I’m all about cooking as much flavor into rice as possible and this Chipotle Lime Chicken and Rice is FLA-VOR-FUL! You’ve got a hefty dose of spices, tangy lime juice, and a bunch of flavor from the chicken that cooks right in the same pot. It turns out smoky, spicy, tangy, and oh so delicious! And don’t worry, I’ve got some suggested sides to round out your meal listed below.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
What is Chipotle Powder?
Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapeño peppers. They give a beautifully spicy, smoky flavor to everything. You can buy chipotle peppers dried, canned with adobo sauce, or ground into a powder. This recipe uses the powdered form, which can be found along with other herbs and spices in the spice aisle.
Can I Use Bone-In Chicken?
The quick cooking method used in this recipe is not suitable for bone-in chicken breasts, as they require a much longer cooking time. It may work with smaller bone-in chicken thighs, but you’ll want to use a meat thermometer to make sure they reach 165ºF on the inside. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs work just as well as the boneless, skinless chicken breast for this recipe.
Tomato Options
You have a few options for the diced tomatoes in this recipe. I used a can of plain diced tomatoes because that is what was available the day I made this, but I also tried it with fire-roasted diced tomatoes while in the recipe testing phase and they were fantastic. You could also do a petite diced tomatoes if you don’t like such large tomato pieces, or even a diced tomato with green chiles if you want it extra-EXTRA spicy.
What to Serve with Chipotle Lime Chicken and Rice
Because this dish is so spicy you’ll probably want to pair it with something that has a cooling effect, so something that is creamy or can be served cold to balance the heat. A little dollop of sour cream on top would be good, or maybe a slice or two of avocado, if you have it. And I highly suggest something green to round out the colors on your plate. Here are some great side dish options:
- Charred Corn and Zucchini Salad
- Warm Corn and Avocado Salad
- Cowboy Caviar
- Quick Seasoned Black Beans
Chipotle Lime Chicken and Rice
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1.5 tsp chipotle powder ($0.15)
- 1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1 lime ($0.50)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 1 lb.) ($5.79)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 1 15oz. can diced tomatoes* ($0.59)
- 1 cup chicken broth ($0.13)
- 1 cup long grain white rice ($0.62)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.22)
- 1 oz. Cotija cheese (optional) ($0.55)
Instructions
- Combine the chipotle powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt in a bowl. Squeeze 2 Tbsp juice from the lime into a separate bowl (this should be about half a lime, save the other half to cut into wedges for garnish).
- Use a rolling pin or a mallet to gently pound the chicken breast to an even thickness (about ¾-inch thick). Use half of the prepared spice mix to coat both sides of the chicken pieces (reserve the other half of the spices for later).
- Heat the cooking oil in a large deep skillet over medium. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for a few minutes on each side, or until browned. The chicken does not need to be fully cooked, just browned on both sides. It will continue to cook with the rice.
- While the chicken is cooking, dice the onion. Remove the browned chicken from the skillet to a clean plate. Add the diced onion to the skillet and sauté until softened. Add the remaining spices and sauté for one minute more.
- Add the diced tomatoes (with juices), rice, chicken broth, and lime juice to the skillet with the onions. Stir to combine and dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Add the browned chicken back to the skillet. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium high, and allow the liquid to come up to a boil.
- Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low, and allow the chicken and rice to simmer on low for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let the skillet rest, without lifting the lid, for an additional 5 minutes.
- Finally, remove the lid, transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Fluff the rice to stir the tomato and onion back in. Slice the chicken then place it on top of the rice. Sprinkle with slice green onion and Cotija cheese. Add any remaining lime wedges, and serve!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Chipotle Lime Chicken and Rice – Step by Step Photos
Combine 1.5 tsp chipotle powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, and ½ tsp salt in a bowl. Squeeze about 2 Tbsp juice from a lime into a separate bowl (that should be about ½ the lime, so you can save the other half to make wedges for garnish).
Use a rolling pin or a mallet to gently pound 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts out to an even thickness (about ¾-inch thick). Use half of the spice blend to season both sides of the chicken. Save the other half of the spices for later.
Heat 1 Tbsp cooking oil in a large deep skillet. Once hot, add the seasoned chicken and cook for a few minutes on both sides, or just until browned. It doesn’t have to be cooked through here because it will cook more with the rice.
