This Mexican Chicken and Rice brings together your favourite Mexican Red Rice with sweet pops of corn and black beans with a fajita seasoned chicken. Big Mexican flavours. One pot. Sheer perfection!
One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice
This is a really handy recipe if you’ve got a family of big eaters and are short on time because it makes a substantial amount of food, it’s a complete meal (no need to make starch and veg sides as well as a separate protein!) and it’s all done in one pot.
Readers also tell me they love that it’s finished in the oven. No need to worry about scorching the base of the pot. No stirring or watching to ensure it doesn’t bubble over. It’s entirely hands off.
Plus, it’s Mexican flavoured. “Everybody” loves Mexican food, right!??
And look – proof of juicy chicken and fluffy rice. No mushy rice in my world!
What you need
Here’s what you need to make this One Pot Mexican Chicken and rice:
Chicken thighs (bone-in, skin on) – For the best, juiciest results and golden, flavour infused skin. This cut of chicken cooks in the same time it takes for the rice to cook in the oven which makes it the perfect choice. Plus, because it’s the juiciest chicken cut, you get a stack of free flavour added into your rice as the chicken bakes. Win, win!
Prefer boneless thighs or breast? Because these cook faster, they will need to be added partway through the oven cook time. I’ve included directions in the recipe notes!
Mexican spice blend for chicken – see below.
Rice type to use – Long grain rice is best here, for the fluffiest results. Basmati will yield a similar texture in the end result but you’ll have a subtle perfume of basmati rice flavour in the dish. Not necessarily a bad thing, just not Mexican! 😂 Medium grain rice will yield a a good result albeit slightly stickier (because that’s the nature of the rice) as will short grain / sushi rice which is stickier still.
Rice to avoid – Risotto rice (arborio), jasmine, brown rice and faux rice (quinoa, cauliflower rice etc).
Tomato passata (puree) – Pureed, strained pure tomatoes, sometimes labelled “tomato puree” in the US (here’s a photo of Mutti tomato passata sold at Walmart). It’s readily available in Australian supermarkets nowadays, alongside pasta sauces. More on tomato passata here.
Substitute with canned crushed tomato though just bear in mind that your rice will not be quite as red.
Garlic and onion – Essential flavour base.
Capsicum / bell peppers – On theme for the fajita flavours going on here in this dish. You can really use any colour you like, or switch it out with other vegetables like zucchini, carrot etc.
Frozen corn – Adds lovely pops of sweetness and colour into the rice! I use frozen for convenience, because I always have it. Canned (drained) can also be used or, as with capsicum, substitute with another diced vegetable.
Black beans – On theme for this Mexican rice, plus it adds flavour and protein, and fills out the rice. I just use a can (drained). Black beans are on theme for Mexican food but can be substituted with any other beans such as red kidney beans.
Chicken stock/broth – The liquid in which the rice is cooked. Substitute with vegetable stock, or water plus stock powder. Please don’t use water, the dish will lack flavour!
Lime – For a finishing spritz of freshness at the end.
Mexican spice mix
Here’s all you need for a great Mexican spice mix – garlic powder, paprika, cumin, cayenne (for a touch of heat – skip or reduce if desired), salt and pepper. All pantry staple spices!
For this recipe, most of it is used on the chicken but we reserve a bit to season the rice. Love one spice mix that serves duel purposes!
How to make One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice
It’s as easy as 1-2-3:
Marinate chicken in Mexican spice mix, if time permits.
Sear chicken, then sauté veg (onion, garlic, capsicum/bell peppers).
Add rice and everything else, pop it in the oven.
Dinner. Done!
1. Marinate chicken (if you can)
The chicken is tastier if you have the time to marinate for 1 hour (or overnight) because the flavour infuses into the flesh. But even if you don’t, the chicken is still super tasty because of the seasoning and also it absorbs flavour as it cooks with the rice.
Mix Mexican Spices with olive oil and lime juice in a large bowl to form a paste.
