So, you remember how much you love those Taco Chicken Bowls? And how they’re so easy because you just pour everything into the slow cooker and press go? Well guess what… You can do it in a skillet, too! Except this Southwest Chicken Skillet only takes about 30 minutes! #nolies
As long as you have some precooked chicken, whether from a store bought rotisserie or some shredded chicken that you made yourself, those yummy taco chicken bowls are about a half hour away from being in your belly. This Southwest Chicken Skillet version may even be a bit easier because there’s no need to cook the rice separately—it cooks right along with the beans, salsa, and other goods in the skillet. It’s ridiculously simple and it’s so tasty that today after I ate some for lunch I said, “I wish I had ten more bowls of that.”
Other Topping Ideas
I don’t know why beans, rice, and salsa are so good together, but I hope I never stop discovering new ways to eat them together. This is my favorite way so far. If you want to make it even more fancy, you can experiment with more toppings, like sour cream, diced avocado, or cilantro. Maybe even some crispy tortilla strips for crunch? Yum!!
Southwest Chicken Skillet
Servings 4 to 6Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice* ($0.33)
- 1 cup salsa ($0.65)
- 1.5-2 cups precooked shredded chicken** ($3.50)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.49)
- 1 Tbsp chili powder*** ($0.30)
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth**** ($0.23)
- 1 cup shredded cheese ($1.00)
- 2-3 green onions, sliced ($0.26)
Instructions
- In a large skillet, combine the rice, salsa, chicken, black beans (drained), chili powder, and chicken broth. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
- Place a tight fitting lid on the skillet, turn the heat on to high, and let the skillet come to a full boil. As soon as the skillet comes to a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Make sure it is simmering the entire time, turning the heat up slightly if needed (you should be able to hear it simmer quietly).
- After 15 minutes, turn off the heat, and let it rest with the lid in place for 5 more minutes. Finally, remove the lid, and fluff the mixture with a fork. All of the liquid should be absorbed and the rice should be tender. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded cheese over top, replace the lid, and let it sit for a few minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Meanwhile, slice the green onions. Sprinkle the green onions over the melted cheese and serve hot.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Southwest Chicken Skillet – Step by Step Photos
First step – so easy. In a large skillet combine 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice, 1 cup salsa, 1.5-2 cups of shredded chicken, 15oz. can black beans (drained), and 1 Tbsp chili powder. Try to use a heavy skillet with a thick bottom because that will help the rice cook evenly and help prevent it from scorching on the bottom.
Add 1.75 cups of chicken broth.
Stir everything together well. You really want to make sure the rice is evenly distributed throughout the skillet. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to high, and let it come to a full boil. As soon as it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer undisturbed for 15 minutes. Make sure it’s simmering the whole time. Turn the heat up just slightly if it stops simmering, but keep it as low as possible to prevent the rice from scorching or sticking to the bottom.
After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit for 5 minutes without removing the lid. Finally remove the lid and it should look like this – all of the liquid is absorbed and if you dig down with a fork to where the rice is, it should be tender. Most of the meat and beans will be on top and the rice will be underneath.
Fluff it up with a fork to mix everything back together. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over top, then place the lid back on top and allow the steam to melt the cheese. Once melted, sprinkle the green onions over top.
And that’s it! you’re ready to dig in.
Now that I have some pre-cooked shredded chicken in my freezer, I can have this Southwest Chicken Skillet ANYTIME I WANT! Woot!
I did this last night and love it! simple and easy to do yet the result if amazing.. juicy & delicious
I want to make this!
but for increasing the rice, do you just increase the broth proportionally?
Yes, you’ll absolutely need to increase the broth, so if you increase the rice by 50%, increase the broth by 50% as well.
I made this tonight using a pot (I dont have a skillet) and it came out beautifully. Great recipe Beth, once again!!
I’m just preparing this for the second time in two weeks – it’s a new favourite. Like many of your recipes, it’s so easy to alter the ingredients to suit your pantry! I only had about a cupful of chicken, so I’ve chucked some frozen corn in there to bulk it out… just waiting for the cheese to melt & it looks and smells amazing!
