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!
This is so tasty inside a tortilla.
I didn’t have a lid to my large skillet. I’m a college student. Instead, I cooked the rice on less liquid (mostly chicken stock) in a rice cooker and added it to the ingredients in the skillet. I had the skillet going with all the ingredients while the rice cooker was working. Everything came together nicely this way.
Also, green chiles are a great addition to this recipe.
I have chicken breast in the freezer, I know what I will be making this week with them :D Looks Delish!
This sounds delicious! Can you sub uncooked quinoa instead of rice?
I have seen similar recipes made with quinoa, although the liquid to quinoa ratio may be different than it is for rice.
OMG this came out AMAZING!!! will be making again and again
Hi there! Absolutely love your work.
When you say 1 cup of salsa, what exactly do you mean? Im aussie so not particularly clued in haha.
Cheers
In the U.S. salsa is a slightly cooked mixture of tomato, onion, jalapeลo (usually), and other southwest spices. Salsa can be “fresh” (uncooked), but the type I used for this recipe is store bought salsa from a jar, which is usually cooked and a bit more saucy. I hope that helps!
Holy moly this is amazing! I didn’t have any cheese at hand but had all of the other ingredients! Fantastic and super easy! Thanks for sharing!
Our under 10 (years old) crowd loved this, thank you!
Made this last night! I didn’t have precooked chicken, so I used 3 bone-in chicken thighs. I browned the thighs really well on both sides in the skillet, then took them out and poured off most of the fat, then added the rest of the ingredients. Once everything was nicely distributed I nestled the chicken back in the pan and let everything simmer. After 30 mins I pulled the chicken out, shredded it with two forks, then added it back to the pan and fluffed/stirred the rice. I think I will do it this way in the future, even though it’s a bit more work, because chicken thighs don’t overcook and you get the added flavor from cooking the chicken and rice at the same time. And really, it didn’t actually take much longer since I prepped the other ingredients while the chicken browned. Every other part of this recipe was so easy, and it made a ton of food. I can’t wait to eat my leftovers for lunch!
I tried making this tonight, and my rice was all burnt at the bottom of the pan while there was still stock at the top. I had it on the lowest heat possible so that it was just about simmering.
How could I prevent this from happening next time?
It sounds like you may have a very thin pot or one that doesn’t conduct heat well? Or maybe your particular stove just doesn’t go down very low. :(
I really enjoyed this recipe! It was easy to make, delicious, filling and gluten free! I think you could substitute things in the recipe pretty easily as well as far as using different types of beans, meat or tofu or other meat substitute. Delicious with Crystal hot sauce on it! Thanks Beth. :)
I have all these ingredients and cooked brown rice that I would like to get rid of. Any suggestions on how to alter this recipe with cooked rice?
Oh, yes, that would be so much easier. I would just mix the ingredients (minus the broth) and heat them over medium or medium-low until heated through. The end! :) The only difference is that using uncooked rice you’ll have a bit more flavor because the broth, salsa, and chili powder kind of cooks into the rice and flavors it.
So I’ve made this a few times more or less as the recipe calls for, and it’s amazing, simple, quick–everything I want in a mid-week recipe.
Last night, though, I had no pre-made shredded chicken and that sounded like a lot of work (it was a lazy night…) so I used shredded beef. For shiggles I put in beef broth rather than chicken broth. The only salsa I had was less-spicy-more-fruity.
The beef flavor overtook the salsa for the most part, so rather than the spicy flavors I’ve gotten from making the recipe as-written, I got something that was much more hearty (beefy, if you will) with undertones of sweet and spice. Definitely just as delicious, though!
Yum. I added 1/2 chopped yellow onion. Added Sour cream then sprinkled chopped green onion on top of individual serving. My 17 yr. old went back for 2nds.
So good! I added some frozen corn to bulk it up a little bit more and nixed the cheese. Ate leftovers in a quesadilla with some monterrey jack, and it was even better the next day!