Cheesy Mexican Chicken and Rice
Tender chicken, fluffy rice, and sweet corn, simmered in an aromatic enchilada sauce that’s been scented with chili, cumin, and cilantro. Plus, there’s plenty of sharp and melty Mexican cheese to pull everything together. This dish is creamy, smoky, cheesy, and completely amazing.
What’s the secret to ALL the flavor in this dish? Enchilada sauce! And I mean the store-bought kind. In this recipe, we use red enchilada sauce – a chili-based sauce seasoned with onion, garlic, and seasonings. It’s got incredible depth of flavor and completely transforms this meal in seconds! Plus, you can make this dish as mild or as spicy as you like.
The corn adds great flavor and texture too. In this recipe, we use “fiesta-style” corn (also called Mexicorn), which means the canned corn with bell peppers mixed in. The blend is totally awesome, and adds both sweet and smoky flavors to the dish. If you don’t have fiesta-style corn, you can use regular canned or frozen corn. If you want, you can also add some diced roasted red peppers.
You can make this dish with leftover chicken too. If you have chicken leftover from a previous meal (or a rotisserie chicken), you can use that in place of the raw chicken. It’s a great way to turn one dinner into two!
Cheesy Mexican Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, tenders or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 cups red enchilada sauce or tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 11- ounce can fiesta-style corn, corn with red and green bell peppers, drained
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend, or a blend of cheddar and Monterey jack, divided
- Chopped fresh cilantro for serving
- Chopped green onions for serving
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown on all sides.
- Add the enchilada (or tomato) sauce, chili powder, cilantro, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Fold in the rice, corn, and cheese and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to heat through and melt the cheese.
- Top with cilantro and green onions and serve.