I also love that it only uses one pan, and if you chop up your spring onion with scissors, you don’t even need to wash a chopping board afterwards!
Thanks Beth, you are an absolute marvel!
Made this for my friends after I returned from a vacation to the US and was recommended this website- even with UK food prices I was able to keep it under £5 ($8)! Fed two servings to three people. I have recently been diagnosed with a gluten and lactose intolerance and have been finding it a little difficult to transition, however this was so quick and easy to make (not to mention TASTY)- I just replaced my cheese with a lactose-free alternative.
I’m curious what the point is of using cooked chicken when the recipe cooks long enough to just have used raw? I don’t usually have leftover cooked chicken around with five kids. But I like the recipe. Think I could just chop up raw chicken breast and throw it in. Any thoughts?
Yep, I was just trying to use up my pre-cooked and shredded chicken from another blog post. :) If you chop your raw chicken up small enough, it should definitely cook through in the amount of time that the skillet cooks.
I’m a longtime reader, and now cooked a meal from your recipe. I must say, the end result was exceptional, I did not have a chance to make shredded chicken, so I cooked the chicken and diced up beforehand. From there I added all the ingredients together and let it cooked as the recipe stated. The only thing I forgot was the green onions but my stomach grumbled and I decided to have a plate with avocados and tortillas. I look forward to making this another time and I have a lot of leftovers. Thanks!
I just want to say that this recipe was sooo delicious. My boyfriend and I are really picky eaters and we also both hate doing dishes. This was made in 1 pot(!) AND satisfied both of us. I could eat this for days! Thank you :)
let me also state that this recipe is gluten free! which has helped me in my gluten free stint.
I have cooked this almost weekly since your post. On occasion I cook a double batch. While its sitting I also cook up a dozen eggs. Makes for excellent breakfast burritos. We were able to make a full meal for 4, with 2 left over dishes and 10 breakfast burritos off that double batch. This is a huge time saver for me. Thank you.
Jason
Hi, I love your site and your recipes. My husband and I are homesteaders in Kentucky, and I’ve been using your recipes over the past year to help plan basic meals and our garden. I made this tonight with our own chickens we butchered for the first time this year, and it was great! Thanks for your work. Here is a blog post I made that includes links to your site: http://www.fullcircleky.com/farm-updates/tastes-like-chicken
Awesome recipe, I cooked ground beef and brown onions first before putting everything else in, and added some chopped silverbeet near the end. Definitely a keeper!
I made this last night, and while it turned out awesome (I added some white onion to the mix along with a dash of cumin) I think I need better cookware. Maybe 1/3 or 1/4 of the rice was undercooked when the 30 minutes were up, and keeping it on longer didn’t help as it only made the already cooked rice even mushier.
The undercooked rice was still edible, though. I think the culprit is the stock pot I’m using, all the undercooked rice was isolated to one region of the pot so maybe if I rotated the pot during cooking? I got the same results when I tried the chorizo and sweet potato skillet recipe from awhile ago too.
Or maybe I should just finally give in and buy a heavy-bottomed deep skillet.
Yep, rotating the pot might help in the mean time. :) A good pot is priceless and will last you a lifetime!
This recipe has quickly become a staple in our household– it’s so easy and tasty! I found it a bit dry and under-flavored the first time I made it, following the recipe, but it’s so simple, I was determined to work it out. The next time I added a half-cup more liquid, a small can of ‘mexicorn’ (it’s a green giant product, I think) and half a white onion and was really pleased with the results.
Thanks for the great base recipe! I feel like this is one you can really switch up depending on what you have on hand and feel like eating that night!
I’ve been out of college for 10 years (this recipe is featured in the 10 college friendly recipes email) and I am definitely making this tonight. Stopping to get a rotisserie chicken I’ll use the extra to make chicken salad wraps for lunch tomorrow! in fact, i’ll probably be making at least half of the recipes listed in the email over the next couple of weeks lol they sound so yummy!