One Pan Mexican Chicken and Rice

This One Pan Mexican Chicken and Rice is an easy dinner ready in under 30 minutes! 

This One Pan Mexican Chicken and Rice has enchilada sauce, green chiles, rice, and all the toppings (hello avocado, sour cream, and tomato)!

If you’re looking for more tried and true Mexican recipes with chicken you’ll love this Mini Chicken Chimichangas,  Grilled Mexican Lime Chicken, or this One-Pan Chicken Tortilla Bake.

One Pan Mexican Chicken and Rice

My husband bought me a two-pound box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day and by the end of the day I had killed a pound already. Which is why I’m craving all things savory to try to balance it out.

We are a religious Taco Tuesday family. I mean to a point where the kids get off the bus on Tuesdays and say, “It’s Taco Tuesday mom, right?”

As much as I love tradition, I equally enjoy shaking things up because I’m a non-conformist. When I sprung this One Pan Mexican Chicken and Rice on my family on Taco Tuesday I was expecting complete and utter mutiny.

Ya’ll they loved it. Clean-the-pan loved it. So then we made it again, and again, and again. Because one pan meals are pretty much gold in a house with five kids running wild. Mexican recipes with chicken are a win-win.

We cook the chicken and rice all in one pan. For our liquid we are using Old El Paso enchilada sauce and diced tomatoes.

I would say the level of spiciness is about a 6. My littles ate a bite and then took a drink. Ate a bite, took a drink.

Add whatever toppings you love but some sour cream, avocado, tomato, and cilantro compliment it fabulously! Mentally I can’t not put something green in my meal so that I feel good about serving it for dinner.

We decided that this feeds about six children or four adults. It keeps well too if you happen to have leftovers.

HOW TO MAKE ONE-PAN MEXICAN CHICKEN AND RICE

1. In a large skillet (about 12-inch) or pan, sautée onions in two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Once onions soften, increase the heat to medium high and add chicken to the pan.
3. Brown the chicken pieces and add the garlic. Cook for about 1 more minute.
4. Push chicken to one side of the pan and add additional tablespoon of olive oil to other side.
5. Add the uncooked rice in the olive oil and saute it for a couple of minutes.
6. Add the enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes, water and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pan with a tight fitting lid.
7. Cook chicken and rice mixture covered for about 15 minutes or until rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed making sure to stir every once in a while.
8. Sprinkle cheese on top and cover with a lid, letting it sit for 1-2 minutes or until cheese has melted.
9. Top with desired toppings and eat!

ONE-PAN DINNERS

If you love this One-pan Mexican Chicken and Rice, you’ll love these other one-pan recipes:

One-Pan Chicken Enchilada Skillet

One-Pan Chicken Fajita Rice

Easy Beef Burrito Skillet

Print

4.78 from 18 votes

Yield: 4 -6

One Pan Mexican Chicken and Rice

Prep Time:

10 mins

Cook Time:

15 mins

Total Time:

25 mins

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ½ white onion , diced finely
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts , cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 cloves of garlic , minced
• 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
• 1 (10 oz) can Old El Paso red enchilada sauce
• 1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican-blend cheese
• (optional) Toppings: sour cream, tomatoes, diced avocado, cilantro

Instructions

1. In a large skillet (about 12-inch) or pan, sautée onions in two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Once onions soften, increase the heat to medium high and add chicken to the pan.
3. Brown the chicken pieces and add the garlic. Cook for about 1 more minute.
4. Push chicken to one side of the pan and add additional tablespoon of olive oil to other side.
5. Add the uncooked rice in the olive oil and saute it for a couple of minutes.
6. Add the enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes, water and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pan with a tight fitting lid.
7. Cook chicken and rice mixture covered for about 15 minutes or until rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed making sure to stir every once in a while.
8. Sprinkle cheese on top and cover with a lid, letting it sit for 1-2 minutes or until cheese has melted.
9. Top with desired toppings and eat!

Recipe Notes

Update: Many of you have made this and some have had their rice not cook. You can definitely add 1/2 to 1 cup of water to the mixture as needed to make sure your rice cooks.

Author: Christy Denney

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: One-pan

Only Eats

This post was sponsored by Old El Paso. All thoughts and opinions are my own.