• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Girl Heart Food®
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Main Dish Recipes

    Southwest Chicken and Rice Skillet

    Published: January 25, 2018 Updated: October 24, 2018 / By: Dawn | Girl Heart Food 44 Comments

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Email
    Jump to Recipe
    Close-up of chicken and rice in a dish garnished with avocado, jalapeno, cilantro and tomatoes.

    This chicken and rice skillet recipe is a sponsored post by USA Rice Canada. #ReachForRice

    This one pot Southwest chicken and rice skillet is sure to be a family favourite! It’s loaded with flavour from spices like cumin, cayenne and smoked paprika and packs a filling punch of nutrition from whole grain brown rice and chicken thighs. Garnish to your heart’s content! This is one delicious recipe!

    Chicken and rice in a dish garnished with avocado, jalapeno, cilantro and tomatoes.

    Hi friends! How has January been treating you so far? I gotta say, it hasn’t been too bad around here. The weather hasn’t been too warm, but decent for this time of year. And I’ve been cooking up a storm with all sorts of nutritious comfort food recipes, like this chicken and rice skillet.

    Chicken and Rice Skillet

    You know what I love about this recipe besides the awesome flavour? It’s so easy to prepare! You just put all the ingredients in one pot and way to go! There’s not a kitchen full of dishes required and very minimal cleanup. I don’t know about you, but I need more recipes like that in my life. To be honest, though, no matter what I do in the kitchen, I somehow always make a mess; hubby can attest to that.

    Ingredients for a southwest chicken and rice skillet.

    Benefits of Rice

    Are you a fan of rice like me?  It’s eaten in our home on the regular. It’s so inexpensive (like, I bought a huge four pound bag of whole grain brown rice for less than $7!). I’m pretty sure I can feed the entire street for a week on it, LOL. Plus, it’s a delicious base for so many recipes like stir fry, veggie and rice bowls and, of course, this easy chicken and rice skillet.

    Collage of some steps to make a chicken and rice skillet.

    The main reason why I love rice is because it’s nutritious!! Did you know that it’s low in calories (108 calories for half a cup), and gluten free? Rice is also a plant-based protein and when combined with beans (like in this recipe), it’s giving you eight essential amino acids! That’s good stuff!

    Hand squeezing a wedge of fresh lime over a dish of chicken and rice.

    Trying to keep any healthy eating new year’s resolutions on track? Well, this recipe is for you!! And one thing about me, is that I will never sacrifice flavour. I’ve been there in my younger days, eating boring “diet” foods. These days in my more experienced, (or, um) older wisdom, I’m all about real food. This chicken and rice skillet hits all the important check marks for me.

    Close-up of chicken and rice in a dish garnished with avocado, jalapeno, cilantro and tomatoes.

    If you are thinking beyond dinner, this chicken and rice recipe is delicious for breakfast with a poached egg on top!

    Spoonful of rice and chicken from a dish.

    More Easy One Pot Recipes

    • Farro With Vegetables and Sausage
    • Vegetable Korma
    • Chili Pasta Bake

    Hope you love this easy chicken and rice recipe!

    Chicken and rice in a dish garnished with avocado, jalapeno, cilantro and tomatoes.

    Southwest Chicken and Rice Skillet

    Dawn | Girl Heart Food
    This one pot chicken and rice skillet is sure to be a family favourite! It's loaded with flavour from spices like cumin, cayenne and smoked paprika and packs a filling punch of nutrition from whole grain brown rice and chicken thighs. Garnish to your heart's content! This is one delicious recipe!
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Recipe Save RecipeSaved!
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 50 mins
    Rest time 10 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 10 mins
    Course Main Course
    Servings 4 servings
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients
     

    Southwest Chicken and Rice Skillet

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 yellow onion, peeled and minced
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks
    • ¾ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
    • ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
    • 1 cup whole grain brown rice, rinsed and drained
    • 1 cup salsa
    • 1 cup canned no salt added black beans, rinsed and drained
    • ½ bell pepper, cut into bite-sized chunks
    • 1 cup corn kernels, from about 1 ear of corn or use 1 cup frozen corn
    • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, optional
    • 2 cups low sodium chicken broth

    Garnish and Serving Ideas (optional)

    • Tomato, diced
    • Avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and sliced
    • Cilantro, chopped
    • Jalapeno, sliced (or your favourite variety of chili pepper)
    • Lime wedges, juiced
    • Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
    • Green onion, sliced

    Instructions

    • Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet or sauté pan over medium heat, then add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook an additional 1 minute. Add chicken, salt, black pepper, cumin, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. Stir for 1 minute. Add rice, salsa, black beans, bell pepper, and corn. Stir to combine. Add butter (if using) and stir. Add chicken broth and stir to combine.
    • Bring broth to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 40 minutes. You may way to stir partway through to ensure it's not sticking. Also, ensure that the simmer is not too rapid so that the broth absorbs too quickly.
    • When liquid is absorbed and the rice and chicken are fully cooked through, turn off heat and let sit, still covered, for 10 minutes. Remove cover and stir. Serve and garnish to taste (if desired) with any of the garnish ideas. Enjoy!

