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One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice is Arroz con Pollo made easy! It’s got tender chunks of chicken, fluffy rice and vegetables simmered in a flavorful tomato broth. Everything cooks together in one pan and comes together in about 30 minutes, for a simple, flavorful meal with no mess and easy clean up!
Your family will love this meal – it’s one of our favorite Mexican dishes! And you’re going to love how incredibly easy this Mexican Chicken and Rice recipe is to make.
Be sure to try some of our other Mexican-inspired favorites, like Pozole Rojo with Chicken and Mexican Sopes.
Pin this recipe for later!Why We Love This One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice
- Easy, One Pan Meal – This means less dishes so I’m totally here for that. All of the ingredients cook at the same time in one skillet for super easy clean up.
- 40 Minutes – I love a dinner that I can get on the table in about 40 minutes.
- Great for leftovers – This dish freezes well and is great for leftovers the next day.
Ingredients
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – Chicken thighs can be used instead. Cut into bite size pieces.
- Vegetable Oil – or another cooking oil like olive oil or canola oil.
- Salt & Black Pepper
- White Rice – You need a long grain white rice; Jasmine or Basmati rice will also work.
- Chicken Broth – Adds lots of flavor to the dish. I recommend getting low sodium chicken stock or broth. You can use water as a replacement, but you’ll need to add salt.
- Tomato Sauce – A small can.
- Caldo de Tomate – This is tomato bouillon, a mix of powdered chicken bouillon and tomato powder with the flavors of onion, parsley and spices.
- Garlic – 2 teaspoons or 3 garlic cloves.
- Chili Powder
- Frozen Veggies – Peas & carrots, corn or mixed vegetables.
How to Make It
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
Cook the chicken. Start by sauteing chunks of seasoned boneless, skinless chicken breast in olive oil in a large skillet. You can also use other cuts of boneless chicken. The key is for the pieces to be the same size to promote even cooking.
Add the rice. Push the chicken to the side and add a teaspoon of olive oil to the empty side of the skillet. Add some long grain rice and stir for a minute until the rice begins to turn translucent.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer. Add tomato sauce, tomato bouillon, chicken stock, minced garlic, and frozen veggies to the skillet. Stir everything together and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pot and let it cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
Serve. Let the chicken and rice sit for a few minutes to rest, then fluff and stir before garnishing and serving.
Serving Suggestions
This is a complete meal all in one pan, so there is no need to serve anything on the side if you don’t want to. Just top with garnishes like avocado, sliced olives, green onions, sour cream, and a squeeze of lime juice. However, if you’re looking to stretch this meal a little further, here are a few suggestions:
- Warm flour tortillas or tortilla chips
- Cheesy quesadillas
- Olive Garden Salad
- Charro Beans
- Pico de Gallo
- Guacamole
- Classic Margaritas
Variations
Spicy – Want to crank up the heat? Add some diced jalapenos to the veggies or a pinch of cayenne pepper to the rice mixture.
Cheesy rice – After you’ve fluffed up the rice, sprinkle on some grated sharp cheddar or Jack cheese.
Rice – This recipe has not been tested with brown rice. It can be used, but will require an additional 20-30 minutes of cook time, which will likely overcook the chicken. I would recommend keeping the chicken pieces whole in this case.
Add some black beans – Drain and rinse a can of black beans and add them in place of or with the vegetables.
Storage
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Freezing: To freeze, place leftovers in a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3-4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
Reheating: I find it best to reheat on the stovetop over low-medium heat. It may be necessary to add a small amount of water to rehydrate the rice. Reheat in the microwave for 60-90 seconds, stirring about halfway through.
Expert Tips
- For the veggies, you can use any frozen veggies that you have on hand. Fresh can be used but I recommend cooking them separately and adding them at the end to keep them from getting mushy.
- Jasmine rice works great if you don’t have long grain white rice.
- Caldo de Tomate is a granulated tomato bouillon. It’s usually found in the Hispanic aisle of the grocery store or at hispanic markets, but can be left out if you’re not able to find it. To get the tomato flavor, you can add a tablespoon of tomato paste instead.
More Mexican-Inspired Recipes
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Refried Beans Recipe
- Authentic Mexican Rice
- The Best Shrimp Fajitas
- Red Chicken Pozole Soup
- Mexican Sopes Recipe
One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size chunks
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- 1 cup Long-grain white rice uncooked
- 2 cups Chicken broth
- 8 ounces Canned tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon Caldo de Tomate (tomato bouillon) optional, can use chicken bouillion instead.
