Chicken and rice – loaded with Mexican flavours! This One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice brings together your favourite Mexican Red Rice with a fajita seasoned chicken, all made in one pot! You’ll love the fluffy the rice, juicy chicken with crispy skin and the sweet pops of corn. It’s a flavour explosion!
I’m a big fan of one pot chicken and rice recipes like Baked Rotisserie Chicken with Garlic Butter Rice, Chinese Chicken and Rice, Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice and Chicken and Rice Pilaf. Big flavours, two dishes made in ONE pot!
One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice
I’m dedicating this One Pot Meal to all the other people out there who a) love Mexican food b) love flavour explosions; and c) hate washing up 🙂
The idea to make this came about when I saw this Oven Baked Mexican Rice by Imma at African Bites, one of my favourite blogs. I wondered if I could cook chicken in the same pot to make it a complete meal.
And it worked! Well, the second time it did. The first time I used the same rice to liquid ratio that Imma uses and did not take into account that the chicken releases juices while cooking so the rice was too soft and mushy. Also I adjusted the amount of flavourings in my rice because there is no sauce with this chicken so I wanted the rice to be well flavoured so it could be eaten plain.
The chicken is rubbed with classic Fajita flavours, then seared until brown. I used bone-in chicken thighs with the skin on because I love the crispy skin and I believe that bone-in meats are always juicier. But this recipe works really well with chicken thigh as well (or drumsticks). I personally have not made it with chicken breast because I find chicken breast too dry for this type of recipe (i.e. no sauce or soup).
I would love to hear if you give this a try! This really is a strong flavoured dish because of the spices used in it. The heat comes from a touch of cayenne pepper – you can adjust this to your taste, or substitute with another hot spice or even a dash of your favourite hot sauce! – Nagi
One Pot Chicken and Rice Collection
I’m a big fan of cooking chicken and rice together – for the extra flavour you get! Less washing up is a bonus. 🙂
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One Pan Baked Chicken with Garlic Butter Rice – Seasoned chicken baked with a fluffy buttery garlic rice
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One Pot Chinese Chicken and Rice – it’s like Chinese chicken AND fried rice, all made in one pot!
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One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
Mexican Spice Mix
- 1 tbsp garlic powder (or 2 garlic cloves, minced)
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (Note 1), optional
- Black pepper
Chicken
- 5 chicken thigh fillets , bone-in and skin on (Notes 2 and 3)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lime (juice only)
Rice
- 1 small onion , peeled and diced (or 1/2 large)
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 red capsicum (bell pepper), sliced
- 1 cup long grain rice , uncooked (Note 4)
- 1 cup chicken stock/broth (or vegetable stock)
- 3/4 cup tomato puree or passata (Note 5)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels (or canned - drained)
- 1 can (400g/16oz) black beans , drained and rinsed (or sub with red kidney beans)
Garnish
- 1 lime , plus extra to serve
- Coriander/cilantro
- Sliced jalapeño peppers (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Combine the Mexican Spice Mix ingredients in a small bowl.
- Rub Chicken: Place 2 tbsp of the Mexican Spice Mix in a small bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil and lime juice. Mix to combine. Use your hands to slather the Mexican Spice Mix all over each piece of chicken.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat. Cook chicken in batches for 2 minutes or until browned, then cook the other side for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove chicken onto a plate.
- In the same skillet, still over medium high heat, add the onion, garlic and capsicum (bell peppers). Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until the onion and capsicum start to brown. These will get covered in the brown bits stuck to the fry pan from searing the chicken (adds flavour and colour to the rice).
- Turn the stove down to medium, then add the rice. Stir to coat the rice grains with the onion mixture and oil.
- Add the chicken stock, tomato puree/passata, corn, beans and remaining Mexican Spice Mix. Stir to combine.
- Place chicken back in the skillet on top of the rice, skin side up. It should be partially submerged in the liquid but most of the skin should be above the liquid.