While the chicken is cooking, dice one yellow onion. Remove the browned chicken to a clean plate, then add the diced onion in its place. Sauté the onion for a few minutes, or until softened, then add the remaining spices and sauté for one minute more.
Add one 15oz. can diced tomatoes, 1 cup long grain white rice, 1 cup chicken broth, and 2 Tbps lime juice to the skillet. Stir briefly to combine and dissolve any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet.
Add the browned chicken back to the skillet. Place a lid on top, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the liquid to come up to a boil.
Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and let the pot simmer on low for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest, with the lid in place, for another 5 minutes.
Finally, remove the lid. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Fluff the rice with a fork to stir the tomatoes and onion back into the rice. Slice the chicken, then place it back on top of the rice.
Sprinkle sliced green onions on top, a little Cotija cheese, and add any remaining lime wedges.
Serve and enjoy! A little sour cream on top wouldn’t be so bad, either. ;)
Long-time fan, first time commentor. With one pot recipes like this, I am concerned about arsenic levels in rice (esp. brown), which are normally reduced by soaking the rice and then cooking in excess water that is poured off (I.e., how one more typically cooks pasta, as advised by the US FDA). Can you suggest alternate grains that would work for this style of recipe and how to make modifications? Thanks for your great recipes, Beth and team!
We’d have to test out some options to give you concrete swaps and instruction, and we only developed this one using white rice (even brown rice would require adjustments). If you do want to try it, quinoa would probably be the closest, but again, we haven’t tried it so no guarantees! :)
I would definitely be interested in seeing one-pot recipes with other grains cooked in the broth like this. Maybe quinoa, or bulgar, or barley. Thanks!
My family loved this! I saved this recipe over a year ago and finally made it today. I used chili powder instead of chipotle because I wasn’t sure how spicy chipotle powder is. I didn’t think there would be enough liquid so I added an extra 1/2 cup broth- it came out saucy, so maybe the extra wasn’t necessary, but we liked the consistency. My son hates tomatoes so I left them out, and mixed in some chopped fresh tomato at the end after scooping out his portion. I also cut the chicken up into little pieces and mixed it in with the rice before serving. Next time I’m going to try adding some corn.
This was AMAZING! Definitely an instant favorite with so many ways to mix it up.
I doubled the recipe and ended up adding 4c of broth instead of 2c and cooking for 25+ minutes to get my rice to cook. I’ll definitely add more broth from the start next time.
I also added a half pack of Sazon and one of my cans of tomatoes had jalepenos in it. Delish!!
Could I use Chipotle in Adobo sauce instead of the powder and how much?
I love this recipe! Sometimes I just make the rice in this recipe, or when I’m feeling really poor, I make the rice and then add red kidney beans and/or black beans for the protein instead of chicken. I also add some sazón seasoning. It always turns out right!
This recipe is awesome!!! I slightly reduces the amount of rice, increased chicken broth, substituted chipotle pepper paste over the powder, and added cilantro and avocado at the end. This recipe is an instant classic and I will definitely be making it again.
I followed the recipe to a T and this took absolutely forever to get the rice to cook. My chicken was done but the rice was hard despite cooking for the 20 mins allocated in the recipe.
This was delicious! Very easy and versatile with options for toppings – sour cream, cheese (only had tasty on hand) and avocado suited well. I added a bit more of all spices just by hand for more kick.
I even forgot to sauté the onion and it was still a hit!
Hi, do you have any suggestions for cooking the skillet in the oven instead? Unfortunately I don’t have one with a lid that’s large enough.
The browning steps for the chicken and then deglazing the pan to get up all that flavor definitely needs to be done on the stove top. While it may be possible to do something similar (but still different because no browning), we’d really need to do some testing before being able to offer concrete suggestions.
Question: Should we rinse the rice first?
It’s up to you, just make sure to drain it well. :)
Could I make this with rotisserie chicken?
Since the rotisserie chicken is already cooked you wouldn’t get the nice browning action that you get with cooking the raw chicken coated in spices. It would definitely turn out differently.
Love this recipe! Any word on a modification for brown rice?
Thanks!
Unfortunately, there is not an easy answer for that one! Brown rice requires more liquid and a much longer cooking time so that’s going to change the recipe quite a bit.
