Chicken Taco Rice Skillet

This tasty, one-pan Chicken Taco Rice Skillet is one of my ultimate comfort foods. Great depth of flavor with a bit of a kick, sweet bites of corn, and a hearty serving, this feels like you’re curling up with a big bowl of spicy, cheesy, satisfying deliciousness. This recipe was created based on my craving for Mexican flavors and the ingredients I keep on hand in my kitchen, and it turned out so, so good. I’m definitely putting this in out regular meal rotation and I couldn’t wait to share it with you! My husband tried to lay claim to all the leftovers to make into morning breakfast burritos (he adds scrambled eggs and chimi sauce), but I managed to snag some for myself. I may have to double the recipe next time!

This recipe makes six cups total, which I made into four big (1 ½ cup) servings. If you’re serving this with a filling side dish or just want a smaller serving you could definitely split it into six smaller (1 cup) servings instead. As written, each 1 ½ cup serving of this Chicken Taco Rice Skillet is 455 calories or 7 WW Points (or 8 WW Points if following the diabetic WW plan). To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

Recipe/Ingredient Tips

• Salsa: For this recipe, it’s best to use a runnier/more liquid-y salsa (often called “restaurant-style”), rather than a chunky variety. I personally love the Wegmans Roasted Tomato Salsa.
• Queso Dip: I used Tostitos Queso Blanco dip in this recipe because I like the flavor, usually have it on hand, and it’s pretty WW and calorie friendly. You can definitely substitute their Salsa Con Queso (the orange kind) or another brand if you like!
• Rice: I used long grain brown rice in this recipe and it worked out wonderfully! If you only have white rice on hand you can definitely use that instead, you’ll probably just want to lessen the simmer time from 45 minutes to around 30 minutes.
• Corn: I used frozen corn kernels in this dish because I always have a bag in my freezer, but if you have canned corn or fresh corn on hand, any of those would work just fine. Just drain the canned corn or cut the fresh corn off the cob and then measure out a cup.
• Chicken: The chopped chicken breast pieces were delicious in this, so I recommend making it this way! However, if you have other meats like ground beef, ground chicken/turkey, or sausage on hand, you could definitely substitute another meat with tasty results.
• Vegetarian Option: If you’d like to make a meatless version of this recipe, you can swap vegetable broth for the chicken broth and use black beans, meatless crumbles, or tofu instead of the chicken.
• Possible add-ins: I would recommend making this recipe as written the first time you try it because I think it turned out perfect, but there are definitely some other ingredients you could add based on your preferences. Keep in mind that adding ingredients may change the nutrition information/WW points.
  • Canned diced green chilies
  • Bell Peppers
  • Hot Sauce (if you like it spicy)
  • Shredded Cheese
  • Black Beans

Cutting up the chicken

I often buy a big pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts at the store and then use kitchen shears to trim them down to make 5-6 oz cutlets to use in recipes. Everything I cut off to make the cutlets gets cut into chunks to either make chicken bites or go in recipes like this Chicken Taco Rice Skillet! It’s easy to weigh out 1 lb or 1.5 lb of chicken chunks and freeze them for later in a quart size freezer bag. That way, I always have some on hand! Buying the bulk packs of chicken breasts is cost-effective, and cutting them into cutlets and bites ensured I have what I need on hand when I go to make a recipe. I find that kitchen shears make this task go quicker and easier than using a knife, so I highly recommend using shears like these (affiliate link).

More Mexican-Inspired Recipes

Looking for more Mexican-inspired recipes like this Chicken Taco Rice Skillet? Check out my Cheesy Spicy Black Bean Skillet, Loaded Guacamole, Mexican Street Corn Chicken, Easy Chicken Tacos, Breakfast Tostadas, 7 Layer Dip, Easy Chicken and Bean Enchiladas, Easy Salsa Rice, Deep Dish Taco Casserole, Fiesta Stuffed Chicken, Easy Chicken Quesadillas, Mexican Chicken Cauliflower Rice Skillet, Beef Taco Soup, Layered Chicken Enchilada Bake, Spicy Beef Taquitos, Chicken Tamale Bake, Cheesy Taco Pasta, and more in the Mexican category of my recipe index!

Print Recipe

4.84 from 6 votes

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Chicken Taco Rice Skillet

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr

Calories: 455kcal

This one-pan Chicken Taco Rice Skillet is satisfying Mexican-inspired comfort food!

Yield: 4 (1 1/2 cup) servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1 lb uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1 oz packet of taco seasoning, divided
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain brown rice
• 2 ½ cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• ½ cup thin salsa, divided (choose a liquid-y, not chunky, kind)
• ¼ cup canned tomato sauce
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 4 tablespoons queso dip, (I used Tostitos Queso Blanco dip)
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, optional

Instructions

• Drizzle 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large sauté pan or walled skillet. Bring the oil over med-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat them in the oil. Sprinkle a tablespoon of the taco seasoning over the chicken and stir again to coat. Cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes, stirring every couple minutes. Once the chicken is cooked through and browned on the outside, remove it to a side plate and cover with aluminum foil.
• Drizzle the remaining teaspoon of oil into the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add the chopped onion and cook over medium heat for a couple minutes until softened. Add the uncooked rice and the remainder of the taco seasoning and stir together. Cook for a minute and then add the chicken broth, ¼ cup of the salsa, the tomato sauce, and the corn. Stir together and increase the heat to bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes* until the rice is cooked through and the liquids are absorbed.

  *if your rice isn't done at 45 minutes, try adding a bit more liquid and cooking it another 10-15 minutes
• Remove the lid and stir/fluff the rice mixture. Add the remaining ¼ cup of salsa and the queso dip and stir to coat the rice. Add the reserved chicken and stir together. Cover and cook for another minute or two until chicken is warmed through. Sprinkle with cilantro (if using) and serve.

Notes

To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

WW Points per (1 ½ cup) serving: 7* (Points calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

*8 Points per serving if following the diabetic plan

Nutrition Information per (1 ½ cup) serving:

455 calories, 54 g carbs, 6 g sugars, 10 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 33 g protein, 3 g fiber, 1405 mg sodium (from myfitnesspal.com)

Weight Watchers PointsPlus:

11 per (1 ½ cup) serving (PP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Author: Emily Bites

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Keyword: Comfort Food, Mexican Rice, One-Pot Meals, Personal Points, Salsa Rice, Weight Watchers, WW Recipes