One Pan Mexican Chicken And Rice Recipe
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One Pan Mexican Chicken and Rice Recipe is a quick and easy meal that’s full of flavor! Made with juicy chicken mince, fragrant spices, and colorful veggies, this one-pan dish just like one-pot Greek chicken and rice is perfect for a busy weeknight dinner. Try it tonight and have a tasty and nutritious meal on the table in no time!
The post has extra tips to make sure the recipe comes out amazing on your first try. If you're in a rush, use the link above to jump to the recipe card at the end! 👩🍳🔝
One Pan Mexican Chicken And Rice Recipe
Who doesn’t like a good one-pan meal, right? I know I do. This easy chicken and rice is one of those easy dinner recipes that everybody loves. Even my 4-year-old absolutely inhaled it and asked for more. And let me tell you that he usually asks for seconds ONLY if it is pasta with butter and parmesan 🙂
Ingredients for Mexican Chicken And Rice Recipe
The ingredients for the Mexican Chicken and Rice Recipe are simple, wholesome, and flavorful.
- Chicken mince. I would suggest using chicken thighs mince because it is juicier and more flavorsome than the ground meat made from chicken breast.
- Rice. You can use any white rice or brown rice you prefer. I like using basmati rice because once cooked with the chicken and vegetable mixture, it absorbs all the delicious flavors and aromas, creating a satisfying and hearty meal that the whole family enjoys. Plus it cooks much faster than other rice varieties.
- Red bell peppers and yellow bell peppers, capsicums.
- Onion and garlic.
- Chicken stock or chicken broth.
- Mexican spice blend. You can see what spices I used to make my homemade spice blend below or in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Black beans. Tinned organic beans are the best.
- Tomato paste such as passata.
- Cheese (cheddar or Mexican blend)
See the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below.
Homemade Mexican spice blend
If you don’t have or can’t find a good quality Mexican spice blend do not fear. Making a homemade spice blend is much easier than you might think. All you will need are a couple of spices that you probably have in your spice cabinet.
- To make the seasoning we will need sweet paprika, smoked paprika, ground cumin, onion powder, chili powder, and some fine sea salt.
- Mix the spices together and you have a delicious homemade Mexican spice blend.
How to make one pan Mexican chicken and rice
This recipe is incredibly easy to prepare and it’s almost foolproof. It’s packed with amazing Mexican flavors, loaded with vegetables and beans, and creates a soul-warming, cozy, and absolutely scrumptious meal.
- To make the dish, heat up some olive oil in a large cast iron pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté some diced onions for a couple of minutes until they soften, then add crushed garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add diced bell peppers (capsicum) and cook for a few more minutes.
- Move the vegetable mix to one side of the pan and add chicken mince, quickly frying and breaking up the meat into small pieces.
- Once the chicken mince is sealed, mix it with the vegetables, and add a Mexican spice blend. Cook everything together for a couple of minutes. If the mixture becomes too watery, turn up the heat to high.
- Stir in the passata, black beans, and chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Add rinsed basmati rice, bring the mixture to a simmer again, put the lid on the pan, and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid, sprinkle grated cheese on top, and put the pan in the oven. Change the setting to broil, and keep a close eye on the dish until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown.
Your delicious and effortless dinner is ready to be served. Enjoy!
Quick tips:
- If you are in a hurry, use one-minute rice to speed up the cooking process even more.
- Double the recipe and freeze half of the sauce (before you add the rice).
- You can add even more veggies by using cauliflower rice.
- It makes great leftovers. It will be just as delicious the next day.
How to serve Mexican chicken and rice
- Serve it as it is: This Mexican dish is a complete meal in one pan and is packed with protein, veggies, and grains. Simply enjoy One Pan Mexican Chicken and Rice as it is.
- Top up with your favorite toppings. I love serving the chicken and rice with some freshly chopped cilantro, creamy diced avocado, and a dollop of sour cream. And maybe some jalapeño pepper for extra Mexican touch.
- Do it yourself tortillas. Warm up some corn tortillas and serve them alongside the One Pan Mexican Chicken and Rice. So much fun for kids to make their own little burritos. Make sure to serve some avocado slices, fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and some grated cheese.
- Add a salad. Pair the One Pan Mexican Chicken and Rice with a side salad for a well-rounded meal. A simple side salad with greens, tomatoes, and cucumber dressed with lemon juice and olive oil is a great quick dinner addition.
