Southwest Chicken and Rice Skillet

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

More Easy One Pot Recipes

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

Hope you love this easy chicken and rice recipe!

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

Awake ModePrevent 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!