Marinate chicken 1 hour – Add the chicken and toss to coat. Leave to marinate for 1 hour in the fridge, or even overnight if you want. But as noted above, don’t fret if you don’t have time. This dish is absolutely worth making even without marinating – and I know this for a fact because I tried it with and without marinating! See? 🙂
Cooking vessel
I use my 30cm / 12″ shallow casserole dutch oven (2.5 lt / 2/5 qts) which is the ideal shape for dishes like this, and goes from stove to the oven. I have this Chasseur one (pictured in post and video) and this Le Creuset one. I didn’t pay full price for either – shop around! They are an investment but should last a lifetime if you look after them. 🙂
However, you can make this in any large ovenproof dutch oven or deep skillet. If you don’t have a matching lid, just cover with foil for the baking part. If you don’t have an oven-proof skillet, just do the stove steps using any frying pan then transfer everything into a baking dish. I’ve popped directions in the recipe notes for how to do this.
2. Searing and sautéing
This recipe starts off on the stove to sear the chicken (flavour!) and sauté the vegetables. Then you add the rice and liquids, pop the chicken back on top and put it in the oven. Hands off cooking is the best!
Sear the marinated chicken to brown the skin. The inside will / should still be raw. We just want to get some lovely colour on the chicken skin which we wouldn’t achieve in the bake time.
Remove chicken onto a plate and set aside.
Sauté aromatics – In the same pot / pan, sauté the onion, garlic and capsicum. Using the same pot to cook the rice is a path to express flavour because all the tasty flavours left in the pan from sautéing the chicken gets soaked up by the rice.
Then add the rice, stir to coat it in all the tasty flavours (bit like making risotto!).
Flavoured rice liquid and add-ins – Add the liquids (stock/broth, tomato passata), reserved Mexican Spice Mix, corn and beans. Then stir to combine.
3. Baking
Top with chicken – Place the chicken on top. It will be partially submerged under the liquid and that’s fine. In fact, that’s exactly what we want because the flesh under the liquid will absorb flavour from the seasoned rice stock. And the skin exposed above the liquid will brown!
Bake 25 minutes covered – Cover with a lid and bake for 25 minutes.
Bake uncovered 15 minutes – Remove the lid and bake for a further 15 minutes or until the liquid has been almost completely absorbed by the rice. Some puddles remaining on the surface is fine as they will absorb while the rice rests.
Note: If you taste the rice at this stage and it is still a touch firmer than you want, that’s fine. It will finish cooking as it rests in the next step, just as ordinary white rice does during the resting stage.
Rest 10 minutes – Remove from the oven then rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Remove or push the chicken to the side, then fluff the rice with a rubber spatula or fork. Squeeze over lime juice, sprinkle with coriander/cilantro and jalapeño if you want to garnish it. Then serve!
With the right cooking vessel, it can be placed on the table as a sharing dish, for everybody to help themselves. By “right cooking vessel”, I’m mainly referring to shape. I’d put a shallow pot / casserole pan, like pictured in this post and in the recipe video, in the centre of a table. But I were using a deep pot, I’d probably plate it up individually. Mainly for practical reasons (reaching into a deep hot pot isn’t ideal).
Complete meal in one!
With the tomato and vegetables in this dish, I consider it a complete meal. But if you’d like to add some more vegetables on the side, have a browse of my side salads and vegetables sides recipe collection here. It’s organised by primary vegetable so you can find something to make using what you’ve got. It’s work in progress – I’m continuing to build up the collection.
Love to know what you think if you try this Mexican chicken and rice!
– Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
Mexican Spice Mix
- 2 tsp garlic powder (or 2 garlic cloves, minced)
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (Note 1), optional
- Black pepper
Chicken
- 5 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on (Notes 2 and 3)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lime juice
Rice
- 1 small onion , peeled and diced (or 1/2 large)
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 red capsicum (bell pepper), diced or sliced
- 1 cup long grain rice , uncooked (Note 4)
- 1 cup chicken stock/broth , low sodium (or vegetable stock)
- 3/4 cup tomato passata (US: tomato puree) (Note 5)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels (or canned – drained)
- 1 can (400g/16oz) black beans , drained and rinsed (sub red kidney beans)
Garnish
- 1 lime , plus extra to serve
- Coriander/cilantro
- Sliced jalapeño peppers (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160° fan).
- Mexican spice mix – Mix the ingredients in a small bowl.
- Rub Chicken – Place 1 1/2 tablespoons of the Mexican Spice Mix in a large bowl (reserve rest for rice) with 1 tablespoon olive oil and lime juice. Mix to form a paste then add the chicken and toss to coat the chicken.
- Marinate (optional) – Marinate chicken for 1 hour, or even overnight, if you have the time. Otherwise, it's fine to proceed with the recipe!
- Sear chicken – Using a large deep skillet preferably with a lid (Note 6), heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat. Sear the skin side of the chicken for 4 minutes until light golden, then sear the flesh side for 1 1/2 minutes (will still be raw inside). Remove onto a plate.
- Sauté aromatics – If you've got a lot of burnt spices on the base, scrape off and discard some of it. Then in the same skillet, still over medium high heat, add the onion, garlic and capsicum (bell peppers). Sauté for 3 minutes until the onion softens.
- Rice & liquid – Add the rice and stir. Add chicken stock, tomato passata, corn, beans and remaining Mexican Spice Mix. Stir to combine.
- Top with chicken – Place chicken on top of the rice, skin side up. It will be partially submerged but most of the skin should be above the liquid.
- Bake covered 25 min – Bring to simmer, then cover skillet with a lid or foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes.
- Bake uncovered 15 min – Remove the lid/foil and bake for a further 15 minutes until only small puddles of liquid remain on the surface of the rice.
- Rest 10 minutes – Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes (uncovered). Any remaining liquid will evaporate in this step.
- Serve – Squeeze the juice of 1 lime over the chicken and rice. Remove chicken or push to the side then fluff the rice. Serve, garnished with coriander/cilantro leaves, extra lime wedges and sliced jalapeños, if desired. Sour cream also goes well with this, or a dollop of guacamole or avocado sauce!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Recipe originally published in 2016. Updated with much needed recipe video and more importantly, Life of Dozer added!
One Pot Chicken and Rice recipes
I’m a big fan of cooking chicken and rice together – for the extra flavour you get! Less washing up is a bonus. 🙂 Here are some reader faves.
Life of Dozer
Took Dozer up to the Hunter Valley* last weekend. Stayed at lovely dog friendly cabins called Tonic. Plans to sleep in didn’t quite happen due to his “enthusiastic” barking at the sight of early morning kangaroo visitors (below). Visions of him prancing around vineyards also did not eventuate after being warned of kangaroos beating up dogs (seriously) and seeing this video on YouTube. Dozer would stand no chance against a roo. We both know it!
* Wine region, 2 hours drive from Sydney
Another winner Nagi for my spice loving family. I cooked this in my Bessemer Dutch oven, added 1 extra cup of rice, 1 extra capsicum and 1/2 cup more water. I used canned, drained black beans and corn and everyone liked it! Next time I will add more rice and water, maybe more veggies to make it more a complete meal (I’m lazy to cook more veg) and perhaps experiment with marinating the meat longer. It’s like a easier Mexican paella.
This will be on regular rotation, along with your Vietnamese caramelised bowls and Vietnamese chicken wings.
I’m so pleased to hear that Sew, thank you for letting me know! N xx
Greetings from Luanda.
Excellent recipe!
Made it “as written”, no changes, or substitutions, and it was perfection.
