This healthy chicken and rice skillet recipe is a sponsored post by USA Rice Canada, but, as always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that make Girl Heart Food possible and for helping me continue to do what I love – cook, eat and share delicious recipes! #ReachForRice
This one pot Healthy 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 ‘summertime level nice’, 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 clean up. 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 healthy southwest chicken and rice skillet.
The main reason why I love rice is because its nutritious!! Did you know that it’s low in calories (108 calories for half a cup), it’s gluten-free and loaded with fibre! 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, er) older wisdom, I’m all about real food. This chicken and rice skillet hits all the important check marks for me.
If you can’t finish this whole pan in one sitting (because there’s only two people in your household like mine), leftovers warm up beautifully. If you want to bring a little more ‘life’ to the dish upon reheating, just add a touch of chicken stock to the mix as you reheat. And, if you are thinking beyond dinner, leftovers are delicious for breakfast with a poached egg on top!
Other Easy One Pot Recipes you May Enjoy
Hope you love this easy chicken and rice recipe!
Healthy Southwest Chicken and Rice Skillet
Ingredients
Healthy Southwest Chicken and Rice Skillet
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion , peeled and minced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 pound bonelss/skinless chicken thighs , cut into chunks
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup brown rice , rinsed
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 cup black beans , rinsed and drained
- ½ bell pepper , cut into chunks
- 1 ear corn , kernels removed (or about 1 cup frozen)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)
- 2 cups unsalted chicken broth
Suggested Garnish
- tomato , diced (to taste)
- avocado , pitted, peeled and sliced (to taste)
- cilantro , chopped (to taste)
- jalapeno or pencil chili , sliced (to taste)
- lime (to taste)
- yogurt (to taste)
Instructions
- In a 10-inch skillet on medium heat olive oil. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional minute.
- Add chicken, salt, pepper, cumin, smoked paprika, and cayenne. Stir for a 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 stock up to a light simmer and cook, covered, about 40 minutes. You may way to stir part way through to ensure it's not sticking. Also, ensure that the simmer is not too rapid so it doesn't burn.
- When liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked, turn off heat and let sit, still covered, for 10 minutes. Remove cover and stir. Portion and garnish as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- I used whole grain brown rice (not precooked).
- When cutting the chicken, you want about 4-5 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.
- I used unsalted stock in this recipe. If you use salted, please adjust your salt accordingly to taste.
- 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 light simmer. You want the rice to cook and liquid to absorb, but you don't want to burn the rice.
Nutrition information (if provided) is provided as a courtesy and should be considered an estimate only. Ingredients can vary and Girl Heart Food makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
