One skillet chicken and rice takes under an hour to make and requires, well, just one pot. Certainly influenced by Spanish rice, this recipe is made with chicken, rice, black beans, cheese, and your favorite taco sauce. It’s fantastic served fresh, but is also great served as leftovers. Makes for an easy lunch during the work week!
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it makes almost the perfect amount for two. I often find myself having to do the math to cut down a recipe since I typically cook for just my husband and myself. While there are leftovers at times from this one pot chicken and rice meal, we have finished the entire skillet on more than one occasion. On the flip side, this recipe is easy to double to serve four.
My second favorite aspect of this recipe is that it isn’t too time-consuming. Taking under an hour to prep and cook, this doesn’t require much effort after a long day of work. Did I also mention that this chicken and rice dinner only requires one skillet? I think we can all agree that the fewer dishes that are dirtied from making dinner, the better!
One Skillet Spicy Chicken & Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp onion, diced
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1 small jalapeño, diced
- 7.5 oz black beans (half of a 15 oz can)
- 1/2 cup white rice, uncooked
- 1 cup water
- 1 chicken breast, butterflied and halved
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or a blend)
- taco sauce to taste
Directions
- In a skillet, heat olive oil
- Coat chicken with salt & pepper. Brown chicken in the pan over medium heat (3-4 min per side) and set aside
- Melt the butter in the skillet
- Add the diced onion, garlic, and sautée until onion is translucent. Add jalapeño, tomato, black beans, rice, water, salt, and pepper. Stir the mixture
- Place chicken on top of the mixture
- Cover and simmer 20-25 min until the liquid is absorbed
- Top with cheese and drizzle with taco sauce. Cover until cheese is melted
- Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes
- Top with a scoop of sour cream when serving
One Pot Chicken & Rice Recipe Notes
- The pan doesn’t matter. While I prefer cooking this in a cast-iron skillet, I’ve been equally successful using a non-stick skillet
- Make sure you have a lid that fits your skillet. You must fully cover the skillet in order to properly cook the rice
- While reviewing the recipe, you may have noticed that it calls for 7.5 oz of black beans. What the heck are you going to do with that other half of the can? Save the other half for later. Makes for a great black bean dip, black bean tacos, or a topping for nachos
- Don’t have any fresh jalapeños? No problem! Jarred jalapeño works great as an alternative. If you’re really in a pinch and don’t have either, use some hot pepper flakes to kick up the heat a notch
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