    Notes

    • When cutting the chicken, you want about 4 to 5 chunks per thigh. I left it on the larger size so it can withstand the cooking time. Chicken thighs can withstand longer cooking times than chicken breasts too.
    • Keep in mind that the spicier the salsa you use, the spicier this recipe will be. If you are using a spicy salsa, you may want to omit the cayenne.
    • When cooking this dish, it is important that it’s on a gentle (not roaring) simmer. You want the rice to cook and liquid to absorb, but you don’t want to burn the rice.  

    A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.

    Keyword chicken and rice, one pot dinner

    Tried this recipe?

    If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!

    More Main Dish Recipes

    • Loose Meat Sandwich
    • Fries, Dressing and Gravy
    • Cheese Lovers Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
    • Sausage Stir-Fry

    © Girl Heart Food Inc. All photographs and content are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sarah

      February 08, 2018 at 12:45 pm

      You know what? I DO love rice! I cook with it all the time, and it’s fabulous. I haven’t done much with brown rice, but I really should change that! This sounds so yummy 😀

      Reply
      • Girl Heart Food

        February 08, 2018 at 5:59 pm

        You should! Nice and hearty! Thanks Sarah 🙂

        Reply
    2. Natasha @ Salt & Lavender

      February 02, 2018 at 6:21 pm

      5 stars
      I think I’d love this… especially with that avocado on top!

      Reply
      • Girl Heart Food

        February 03, 2018 at 10:24 am

        I’m sure you would 😉 Thank you so much Natasha!

        Reply
    3. Agness of Run Agness Run

      February 02, 2018 at 6:57 am

      This is an exceptional lunch recipe which my family will love, Dawn! I love the combination of nutrient-dense ingredients which make this dish finger-licking!

      Reply
      • Girl Heart Food

        February 03, 2018 at 10:22 am

        Happy to hear that, Agness! Thank you 🙂

        Reply
    4. Neha

      January 30, 2018 at 11:43 pm

      This one pot meal sounds like my plan of a weeknight dinner. Thanks for such a wonderful and easy recipe. I love southwest flavors. Gonna give this one a try!

      Reply
      • Girl Heart Food

        January 31, 2018 at 12:37 pm

        Yay! Hope you enjoy it, Neha!

        Reply
    5. Shauna | Linden & Lavender

      January 30, 2018 at 12:03 pm

      One pot meals are the way to go! This recipe sounds great- I need to switch up my weekday routine so as to not have too much pasta. Plus, everything is better when those toppings are included!

      Reply
      • Girl Heart Food

        January 30, 2018 at 7:03 pm

        They sure are 😉 Gotta love the garnish! Thanks Shauna!!

        Reply
    6. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice

      January 29, 2018 at 11:26 am

      I love easy meals like this! Especially when they’re filled with southwest flavors, one of my favorites! I could easily make a meal out of this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Such a delicious dish! Pinned! Happy Monday to you!

      Reply
      • Girl Heart Food

        January 30, 2018 at 7:03 pm

        Thank you so much, Gayle! Have a great week 🙂

        Reply
    7. Marissa

      January 28, 2018 at 8:56 pm

      5 stars
      I was just saying to Keith that we need more go-to weeknight meal that can be made in one pot and this fits the bill perfectly – so many flavors that we both love! Thank you, my friend!

      Reply
      • Girl Heart Food

        January 30, 2018 at 7:02 pm

        Yay! Happy to hear that! Thanks Marissa 🙂

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Profile picture of Dawn from Girl Heart Food.

    Hi, I'm Dawn! Welcome to Girl Heart Food, a food blog that's all about easy comfort food recipes (especially cheesy recipes) that'll satisfy your taste buds and make your belly happy. Have a look around and find something that'll inspire you to get into the kitchen and whip up something delicious to enjoy today!

    More about Girl Heart Food →

    Currently Trending

    • Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas
    • Old-Fashioned Cabbage Rolls (Inspired by Nan)
    • Buttermilk Fried Crispy Chicken Burger
    • Pan Fried Smelt Recipe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use

    Newsletter

    • Sign up for emails & updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2023 Girl Heart Food Inc.

    Girl Heart Food® is a Registered Trademark.

    Use of this site constitutes acceptance of its Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.