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Mexican Rice with Chicken
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4.96 from 21 votes

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!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Cinco de Mayo, Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 350kcal

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

Notes

  1. You can also use regular green bell pepper in this dish.
  2. Feel free to use skinless, boneless chicken thighs or a combination of chicken thighs and breasts.
  3. You can also use canned black beans that have been rinsed and drained in place of the frozen corn.
  4. 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.
  5. If you don't have the Rotel tomatoes and chilies, you can substitute an additional 8-ounce can of tomato sauce.
  6. 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: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 1245mg | Potassium: 710mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1095IU | Vitamin C: 25.2mg | Calcium: 183mg | Iron: 2.4mg