Chicken Taco Rice
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One Pot Chicken Taco Rice is a delicious high protein meal filled with cheesy rice, chicken, and veggies! Secretly healthy and easy to make!
Chicken taco rice is one of our favorite quick weeknight dinners because it’s packed with amazing flavor, protein, veggies, and there’s minimal cleanup to make it!
This easy taco chicken and rice skillet brings together cheesy rice and chicken with plenty of vegetables and taco seasoning that we know you will love.
Just 12 ingredients that come together in one-pot with a ton of flavor!
Tyler’s Tips for the Best Taco Chicken and Rice Skillet
- Stirring the rice and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon frequently to prevent sticking and allow it to evenly cook in one pot is the key to this dish.
- Cut the chicken into even strips so you can easily cube the chicken into half inch cubes, this is the easiest way to prepare and cut the chicken evenly.
- Use low sodium ingredients. We prefer to use low sodium beans, tomatoes and broth.
Ingredients:
substitutions
Olive Oil: You could use avocado oil, but we really recommend extra virgin olive oil
Chicken Breasts: You can substitute with boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders but we like the texture of the chicken breasts the best. We have not tried this with cubed pork tenderloin or pork chops but that may also work. If you prefer ground beef, try our Ground Beef Taco Skillet.
Vegetables: The onions and garlic can be substituted for 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon onion powder if needed. The sweet red peppers can be substituted for green peppers or other sweet frying peppers. Pinto beans can be used in place of black beans and the corn can be omitted if needed. We use frozen corn but canned corn or fresh corn can be used as well.
Broth: Any broth or stock (broth and stock are the same) can be used in any soup recipe. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
Tomato Sauce: Crushed tomatoes or whole tomatoes can be used as well but we recommend blending them to create that smooth texture.
White Rice: Brown rice is another great option but the cook time may need to be extended as brown rice can take longer to cook. If you prefer pasta, try this Chicken Taco Pasta.
Taco Seasoning: We have a great homemade taco seasoning recipe we love to use but any store bought taco seasoning will work just fine.
Cheese: The cheddar cheese has great flavor and texture for this recipe, mozzarella can be used as well if needed.
How to Make Taco Chicken Rice
- Cook cubed chicken in olive oil in a pan over medium high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add and sauté onions and garlic for an additional 5 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally. Add remaining ingredients (except cheese) to the pot.
- Stir together, cover and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce to medium heat and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the rice is cooked, top with cheese, cover the pan for one minute to let the cheese melt.
What to Serve with Taco Chicken and Rice
This chicken taco rice casserole recipe is a complete meal on it’s own, no need for sides! If you are wanting more veggies you could try serving it with our Marinated Vegetable Salad or our Peach Goat Cheese Salad.
For Extra Veggies: I like to stir in a cup of cauliflower rice to my chicken taco rice bowl. I microwave the frozen cauliflower rice and simply stir it in with the cooked rice and chicken and you can’t even taste it!
For Toppings: It’s great with Guacamole or Corn Salsa!
storage
Storing: This will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. We like these containers for freezing.
Reheating: You can reheat this taco rice in the microwave, toaster oven or on the stove.
other healthy One Pot recipes:
Chicken Taco Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in ½ inch cubes
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 cups diced red bell peppers
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 15 oz can low sodium black beans rinsed and drained
- ½ cup corn
- ½ cup dry white rice
- 1 ½ tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the onions and garlic to the pan and sauté for an additional 5 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally.
- Add bell peppers, tomato sauce, chicken broth, black beans, corn, white rice, and taco seasoning to the pot. Stir together, cover and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce to medium heat and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally until the rice is cooked.
- Once the rice is cooked, top with cheddar cheese, cover the pan for one minute and let the cheese melt.
- Serve in a bowl and top with your favorite hot sauce, sour cream, or salsa!
This recipe was a HIT! We served over flour tortillas, and had plenty of leftovers for lunch. Adding this to our meal rotation for sure!
This recipe was so easy to make and delicious! My husband loved it so much he said he could eat it every day! I will definitely be adding this to my recipe rotation!
This recipe is a keeper. It is easy to make, yummy and great for leftovers!