I have made this recipe twice and it is SO good! To make it an even easier meal, I just cut the chicken up in bite size pieces and toss with the spices in a bowl. It cooks faster in the pan and then you can just leave it in when you throw the onions in. If you have kids, like I do, it will get cut up eventually anyway so it’s easier to just do it in the beginning. Plus, then you can wash the knife and cutting board then when it simmers. I love that I can clean up almost everything while it simmers, so after dinner the only clean up is the actual pan it was cooked in! So easy and delicious!
Make this often – one of my many budget byte go to recipes. i sometimes use the chicken and rice to make tacos :)
Brined my chicken, cooked it, then took it out of the pan to cook the rice. Added black beans part way through and put it in a burrito shell. Yum!
Hi! If I tried this with boneless skinless chicken thighs would that work/would the cooking time be the same? Thank you!! :)
Yes, I’d use the same cooktime. :)
Dear Budgetbyte,
I was wondering if its ok to take one or two of your recipes and pictures for my gastronomy school exam preparation?
I have tried myself this recipe with a bit of twist with fried rice. its amazing.
Hi Ahmed, please email us at support@budgetbytes.com
This is a good base recipe, even my toddler enjoyed it. Next time I’ll probably double the seasonings. I did add some smoked paprika too, and sprinkled on some cheddar cheese instead of cotija. The fresh lime juice is really good in this dish!
I added some diced sweet red bell pepper at the same time as the onions because I needed to use it up and I had it on hand.
I added guac on top of mine, and it was a good addition! Maybe my lime was small but I had to use the whole thing and not just half to get the required amount of juice.
Delicious recipe! I made it as is, except I used bone-in chicken thighs since that’s what I had in the freezer. I browned the chicken as called for, then I put them in a small pan in my toaster oven to partially cook at 375 for around 15 minutes, and sautéed the onions while I waited, then proceeded with the recipe as normal. I will definitely be making this again, as it’s so easy and tasty!
Good recipes! My family enjoyed the overall flavor and concept of the dish, but the cooking of the rice didn’t work out. After 15 minutes of simmering with the lid on and an additional 5-minute wait, The rice was very unevenly cooked. There were still a lot of crunchy bits. I added more hot liquid and cooked another 10 minutes, but it still wasn’t fully cooked. I doubled the recipe. Would that have made a difference? I’d love any suggestions.
Yes, doubling the recipe might have impacted it because it may have caused some of the rice to not get as much heat as other areas. The cookware you use can also make a difference with how evenly the rice heats (any colder areas won’t cook through and may stay crunchy). Try to use a burner that is close in size to the bottom of your pot so that the heat radiates evenly throughout.
I had the same problem with the rice, so on my second atttempt I made the rice separate in the same pot and burner I normally use for the same rice which still failed to cook. I think it has something to do with the tomatoes changing how the rice cooks, or maybe it depends on the rice (I use brown jasmine). I like the overall flavors so I’m going to try pressure cooking the tomato rice separately.
Ah yes, brown rice requires more liquid and needs to cook for nearly 3x as long, so you’d definitely need to make a lot of adjustments for it to work in this recipe.
This is sooo good! Thanks for another great recipe.
If I’m using jasmine rice instead should I use the same amount of broth?
As long as it’s a long grain jasmine and not short or medium grain, then yes, you can use the same amount. :)
Yum!!! This was delicious!! I followed everything as is. I like a good amount of spice, so the spice level was perfect for me. And my husband eats a lot of rice, so this was the perfect dinner. I highly recommend topping with green onions, cheese and sour cream!
My husband said this was a little too spicy, but adding sour cream helped a lot. I was not able to find Cotija cheese, so I left that off. It would’ve been good, I’m sure. My daughter, who likes spicy food, said it was “yummy.” I was worried about the rice cooking properly, but I think it came out fine. I used plain diced tomatoes, store brand, which may be the low light of the dish. I may try some fancier tomatoes next time. Also, I will use more chicken next time. I had a lot of rice left with no chicken to go with it.
Love, love budget bytes but this simply didn’t set up for me :( the rice was way undercooked, and no matter how much I tried to salvage it, the dish was kinda disastrous after a certain point. I tasted a small piece of the chicken and it tasted so good, but the rice never came together and i sadly gave up. Fingers crossed the next recipe is better
Any idea of what I could sub for the tomatoes? I usually use blended red peppers for tomato sauce, but not sure if I need anything else
Hmm, I’m not sure. That would be a pretty significant change in the flavor so I’d need to test options before offering a suggestion.
