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.
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!
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Notes
Nutrition
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. ;)
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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.