Looking forward to many others.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Mayra, thanks for letting me know! N xx
wow another winner winner QUICK EASY chicken dinner
AWESOME! So pleased to hear you enjoyed this Halina, thanks for the feedback!! N xx
My family made me put this on my “keep” list – but I made some modifications. We like heat so I doubled the cayenne. Added fresh chopped cilantro to rice mixture before putting the chicken back on top. Instead of the crushed tomatoes I used picante sauce – medium hot, but you can change this based on your heat preference and use mild or hot. Husband likes split breast, so used 4 thighs and one split breast to make everyone happy. And added a little lime juice, about 1 tblspoon to rice mix as well. All yum!
Woo hoo! So glad you and your family enjoyed it Rit, thanks for letting me know! N x
Love this and have made it many times since I found it! I want to make it for a large dinner party, do you think I can make it the day before and then reheat the day of the party? If so, what do you think would be the best way to reheat it?
AWESOME! I’m so glad you loved it Shelly, thanks for letting me know! Re: reheating I think microwave for the rice and oven for the chicken N x
I stumbled across this recipe and couldn’t resist trying it, so glad I did! What a great meal it’s packed full of flavour. I used boneless and skinless thighs and marinated them overnight, otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Looking forward to trying many Nagi recipes in future. Thanks for bringing joy to my tastebuds!
So glad you liked it Rob, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Love this recipe it’s officially our new favourite dish I’ve made it half a dozen times now I use drumsticks instead of thighs it works perfectly. I’m going to make the chicken rub to use on chicken for the BBQ it will be so good with salad.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Shaun, thank you for letting me know! N x
I made this tonight with two leg quarters, cut into four pieces. My only change was using canned chopped green chiles instead of black beans (I was out of them) and no corn, because Mr. Fussy only likes corn on its own….So, here are his comments, dear Nagi: “Damn, that’s tasty!” And when I told him it’s a Nagi recipe: “Nagi scores again!” Need I say more? ???
Awww MARLENE! I am so honoured, thank you for trying my recipe! Tell Mr Fussy he has good taste – ba ha ha!!!
(Oops, web site didn’t post properly!) And I’m thrilled to have another meal for us, plus extra rice!
I’m always looking for good chicken thigh recipes and this was excellent. Yes the marinade does burn a little but once you deglaze the pan it’s what gives the dish real depth of colour and flavour. I also used brown rice and no additional liquid or cooking was required. Thank you!
brown rice wahoo. thanks for tip
So glad you enjoyed this Harry, thanks for letting me know! N x
Hey Nagi ! I recently discovered your food blog, and your many amazing looking recipes. I haven’t tried them yet, but i for sure will soon! 🙂
Unfortunatly i have found it a bit difficult to find all types of ingrediens here i denmark, but i probably just have to find a substitute instead. Maybe we have something simular here, but it is sometimes a bit difficult to translate.
I hope you continue your amazing work, and by the way, your pictures of the dishes are just amazing. I get hungry by just looking at them 😀
Take care.
Hi Carsten – all the way from Australia! 🙂 I’m so glad you like my blog, thank you for your lovely message! This recipe is fairly forgiving so even if you can find some of the flavourings, it will still taste lovely! 🙂
I made this with chicken breast and with long grain brown rice. It worked out perfectly. I filleted the breast so it would be somewhat even, size wise. I added the bigger halves after 15 mins in oven with the lid on then added the smaller pieces for an additional 10 mins with the lid on and added less than 1/4 cup of water because it was looking dry. After a total of 25 mins, I took off the lid and added a little more water as it was dry looking again and made sure to submerge the breast in the water. I baked it for the ~10 additional minutes without lid, than I took it out and let it rest with the lid on for 8 mins and it was perfect after. The chicken breast was moist and not dry, as long as you don’t let it rest too long.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Su!!! YAY! Thank you very much for taking the time to come back and let me know! 🙂
Another excellent recipe, this tastes really good, love the spices and the black beans, never really gone for thighs but they were delicious in this, one to try again!
