Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole- this one pan meal is full with Tex-Mex flavor and is wonderfully cheesy. I love to load it with ALL the toppings.
Easy Chicken Dinner
This recipe can be made start to finish in just 30 minutes and it is a one dish meal. Full of diced chicken breasts, rice, beans, corn, green chilies, taco seasoning, and cheese, this casserole can serve about 5 people. Everything, including the rice, cooks in one pan for easy clean-up.
Add All The Toppings
I love to top this chicken casserole with sour cream, diced avocado, fresh cilantro, and pickled jalapeno slices. Salsa, shredded iceberg lettuce, and sliced black olives are also great toppings.
Is This Casserole Spicy?
To make this casserole spicy, use “Hot” Taco seasoning and “Hot” Rotel tomatoes and serve with Cholulu Hot Sauce.
Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole Recipe Tips
You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts.
You will need a large skillet with a lid for this recipe. If you don’t have a lid for your skillet, you can set a round baking sheet on top of the skillet or cover it with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Be sure to give the mixture a stir halfway through the cooking time to ensure the rice cooks evenly and add more chicken broth if it is getting too dry.
Don’t forget a Margarita to go with this recipe. I love these Fresh Strawberry Margaritas, Jalapeno Watermelon Margaritas, and Blackberry Margaritas.
Storage
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days and can be reheated in a microwave.
More Mexican Casseroles
- Mexican Chicken Cornbread Casserole
- One Pot Chicken Tortilla Pie
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Mexican Lasagna
Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (1-ounce) packet taco seasoning
- 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
- 1 (10.75-ounce) can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen corn, thawed and drained
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- Toppings: sliced avocado, chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream, and sliced pickled jalapenos
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add it to skillet along with the onion.
- Cook for 2 to 3 minutes to brown chicken and soften onion. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- Add taco seasoning, rice, Rotel tomatoes, diced green chilies, chicken broth, black beans, and corn.
- Bring mixture to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through.Note: If it is getting to dry before the rice is done, add a little more chicken broth.
- Stir in half the cheese and sprinkle the remaining half on top.
- Serve with toppings.
I made this for dinner. It was so good! My mother-in-law cannot handle any thing spicey. I was going to give her something else for dinner. She said she would try it. She loved it and so did my husband and I. We have leftovers, so tonight we will turn the casserole into burritos!
Excellent. Went right by recipe delicious! Family loved it. Just enough heat.
I love it! So does hubs! So easy and tasty! Thanks!
This was delicious!! My hubby doesn’t like rice, so I used orzo. Added some jalapeño. A keeper!!!
Delicious dish that was quick and easy to make. I followed the recipe except for using homemade fajita seasoning instead of taco seasoning, which we find to be pretty mild, and I also added two cups of water at the start instead of 1.5 cups since the white rice I use calls for 2 cups of water per one cup of rice (so I figured it would for sure dry out before it was finished). Definitely one I’ll be making again!
So happy you enjoyed it Helen.