A copycat recipe for Outback Steakhouse’s Alice Springs Chicken. Marinate the chicken in a Dijon sauce and top it with bacon, mushrooms, and cheese for a delicious dinner.
My favorite meal from Outback Steakhouse is the Alice Springs Chicken, no bacon, no mushrooms, with a side of mashed potatoes. I don’t know if I have ever eaten anything else there. And of course, the good bread to start and the Aussie fries as an appetizer!! OK, now I’m hungry.
Anyways, it’s so good, but with two young kids, we don’t always get to go out. Not to mention the cost for four people. So I decided I could try to make it at home. I looked up some copycat recipes online and tried a few but it just never tasted right. So I started tweaking things and this is what we came up with.
The marinade is the most important part of the meal to give it the flavor that I love so much. This is what really took some tweaking, changing, and substituting to get as close as I could. It still isn’t perfect, but it’s close enough for me.
I use my stand mixer to make the marinade, but you can use an electric hand mixer. I’m sure you could also mix it by hand with a whisk, but it may not blend together quite as well. I personally don’t like bacon or mushrooms on mine but make it with them for Justin and the boys. I know, who doesn’t like bacon, right?
Simple Ingredients
Dijon Mustard
The Dijon mustard is the main ingredient in the honey mustard sauce used for the marinade.
Maple Syrup
In place of maple syrup, you can use honey. This was how we originally made the recipe, but one night didn’t have any honey so we substituted it with maple syrup and preferred that flavor.
Vegetable Oil
The vegetable oil helps hold everything together. You could also use olive oil or canola oil for this.
Lemon Juice
The lemon juice adds a bit of tang to the marinade.
Chicken Breasts
We like to eat boneless, skinless chicken breast with this recipe. While that’s how it’s made at Outback, you could use another piece of chicken if that’s what you prefer.
Butter
The butter is used to saute mushrooms. I prefer unsalted so it doesn’t add more sodium to the meal, but salted butter works for the sauteed mushrooms, too.
Mushrooms
Sliced mushrooms are perfect to top the chicken with. Saute the sliced fresh mushrooms so they are warm and soft. If you don’t care for mushrooms, you can leave them off as well.
Bacon
Cooked crispy bacon typically tops Outback Steakhouse Alice Springs chicken. Prepare it ahead of time so that it’s warm and ready to add to the top of the chicken as it finishes cooking.
Monterey Jack Cheese
The best cheese for this recipe is Monterey Jack Cheese (combined with the cheddar cheese). An alternative would be to use Colby Jack Cheese or Muenster Cheese.
Cheddar Cheese
In my opinion, the sharper the better when it comes to cheddar cheese. It’s also best if you can shred the cheese yourself since it melts better and you want the melted cheese to fall over the entire dish.
Parsley
Fresh parsley or dried parsley both work to garnish Alice Spring’s Chicken.
Side Suggestions
There are a few sides that go well with this copycat Alice Springs Chicken recipe. My favorites are those that I can smother with some of the extra marinade from the pan and a bit more cheese.
- Prepare mashed potatoes to go with the chicken
- Serve with some store-bought or homemade biscuits
- Pair with some coleslaw
- Smother steamed vegetables with the marinade after the chicken has cooked
Alice Springs Chicken Step by Step
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Chicken:
- 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cups mushrooms (sliced)
- 8 slices bacon
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese (shredded)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
- 2 tsp parsley
Preparation
The chicken tastes best when you give it a couple of hours to marinate before cooking. Sometimes I forget, though, and go without a lot of marinating time and it still tastes delicious. To make the marinade, combine the Dijon mustard, maple syrup, vegetable oil, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl and whisk until combined.
Pour this over your chicken and refrigerate for two hours.
When you are ready to start cooking, warm a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and all of the marinade to the pan. If you forgot to marinate the chicken ahead of time, pour the marinade into the pan with the chicken at this time. Cook the chicken, flipping as needed until it is cooked through.