- Bring to simmer, then turn off the stove. Cover the skillet with a lid or foil and place into the oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then remove from the oven and take off the lid/foil.
- Return the skillet to the oven, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes until only small puddles of liquid remain on the surface of the rice. This step allows the chicken skin to crisp up and the remaining liquid in the rice to largely evaporate.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes (uncovered). Any remaining liquid will evaporate in this step.
- Squeeze the juice of 1 lime over the chicken and rice.
- Serve, garnished with coriander/cilantro leaves, extra lime wedges and sliced jalapeños, if desired. Sour cream and yoghurt also goes well with this.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This is just redesigned Arroz con Pollo. (Chicken and Rice) By the way, most Mexican food does not have sour cream, guacamole or huge amounts of cheese. Those were added for american tastes. Bell peppers are rarely used in Mexican cooking. We use chilies. Arroz con Pollo does not have corn or beans, but is prepared in much the same way except for the “Fajita seasonings”. Use a mild or medium red chili powder not cayenne or paprika for real Mexican flavor
Thank you for sharing that information Susan!! I did google but I couldn’t find anything, however, I didn’t try Arroz con Pollo. I’m off to have a look at it now! The reason I use cayenne pepper instead of chili is because chili varies so much from country to country, and even in the US I am told. Chili in Australia and Asia is pure ground dried chili. Chili in the US is a bit of chili but other flavourings are added as well. That’s why I always use Cayenne for heat and the other seasonings in chili I add separately in my recipes. That way no matter where you live and what supermarket you shop at, you can get consistent flavourings.
And I’m with you on the sour cream, excessive guac (or even worse, guacamole with sour cream IN IT) and cheese. I actually prefer Mexican without it, at most, maybe some fresh slices of avocado or salsa, and a small crumbling of cheese.
I love Mexican, I love flavor explosions, and I hate cleaning up! This dish sounds perfect! You’ve done it again, Nagi! Your photographs make me want to reach through the screen and dig in! Such gorgeous colors and I can practically taste the spices on the chicken!
Thanks Kathleen!! I’m with you on the flavour explosions!
I love this and will definitely try it. But Nagi my email from you said “1 hour Arabian Feast”. What happened? I’m so intrigued by that title.
Hi Shelley! I’m so sorry about that email title – I really stuffed up that email notification! It was the title from the PREVIOUS recipe! 🙂
G’day! I love one pot dishes and yours looks mouth watering today Nagi!
i wouldn’t worry that the rice was soggy as this looks beyond delish and want to try it; is only brekkie here!
Cheers! Joanne
Thanks Joanne! Actually, I fixed the soggy rice 🙂 So the recipe is the corrected one!!
I have just put chicken thighs on the shopping list before seeing this recipe, must be karma. BTW I love your serving dish, can I be nosy and ask where you got it from 🙂
Hi Vicki! YES, it must be karma! Hope you give it a go 🙂 It’s SO delicious. Imma from Immaculate Bites is a genius, that rice is fantastic, I just plopped chicken on top! The serving dish is actually a Japanese skillet for a dish called Sukiyaki. It’s a hand me down from my mother! I will ask her whether it is sold in Australia 🙂 I love it so much. It’s basically a deep skillet / fry pan which makes it great for one pot dishes like this. You can get very similar depth skillets from Victorias Basement and Peters of Kensington online for great prices. I was actually just looking at them today (for Christmas!!). Let me know if you want me to send you those links!
Thanks Nagi, I will google and see what I can come up with. 🙂
Oh, yes please Nagi – am definitely looking to tag this one to make soon – love the flavours – thanks.
Ha ha, that’s such a co incidence, I just put your slow cooked lamb on my “MUST MAKE SOON!” list!!
