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This Mexican Chicken & Rice One Pot dish is all of our favourite Tex Mex flavours cooked in one pan. With tasty chicken and plenty of vegetables, it’ll get a thumbs up from the whole family.
One pot recipes that take about half an hour to make from start to finish are LIFE, and I’m aware that we need as many up our sleeves as possible for those quick wins during the week.
So, we’re introducing another good one – Mexican Chicken & Rice One Pot!
Whether it’s my Peri Peri Chicken & Rice, my Easy Beef Fried Rice, my Cajun-style Dirty Rice or my Chicken Fried Rice, there’s always a little whoop for joy whenever I announce what’s for dinner.
Why you’ll love this Mexican Chicken recipe
⭐️ Ready in about 30 minutes
⭐️ All made in one pan for fuss free cooking
⭐️ An instant family crowd pleaser
Sarah’s Notes
With the midweek lifesavers that are one pot dinners (I love them so much I even wrote a whole book about them!) I always aim to make sure they’re a full, satisfying meal, complete with protein, carbs and vegetables. I’m happy to say we’ve achieved this here!
- While creating this recipe, we first tried it in the oven, but we felt we could save energy by cooking it on the hob and finishing it off under the grill.
- We also used kidney beans in the first tests, but my children reported that they prefer black beans so we swapped to make it a little more child friendly, perhaps?! Obviously you could use either according to your favourites.
- Finally, in early tests we didn’t include cheese on top. You can obviously leave this out if you prefer but we can’t resist a ‘cheese pull’!
For this new recipe, I use the term ‘Mexican’ loosely.
I have taken those convenient and much-loved ingredients that most of us have in our store cupboards in the UK to keep costs low and quality high (not to mention a super quick and simple method), while taking inspiration from Tex Mex flavours.
Mexican Chicken & Rice Ingredients
- Sunflower oil
- Chicken breast
- Garlic cloves
- Red pepper
- Yellow pepper
- Cumin
- Mild chilli powder
- Paprika
- Rice – Choose any type of long grain or basmati, be sure to rinse it well first in a sieve
- Passata – We use this rather than tinned tomatoes so it absorbs more easily into the rice to cook it
- Chicken stock – Made with a cube is fine
- Black beans – Tinned
- Sweetcorn
- Grated cheese – Mozzarella or cheddar are both fine
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Spring onions – Optional
How to make Mexican Chicken & Rice
1. First, cook the chicken in hot oil as per the recipe below, then add the garlic, peppers and spices.
2. Add the rice, passata, stock, beans and seasoning and bring to a simmer. Cook as per the recipe below.
3. Stir in the sweetcorn and heat through. Sprinkle over some grated cheese.
4. Pop under the grill until the cheese has melted.
Hint: You may find that your rice needs a little more liquid before it’s cooked. Keep an eye on it. If it looks like it’s sticking, add a splash of water or stock until the rice is fully cooked through.
Substitutions
- Vegetarian – You can make this a veggie dish by swapping the chicken for fried halloumi cubes – added at the end of cooking – yum!
- Vegan – You can also make it vegan by omitting the meat and cheese.
- Vegetables – You can mix and match your veggies to taste or to use whatever you have left in your fridge that needs using up. More vegetables will also make it go further.
- Spring onions – I garnish the dish with these but you don’t have to.
Leftovers and reheating rice
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Just be sure to follow cooked rice food safety guidelines (i.e. do not leave it sitting about at room temperature, cool it very quickly and then reheat fully until piping hot before serving).
In the freezer I don’t recommend freezing this dish as it can become very sticky when reheating and isn’t at its best. If you do have leftovers that you don’t want to waste though, just wait until it’s totally cold and then put into a freezer proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost before thoroughly reheating.
Recipe Tips
Type of rice to use
You can use any type of long grain or basmati rice for this recipe. Just be sure to rinse it first!
Cooking time
Make a little extra stock up to add in if you need it. Sometimes cooking times vary and the rice can absorb all the water before it’s properly cooked. Keep an eye on it and don’t let it dry out.
FAQs
Rinsing helps to get rid of some of the starch in the rice, which makes it sticky when it’s cooked.
This means you’re more likely to end up with a fluffy texture that’s not too gloopy or sticky.
It has a little heat from the chilli powder, so be cautious for those with zero spice tolerance or add some plain yoghurt to cool it down a little.
On the other hand, if you love a bit of spice in your family, feel free to add a chopped red chilli in with the sliced pepper.
I recently tasked myself with trying out a variety of one-pan pans in a quest to find out which ones were up to the important job of making an all-in-one meal. Read my pan review here. I hope it helps!
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Mexican Chicken & Rice {One Pot}
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Sunflower oil
- 600 g (1.3 lb) Chicken breast, Cut into cubes
- 3 Garlic cloves , Crushed
- 1 Red pepper, Cut into small cubes
- 1 Yellow pepper, Cut into small cubes
- 2 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Mild chilli powder
- 2 tsp Paprika
- 200 g (1 cups) Rice, Rinsed
- 500 g (2 cups) Passata
- 500 ml (2 cups) Chicken stock
- 400 g (15 oz) Black beans (tinned), Drained and rinsed
- 200 g (7 oz) Sweetcorn, Drained
- 75 g (2.5 oz) Grated cheese, Mozzarella or cheddar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Optional:
- 2-3 Spring onions
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the chicken. Stir for 5 minutes, until coloured all over.
- Add the garlic, peppers, cumin, chilli, paprika, continue to stir for a further 1-2 minutes just until everything is well coated in the spices.
- Add the rice, passata, stock, black beans and salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Pop the lid on the cook for 15-20 minutes until the rice has absorbed the stock and is cooked. (See notes below.)
- Stir in the sweetcorn and heat through for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the cheese and pop the pan under the grill for about 5 minutes until it's melted. Sprinkle over spring onion if using, and serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on September 25th, 2023. It was updated on July 30th, 2025 to add additional tips and step-by-step videos.
Passata apparently doesn’t exist in my town. What are good alternatives? I keep holding off on making this, with all the other ingredients except passata, at the ready. There must be a good substitute. Assist?
Hi Lisa, you could blend a can of tinned tomatoes and sieve them and use that instead.
This is a lovely simple recipe but so tasty. We all like different levels of spice so sometimes add dried chilli flakes to our own portions.
Thanks for the lovely feedback Emma!
Loved it!!!! Made for dinner tonight using chicken thighs and smoked paprika as that’s what I had on hand. I’m usually not a great cook but this turned out amazing!
That’s so great to hear Melanie!
I made this and wow what a great recipe, the kids absolutely love it and now I make it once a week.i also make burritos from it and I add smoked sausage to it with the chicken.
That’s great to hear Paul, always good when you find a new family fave!