How to store chicken and rice
In case you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container and refrigerate for a quick and convenient meal during the week. The dish should stay fresh for 1-2 days. To reheat, simply warm it up in a frying pan, adding a splash of water if needed to prevent it from drying out.
Can I freeze it?
I do not recommend freezing this dish because in my opinion rice doesn’t freeze well. If you like, you can freeze the chicken and vegetable mixture, before you added rice. In this way, you will have a perfect meal prep for the week ahead. Simply defrost it overnight and add rice.
Enjoying Mexican food? Try these easy family-friendly recipes:
This one-pan Mexican Chicken and Rice recipe is definitely a keeper. It’s easy to make, full of flavor, and perfect for busy weeknights. Before you go, make sure to pin the recipe so you can easily access it whenever you want to whip up a quick and delicious meal. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or a beginner, this recipe is sure to become a go-to favorite in your kitchen.
More recipes with chicken mince?
Have you tried this recipe? If so, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could leave a star rating and share your thoughts in a comment. Your feedback means a lot to me, and it can also help others who are interested in trying it out. Thank you! 🌟👩🍳
One Pan Mexican Chicken And Rice
Ingredients
- 500 g free-range chicken mince preferably from the thigh
- 1 red capsicum (bell pepper) diced
- 1 yellow capsicum diced (bell pepper) diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp your favorite taco seasoning or you can see mine in the notes below
- 3/4 cups passata Italian tomato sauce
- 1 tin of organic black beans
- 1 cup Basmati rice. See notes about cooking rice.
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup Grated cheese. You can use a Mexican mix or just grate your everyday Tasty or Cheddar.
Optional extras:
- Fresh coriander
- Greek/plain yogurt or sour cream if you prefer
- Avocado
- Fresh lime
- Pickled jalapenos
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200’C (390’F)
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add the onions and cook for one minute. Add the diced capsicum and fry for a further two minutes. Add garlic and fry for one more minute.
- Move the vegetables to one side of the pan, and add chicken mince to the pan. Using a spatula break up the chicken mince and fry until the chicken is cooked. Mix the chicken with the vegetables.
- Add taco seasoning and mix well.
- Add black beans and tomato sauce to the chicken mix, stir to combine.
- Add rice and vegetable or chicken stock, bring to a boil, and turn the heat down to low immediately.
- Cook rice and chicken with a tight lid on for about 10 minutes. Taste the rice, if it is not done yet, cook it for another five minutes. You can add extra stock or water if there is no liquid left in the pan.
- Sprinkle cheese on top and put the pan in the oven. Change the setting to broil. It should take only a couple of minutes for the cheese to melt and get brown, so make sure to watch it closely.
- Take out of the oven and serve! Be careful when taking the pan out of the oven, it is heavy and hot!
Notes
Rice
- I use basmati rice because this is my kids’ preference. However, you can use any kind of rice, just adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- I wouldn’t recommend using brown rice, because it takes too long to cook and your beans and vegetable will be mushy.
- For brown rice to work for this recipe you will have to precook it ahead of time and just add it instead of basmati rice in step 5 in the instructions.
- If using cauliflower rice, only cook it for a couple of minutes, so that cauliflower still has a bite to it.
Taco Seasoning:
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/8 tsp chilly powder
Mmmmm… I need to try this, looks amazing! Thanks for the recipe.
Enjoy, Zoe! 🙂
It was great!! Nice job especially on the spice mix, I’m going to mix up a batch, probably add a bit more chili and have it on hand:)
Thanks for a yummy meal!
Thank you for letting me know and I am so happy you enjoyed it!!
Enjoyed this for dinner tonight and it was a hit all around the table! Bold, hearty and delicious; my kind of comfort food, indeed!
This was delicious. Really comforting and lots of flavour.
One pan meals are my jam! I made this one for dinner last night and my whole family devoured it!
So many wonderful flavors packed all into one pan! I love how easily this meal comes together and it sounds so good with the vegetables.
This one-pan Mexican chicken and rice is simply amazing! The flavors are perfectly balanced, and the dish is so easy to make. It’s now a staple in my weeknight dinner rotation. Amazing!!
This was amazing! So tasty…a huge hit with the whole family. It will definitely become a regular fixture. We added the avocado, sour cream and coriander as suggested…yum 😋. Thank you!!
Thank you for the lovely comment Carmen! I am so happy to hear that everyone enjoyed it! 😊