Cheers Nagi
Glad you enjoyed it Scotty! Thanks for letting me know! N x
So good! Officially in love with your recipes. So easy and delicious. I doubled the amount of rice and chicken stock because I wanted to make sure there were leftovers! Also, I was not sure if I would get the same colour of the rice as in your picture, so I added a bit of red food colouring to the rice before adding the liquids. Definitely worked 🙂 I had massive chicken leg quarters and I used them up with this recipe. Will definitely be making them again.
Thanks Nagi!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Nina! I’m sorry the bottom of your pan got burnt 🙁 It sounds like either your stove is stronger than mine or you might have heated up the oil a little too much before putting the chicken in? And YES to marinading longer and YES YES to your toppings!!! Oh, and I’m so glad to hear it worked with brown rice! I wasn’t sure because brown rice takes longer to cook and typically requires more water. 🙂
Giant Colorado chicken thighs? 😉 What have you got in the water up there?? Ha ha!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this!! I can imagine that you struggle with baking recipes at high altitude 🙂 At least with savoury dishes they can probably usually be salvaged by adjusting cook time. Whereas cakes etc….if they don’t rise, they can’t be salvaged!!!
YAY!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Sean, thank you very much for coming back to let me know!
I have now done this recipe multiple times and what a hit….good for re-heating and even cold, the boys took it camping and said so good cold. Doing again tomorrow as Im off from Brisbane to New Caledonia for a week to catch up with long time locals there. Taking fish stew recipe with me as we live off the sea all caught by them…they will love it. Will also put them in touch with your site, like I do with anyone who mentions cooking. Thanks again.
Oooh! New Caledonia? I have to say, I’ve never been there! Thank you so much for your wonderful message, I’m very flattered by your kind words and that you tell people about my site!! Have a wonderful and safe trip!! (I bet seafood is amazing there!)
Made this for dinner tonight, it was amazing! I can’t wait to make it again! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it Deanna! Thanks for letting me know!! N x
What’s “a cup” in grammes or mls? I’m in the UK and want to try your recipe
Hi Becks! I’m in Australia and I am very specific to ensure that all my recipes work whether using UK, Aus or US cups. 🙂 For this recipe, the difference in cup sizes between countries is not enough to make affect the recipe. I hope you consider giving it a try!
In a lot of european countries such as the scadinavian countries dont use cups meassures at all. We only use the metric system with ml. dl. Grams etc. 🙂 just for info.
Woah! I didn’t know that – really??? You get your scales out every night? What about teaspoons and tablespoons??
Teaspoons and table spoons is used. And the deciliter (dl) is 250 ml cup, so we dont have measure everything 🙂 but the cup measures used in the US and the UK are not used here 🙂
But luckily it is quit easy to convert cups to mililiters (ml) etc. So your recipes are easy to make.
And i actually tried the mexican rice recipe yesterday, and it turned out perfect! Black beans in a can was not easy to find, but after visting multiple stores, i finally found it.
My next quest is to find chipotle in adobe sauce. Chipotle chilies is not common here in denmark, but luckily we have the internet, so i might need to order it online 😛
Our cups are 250ml here too 🙂 I’ve noticed books that use gm for things like rice quantities, the thing that always confuses me is that it’s so easy to scoop up a cup of rice whereas pouring it out to measure is a pain!! Oooh YES to Chipotle in Adobo Sauce. I think you’ll be addicted to it when you find it, it’s honestly such a magic Mexican sauce!! PS So gla you loved the Mexican rice!!! You can always sub the black beans with red kidney beans if they are more readily available?? Here in Sydney kidney beans are in every supermarket whereas black beans are a little harder to find 🙂
This was delicious! I made it for dinner tonight and everyone loved it, there is even enough for my lunch tomorrow and some rice for a side dish for dinner tomorrow night. I need to use chicken thighs more often, they were so good. I’ll definitely make this again. Thank you!
That’s fabulous Andrea! I’m so glad you loved it! N x