennedy says
I’m constantly bemoaning the fact I’ve given up bread … specifically bagels. This completely fulfilled all my cravings. It’s so delicious and easy and satisfying. Thank you for creating yet another masterpiece!!
Cheryl Malik says
We are so glad to hear that!
Mama Beas says
When I saw the title I knew I had to make this as that’s my favorite seasoning ever! I just finished savoring it and the meal did not disappoint. Great taste and easy to make. Do over for sure!
Cheryl Malik says
So glad you made it and also enjoyed it!
Stephanie Smith says
I just bought a bottle of Everything but the Bagel seasoning and didn’t know what to do with it. THIS! This is what I’m doing with it!
Cheryl Malik says
YES! Let us know what you think!
Cherie says
I’m so confused by the first sentence where you say to “take your cream cheese out of the oven”. Do you put it in there first to soften it?
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Sorry about that, we’ve updated the post to reflect “refrigerator”!
Megan says
What is a good side dish you’d pair with this main course?
Cheryl Malik says
Mashed cauliflower, roasted asparagus or brussels sprouts, salad, etc!
Emily says
Made this for dinner tonight… SO GOOD! The chicken is great, and that scallion cream cheese sauce is so delicious. Everything came together super quickly too! My family loved it. We will definitely be making this again!
Cheryl Malik says
Yay!!