- 2 teaspoon Minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Chili powder
- 1 1/2 cups Frozen peas & carrots or mixed vegetables
Instructions
- Season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat and add chicken. Cook until just barely browned, but not fully cooked through.
- Push chicken to the side and add a teaspoon of oil to the empty side of the pan. Add one cup of long grain white rice and saute for one minute, stirring constantly.
- Add chicken broth, tomato sauce, boullion, garlic, chili powder and frozen vegetables to the skillet. Stir everything together and bring to a boil.
- Cover and reduce heat to low for about 20 minutes or until rice is tender and fluffy. If there is still liquid in the pan, uncover and simmer until the liquid is reduced.
- Let sit for several minutes for the sauce to thicken, then garnish with sliced olives or cilantro if desired.
Notes
- Jasmine rice works great if you don’t have long grain white rice.
- The Caldo de Tomat is tomato bouillon and can be left out or replaced with chicken bouillon.
- For the veggies, you can use any frozen veggies that you have on hand. Fresh can be used but I recommend cooking them separately and adding them at the end to keep them from getting mushy.
- Leftovers:
- Refrigerate for up to 3-4 days
- Freeze for up to 4-6 months.
- Reheat in the microwave or on the stove top (recommended).
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
How many servings does this recipe make?
It will make 4-6 servings depending on serving size.
Thank you!! It looks absolutely yummy.
Yummy, easy dish. For a more Mexican taste I added Adobo seasoning and some smoked paprika. Also used black beans instead of peas and carrots.
Delicious!! I couldn’t find nice bouillon, & I like brown rice so it had to cook much longer, but this was a spectacular dish. Glad to now have it in my repertoire. Thanks!
its called tomato boulillon, and its found in most grocery stores. try the Mexican section.
This was so super easy! I love dinners like that. 🙂 I skipped the tomato bouillon because I didn’t have it. Even my rice hater ate this! I did sprinkle the top with shredded cheddar. Thanks for an easy dinner!
Hi Kristin, could you please clarify “1 8 oz can tomato sauce” is 18 oz can or 1 can of 8 oz. Thank you so much!
Boy, we really like this! Sometimes I add a little cheese and we eat them in taco shells too!
Made this for a quick dinner tonight and it turned out delish!!!! I served with grated cheese on top and tortilla chips and I added black beans also! I will make this again on a busy night
Hi just wondering what size bag of veggies you used?. Also I’ve never heard of Tomato Bouillon. Does that come in a jar like chicken and beef? Thank you…
The bag of veggies was 16 oz. The tomato bouillon is found in the hispanic section. Chicken bouillon could easily be substituted.
Has anyone tried using brown rice? Perhaps it’ll just extend the cooking time?
I would guess you’d need to extend the cooking time, but be careful as cooking any longer could dry out the chicken.
Where did you find the tomato bouillon? Is there something else I could use instead?
It is in the hispanic section of the grocery store. You could just use chicken bouillon instead. I personally prefer the flavor the tomato bouillon gives and use it only in this recipe.
I found it at Wal-Mart on the Hispanic section.
My kind of meal!!! Maybe I can add a can of black beans. Think it should still work out alright?
I would think so – just be careful adding the liquid from the can.
Love this so much! Looks great!! Thank you so much for joining in on the shower for Katie! 🙂
I adore how easy this recipe is, and yet so much flavor. Thanks for joining with us to celebrate Katie!
#OMGoodness this is some #SeriousYumâ„¢! I hope you don’t mind, it’s went up on my FB page! (facebook.com/DoFoodBetter/posts/10152282966003447) Thanks for sharing it!
One pot? I LOVE IT. and bursting with flavor!
This looks fabulous! Perfect for the busy mama. 🙂
I love easy, flavorful weeknight meals like this! What a yummy meal!
mmm one pot sounds like it is worth a try!! love it!! chicken and rice here i come
Kristin!!! Thank you so much–I’m so glad we’ve become friends over the past year and that we’ve had the chance to hang out. You know how much I’m loving Mexican food right now, and can’t wait to give this one-pot meal a try!!! 🙂
Thank you for the nice recipe.