While the chicken cooks, prepare the bacon as desired (the easiest way to cook the bacon is in the air fryer if you have one). You also need to saute the mushrooms in a small pan over medium heat with a tablespoon of butter or oil, just until they are softened.
Once the chicken is completely cooked, turn the heat to low and top each chicken breast with two slices of bacon and some mushrooms.
Cover each chicken breast with 1/4 of each of the cheeses and cover the pan until the cheese melts.
Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
Alice Springs Chicken Leftovers
Storage: Save the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Reheating: For the best results, reheat Alice Springs Chicken in a saucepan over medium heat until warmed through, about 8-10 minutes. If it seems dry, add a little bit of olive oil or butter to the pan.
Recipe
Originally Published On: January 19, 2016
Last Updated On: May 26, 2024
Alice Springs Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cups mushrooms (sliced)
- 8 slices bacon
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese (shredded)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
- 2 tsp parsley
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, combine Dijon mustard, maple syrup, vegetable oil, and lemon juice in a small bowl
- Pour marinade over chicken and marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for about 2 hours
- Warm a large skillet over medium-high heat
- Pour all of the marinade and chicken into the pan and cook until the chicken is done through, flipping as needed
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon as directed
- Sauté the mushrooms in butter in a small frying pan until they are soft
- Once the chicken is cooked, turn the heat to low and stack two pieces of bacon, crosswise, on each chicken breast
- Spoon the sautéed mushrooms on the bacon, being sure to coat each breast evenly
- Spread about 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese onto each piece, followed by 1/4 cup cheddar cheese
- Cover the pan for about 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to bubble
- Garnish with parsley and serve immediately
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Recipes with Bacon
- Air Fryer Bacon
- Bacon on the Grill
- Loaded Baked Potato Casserole Recipe
- Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breast with Thousand Island Dressing
- Alice Springs Chicken Copycat Recipe
- Instant Pot Red Beans & Rice
- Southern Black Eyed Peas
- Classic BLT Sandwich
- Breakfast in a Bag Camping Meal
Copycat Recipes
- Honey Garlic Chicken Over Rice Recipe
- Strawberry Acai Refresher Drink
- Alice Springs Chicken Copycat Recipe
- Chicken Francese over Angel Hair Pasta
- 5 Layer Bean Dip: TexMex Restaurant Copycat Recipe
- Pasta Fagioli Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
- Strawberry Banana Smoothie: McDonald’s Copycat
- Copycat Cajun Chicken Pasta from Chili’s
- Cheesy Baked Crab Casserole: Chinese Buffet Copycat
- Cheddar Biscuits
- Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Garlic and Herb Cheese Fondue
- Banana Cream Cheesecake
- Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
- Fettuccine Alfredo
Dijon Mustard Recipes
- Chicken Thighs with Dairy-Free Creamy Mustard Sauce
- Sirloin Steak with Dijon Sauce
- Dijon Vinaigrette Dressing for Salads or Marinades
- Dijon Chicken and Broccoli
- Dijon-Herb Tilapia
- Easy Hawaiian Sliders Recipe with Ham and Cheese
- Ranch Snowman Spread
- Deviled Egg Pasta Salad
- Sheet Pan Salmon with Smashed Potatoes
- Alice Springs Chicken Copycat Recipe
- Broccoli and Cheese Casserole
- Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breast with Thousand Island Dressing
- Chicken Schnitzel
- Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Super Easy Marinated Baked Pork
- Simple Classic Coleslaw Recipe
- Lemon Rosemary Tilapia
- Grilled Summer Orzo Salad
This looks so delicious! I’ve been meaning to try new chicken recipes, and this one looks perfect for me!
It’s such a yummy meal. I always order it when we go out but now prefer my homemade version better.
Sounds and looks delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
It’s a favorite here! We’ve made it many times and always enjoy it.
This looks so good! My family would love this… will definitely try this recipe out!
I hope your family likes it! We’ve made it many times since the boys will eat it, too.
Oh my goodness, this looks so delicious!! I’m definitely adding this to my list of weekend dishes to make!
And the best part is it’s so easy! The marinade is what makes this one so good.
