Easy Cheesy Mexican Rice with Chicken
Easy Cheesy Mexican Rice with Chicken is just in time for Cinco de Mayo. It's an amazing one-pot meal with an incredible blend of flavors and textures. It makes a lot, so be prepared for yummy leftovers!
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion (1 medium)
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper (½ bell pepper) (See Tip 1)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 12 ounces chicken breast cut into ¼ inch strips (1 ½ cups) (See Tip 2)
- 1 cup frozen corn (See Tip 3)
- 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons light brown sugar
- 1 cup long grain rice, rinsed and drained (See Tip 4)
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 10 ounce can Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies (See Tip 5)
- 1 cup (4 ounces) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- ½ cup (2 ounces) Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Sauté onion and red bell pepper in olive oil in large skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until onion is tender. Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add chicken; stir to combine. Cook over medium heat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add corn, salt, pepper, oregano, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and light brown sugar. Stir to combine.
- Add rice, chicken broth, tomato sauce and Rotel tomatoes; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover, and reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed, and the rice is done.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Sprinkle top with Monterey Jack cheese and Mozzarella cheese. Place in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and lightly golden brown.
- Yield: 6 servings. (See Tip 6)
Video
Tips/Notes
- You can also use regular green bell pepper in this dish.
- Feel free to use skinless, boneless chicken thighs or a combination of chicken thighs and breasts.
- You can also use canned black beans that have been rinsed and drained in place of the frozen corn.
- Uncooked rice is coated with a fair amount of starch which can cause the dish to be gummy. Therefore, I like to rinse the rise well in a wire mesh strainer until the water runs clean to remove as much of the starch as possible.
- If you don't have the Rotel tomatoes and chilies, you can substitute an additional 8-ounce can of tomato sauce.
- This produces incredible leftovers. You can either reheat the leftovers in the microwave for a minute or two, or freeze the leftovers for a later time.
Nutrition
Calories: 350kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 22gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 1245mgPotassium: 710mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1095IUVitamin C: 25.2mgCalcium: 183mgIron: 2.4mg
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