These are beautiful photos, such a lively scene you captured! The recipe sounds great too, of course. 🙂
Thanks Nicole!! Best compliment ever coming from a pro 🙂 Please don’t be nice for the sake of it!! I would really value any constructive feedback from you! 🙂
Oh no, I meant it, I wouldn’t have said it otherwise. 🙂 These photos are so full of life, I like that a lot. If I were to nitpick I’d say that the metal serving spoon in the first photo is a little distracting to me. I think it’s because a) it is very bright, which means that my eyes are immediately drawn to it and b) once my eyes land on it it leads me straight out of the frame. Other than that I really like everything here!
You are the BEST Nicole! Thank you so much for taking the time to give me that tip, I truly truly appreciate it!!
Right call on bone-in chicken thigh because that’s the cut I’m using all the time! The boneless one just can’t beat its flavor. And the one pot chicken and rice idea is rocks! This is my favorite combination and just as you said, love the burst of flavors! I bet I can use the same logic to do one pot beef too!
Glad you approve Maggie!! I’m with you on flavour bursts! 🙂
Mmmm I love chicken dishes filled with spices! And it’s one-pot?!?! I’ve been racking up so many dishes baking lately this sounds like a lifesaver!
Thanks Sarah!! I’m so glad you like the sound of this!
I seriously love everything about this meal. It sounds so delicious. I may have to make it for dinner tonight. Also, the photos are so beautiful! Pinned (:
Thank you Connie! It really is so delicious. And I can’t take credit for the rice, that’s Imma’s recipe!
This chicken looks perfectly cooked and seasoned and I love the Mexican rice, too!!! I love the pictures! Very mouthwatering! Will definitely try the recipe 🙂 I’ve recently started to hate washing dishes, so one pot sounds perfect!
Thanks Mira!! The rice is AWESOME and all credit goes to Imma!
Love a one pot recipe! I’d rather spend more time on eating than washing up!
I’m with you Helen!!
One pot wonders are some of my favorite recipes! When I get busy, I just like throwing everything into a pan and letting it cook on it’s own. Thanks so much for sharing, I can’t wait to try this 🙂
Thanks Julie! I’m like that too – just throw in what I have!
N
Now if we could come up with toss away pans and everyone eat out of that one pot, with their fingers, then I’d be happy. 🙂
Until then I bow down before the inventor of the dishwasher.
I love this wonderful chicken dish. I did chuckle about the soggy rice in 1.0 but you definitely nailed it.
Ha! That’s a great challenge! “One-pot-eat-with-your-fingers” recipe creation!
This dish is very enticing! I love the spices and the use of bone-in, skin-on chicken. So crispy and juicy. Beautiful dish, Nagi!
Thank you Annie! I’m so glad you like the look of this 🙂 The flavours were really sensational!
Wow, this looks south-watering. I’m ready for my second dinner now! Drooling!
I just ate breakfast and looking at this makes me what this as my second one!
Wow, Nagi ! Awww, thanks for the shout out! .This recipe does not remotely looks like anything I made . You took an amazing recipe and transformed it into something….. SPECTACULAR- I am blown away. Whenever, I read your posts I always want to run to the kitchen and start cooking. Your pictures say it all! You are a GODDESS!!!
Imma, you truly were the inspiration for this. I never thought to make a tomato base flavoured rice in the oven and being able to do that just opens up so many possibilities! Thank you for sharing your recipe!!
Yessss…the worst part of cooking a big dinner, in my opinion, is the clean-up. This looks fantastic, and a perfect meal for winter, when I need to be reminded that warm climates do still exist elsewhere! These photos are gorgeous, btw!
Thank you!! I am with you re: clean up being the worst. My dishwasher is broken!
I’m up for all of those potent flavors! Those pictures are completely mouthwatering, Nagi! And about washing up, my hubby is wonderful about it (though for his sake I wish I wasn’t such a messy cook!) xoxo
Potent flavours is right Marissa!! You are lucky you have such a willing hubby. 🙂 Though he does get wonderful food in return!!