This is my favorite meal from outback as well! It looks very good. I will try it soon.
If it’s your favorite you should definitely give this one a try. The recipe is very close to theirs, but I prefer my homemade one!
It’s time for lunch and this chicken looks so delicious! My mother loves chicken more than me, so I will definitely make the recipe for her this week!
Aww, I’m sure your mother would love it!
This looks so good. it is great that you have taken on this challenge. I usually have some kind of seafood when I go to Outback. I will try this next time.
I’ve had other meals once or twice but always come back to the Alice Springs Chicken.
I pretty much love all the ingredients in this dish. The pictures I’m sure don’t do it justice. Thanks for sharing.
You are so right. It’s so hard to capture flavor in a photo!
I LOVE your dishes! But tree food also looks very good! I dont eat much chicken but maybe ill make this for the family.
The best part of this is the marinade. It would be good on other foods, too, if you have a meat substitute you could use.
Yummy! This looks perfect. I am hungry just reading your post! Definitely going to make this recipe!
I get so hungry when I write the posts, too! And it’s not even 8am here.
Nice recipe! I always love chicken! Can’t wait to try it
I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Im gonna have to try that next time were at Outback but omg your recipe looks so mouth watering!!Ill try makign this over the weekend!!
Yes, definitely give it a try next time you go. Or, as you said, make this one from home to have it soon!
The dish looks pretty amazing there. I would love to try out this dish. I’m really excited to try out the marinade.
Really, the marinade is the best part. I haven’t tried it on anything else yet but I really want to one day.
Ooh, this sounds like a great recipe… will have to make this dish for my daughter – I’m sure she’ll love it!
My boys both enjoy this one, so hopefully your daughter does, too!
I thought this spring chicken would be difficult to make until I read the step by step. I would make this recipe for sure since I’m a chicken lover
When I first set out to make the recipe, I wasn’t sure either. But it’s all in the marinade, so it makes the recipe pretty easy overall.
I loooove chicken!!! And this looks so delicious, I am definitely trying to make it.
It’s always been one of my favorite chicken recipes.
I have to confess, we almost never eat at Outback Steakhouse (none close to us) so I’ve never even heard of this dish. But you’ve found my baby bro Evan’s marinade “secret ingredient” (he uses maple syrup liberally in ALL his marinades), so I bet this is delish!
Oh man, Outback is one of my favorite chain restaurants! This is the only time I’ve used maple syrup in a marinade, I never thought of adding it to others. I’ll have to give it a try.
You say to put 1/4 of cheeses on chicken.what do you do with the rest of the cheese?
Sandra: I guess I need to find a better way to write it. There’s 1 cup total of each cheese and 4 chicken breasts so 1/4 cup of each cheese per chicken breast. Basically divide the cheese evenly over the chicken. Thank you for pointing this out, I’ll rewrite it a bit to reflect that.
Thanks, the recipe sounds delicious. My daughter always gets this item at outback.
I’ve never been to outback but this sounds like a delicious meal. Love that you twerked it until you got it how you wanted it.
It took a few tries, but this is the one we have all agreed on and have made a few times now. It’s fun to try to figure out the changes and make something new.
Looks fab! I love how clear and simple – easy to follow your recipes are. With a mixture of pictures and text it makes home cooking super easy xx
That’s my goal! A lot of people are intimidated at the thought of cooking a meal like this, but it can be relatively easy if you have clear instructions.
I really feel like this is something we would all enjoy! I get so bored with chicken and end up making it the same ways.
I had the same problem for a while, too. That’s when I started branching out to try new things along with starting this website.
This is delicious recipe, I was thinking the same that we can make recipes we get from restaurants and food places at home. I will add this to the list.
It’s definitely a challenge to make restaurant meals at home, but it’s great to give it a try.
Omg I just love Outback Steakhouse but we do not have one close by!!! I will have to try out this recipe to hold me over until our next trip somewhere with an outback
Sounds like a great idea! Luckily, we’ve always had one close, but I still prefer to make it at home most of the time.