This has become my husband and I’s favorite dish!
This recipes is absolutely DELICIOUS! Add a little sour cream or lime crema on the side and it’s a perfect dish!
Easy and flavorful! I substituted chili powder for the chipotle spice since it was all I had, and I loved it. The chicken was perfect, but the tomato-y rice was the star in my opinion. This is going to be a side dish staple from now on.
So good! Serious comfort food, but fresh and easy. Definitely a fan favorite!
As with a lot of recipes, you can make it without the garnishes, but I highly suggest you buy/use them if you’re able. I taste-tested before sprinkling with feta and green onion and found it too turned to the tangy/spicy side, but with some melted feta it becomes balanced and more enjoyably complex.
The flavor of this was really good but i had to add so much more chicken broth and cook the rice for am additional probably should have been 10 mins. Conchy rice dinner. 😂
Fantastic! Easy and zippy flavors.
Hi Beth, the ingredients list says 1 chicken breast but the picture steps say 2 chicken breasts. If I’m only using 1 chicken breast, should I use half of the other ingredients as well?
Ah, that made me do a double-take! I went back and looked at my notebook and then it made sense. The ingredient list said 1 pound of chicken breast. I had two chicken breasts that were about 1 pound total. I’ll re-word that in the ingredient list to make it more clear. :)
Ahhh makes sense. Thank you!
My family enjoyed this meal. I like the one skillet meals. Very quick. Took some leftovers to work even.
Could you leave tomatoes out of this recipe? I can’t have tomatoes, but the recipe looks good otherwise.
It will definitely change the recipe quite a bit. I’d need to test it without the tomatoes before giving an opinion on whether it’s a good option or not.
Could I butterfly the chicken instead of flattening it?
Yes :)
I made this tonight for dinner and it was really good! So easy to make too. I prepped the chicken and the onions and the spices ahead of time so final cooking was only 20 minutes
Really good! Subbed the chipotle powder for some chili powder.
I’ve amassed quite a few of cans of tomatoes in my pantry so whenever I get the chance to use them, I’m gamed. I messed up twice while making this recipe. First, when I was supposed to let the pot continue to cook the rice and chicken with the fire OFF for five minutes, the fire was so low that I accidentally left the stove on the entire time (ughh!). Second, I missed the part about sautéing the remaining spices with the onion, so I ended up just adding it to the pot at the end. My result wasn’t as pretty as Beth’s, but it was still a yummy lunch. It’s definitely heavy on the tomatoes, so skip this if you’re not a tomato person. Otherwise, it’s a great and inexpensive recipe to munch on for a few days.
I made this as a lunch prep for the week and I looooove it. I’ve just been eating it cold over a bed of spinach and it’s still terrific.
This was really good! I made up some fajita veggies along with it. I like spicy food, but if you’re sensitive to spice you may want to tone down the chipotle some. Make sure you just sear the chicken to get some good color on it. It will cook PLENTY with the rice. Mine ended up being a touch dry, but that can easily be fixed by toning down the sear time and not pounding it out as thin.
An easy, tasty recipe that’s delicious and flavorful. Even though it was a little spicy, it was still enjoyable. Although I didn’t cube the chicken as you suggested, it was still good anyway. Is there a particular spice that adds to the ‘spiciness’? It would be nice if you could tone it down a little bit next time.
That’s the chipotle powder, which is smoked jalapeño. :) You can sub some of it with mild chili powder, if you prefer.
Just cooks down into tomato-ish rice with some chicken. While pretty much everything we’ve tried from Budget Bytes has been incredible, this one is forgettable. Hey, they can’t all be top draft picks!
Thanks for the idea for our family dinner tomorrow! I have all these ingredients on hand yet would have never dreamed of putting them all together like this!!
Really good! We didn’t have any cotija, but we topped it with shredded cheese and sour cream. DELICIOUS! Will definitely make this one again. Thanks Beth!
Really delicious, flavorful, and easy recipe to make. A little bit spicy but not bad at all and still enjoyable. I followed it exactly except I cubed the chicken like your other recipes and it’s still really good. Which of the spices adds the ‘spicy-ness’? I’d like to tone it down just a tad next time.
That’s the chipotle, which is smoked jalapeño. You can substitute with some mild chili powder, if you prefer.
How could this be adapted for brown rice?
You’d need to make quite a few adjustments, including cooking time, liquid amount, and how the ingredients are added so you don’t end up overcooking the chicken. Because so many changes would need to be made, I’d need to fully retest the recipe using that ingredient before offering any suggestions.
It’s nice when you see such a great work! Continue writing
I love (LOVE!) these chicken and rice recipes. This one was awesome, loved the spice and used fire roasted tomatoes. I didn’t have cotija cheese but will be making this again soon and will pick some up. Excellent recipe!
Delicious but like another commenter the rice near the chicken was undercooked then when stirred distributed throughout the dish so the rice was a bit crunchy. Will try again with 20 min cook time and my spouse used a large stockpot not a skillet w lid so perhaps that affected things.
Made this this afternoon – it was great and my husband really liked it! The chipotle powder was spicier then I anticipated which is fine for me but others may want to use 1/2-1 tsp less than recipe calls for. I used basmati rice because that’s what was in the pantry and it turned out fine. I didn’t need to let it “rest” for the last 15 minutes once I took the skillet off the grill per step 7 and the rice was cooked through perfectly. I will definitely add some drained black beans when adding the tomatoes, rice, etc. the next time I make this to add some more fiber bulk.
I love your recipes! I have chicken tenders and am wondering if I could use those, cut into bite-size pieces, instead of the breasts. Would I need to add them back into the rice-tomato-onion mix later so they don’t overcook? Thanks!
Yes, you can definitely use chicken tenders, either cut up or whole. If you just make sure to not cook them completely through in the first step, they should be fine to remain in the pot with the rice as the rice cooks. I have another similar recipe where I use chicken breast cut into chunks and it works great. :)
I’m going to give it a try. Thanks, Beth!
What a great recipe! Used my Jasmine rice and it was quite tasty. Thank you for sharing.
If I have minute rice and don’t want to buy regular rice, where should I add it in? Any help is greatly appreciated!
Unfortunately, I haven’t cooked with minute rice so I’m not familiar with the nuances of working with it and wouldn’t be able to offer a suggestion without testing it.
Was really tasty but my rice didn’t cook very well – some of it overcooked and some of it underdone.
What if you have chipotle peppers rather than the ground spice. How much should be used?
I’m not sure, I’d need to test the recipe using that particular ingredient to find out. Your other option would be to grind the peppers until you have the amount of powder called for in the recipe.
If I wanted to add black beans, when/at what step would you recommend adding them?
I would add a drained can of black beans in the same step that you add the tomatoes, rice, and broth. :)
I love one pan meals – and so does my husband as he does the dinner dishes! This looks really good, we’ll be trying it soon.
Could I just reduce the chipotle powder to 1 tsp for less heat? Our family loves your recipes, but except for my husband the rest of us can’t handle things *quite* as spicy as you.
Yes. :) You could also try using a non-spicy chili powder in its place.
You might want to try substituting smoked paprika for some or all of the chipotle powder if you are trying to cut the heat. The chipotle powder is not just adding heat but a smoked flavor.
It sounds good. Some of my family members however, are vegan or meat abstaining. Do you think this would work with some fried tofu?
Perhaps, if you add it after cooking. Adding it to the pot when I added the chicken would just result in soggy tofu. I would probably opt for something different, like black beans, or maybe tempeh.
Thank you. They do like Tempeh and now that you mention it, it makes sense!
My mama raised me to ALWAYS rinse my rice, but we generally cook rice alone. Do I leave it dry for this? As in, does this recipe need that extra starch?
You can rinse it if you prefer, no extra starch is needed.
Thank you!
This is my kind of recipe, one pot, quick and easy! I would like to swap out brown rice or farro for the white rice, what would be the suggested cooking time?
Brown rice requires closer to 45 minutes of cooking time and more liquid. The longer cook time would likely end up overcooking the chicken.
So add the chicken later????
That’s one possible solution, but I’m not sure it would work well. I would really need to test the recipe before offering a concrete method, if a good one exists. I’m not sure brown rice is the best fit for this type of recipe.