These tasty Southwest Chicken Rice Bowls couldn’t be much easier to make, and the rice is included in the five ingredients!
The dinner I’m about to show you was a huge victory in our house because every single person liked it. Now, when I say “every single person,” I’m mainly talking about the short people in the family because they are the picky ones, especially our 7-year-old. The night before serving these rice bowls, I had prepared a very plain, boring dinner for my boys as usual, including cheese tortellini tossed with butter. On his second helping of pasta, my oldest said, “This pasta is sort of… plain.”
I was actually excited to hear those words and told him that it meant he was tired of eating like a toddler and needed to try more complex foods. I planned right then to make a dinner we could all eat the next night instead of the boys having their own plain meal. I wanted it to be flavorful but not too adventurous since it takes baby steps to move up from plain pasta, baby carrots, and sliced fruit.
What I came up with was these super easy chicken rice bowls. I have seen similar chicken recipes floating around for the slow cooker, but I personally think boneless, skinless chicken breasts often gets way overcooked in the crockpot. I knew I could make something just as quick and easy on the stovetop. I opted to leave tomatoes out of this recipe since the 7-year-old in question isn’t a fan, but you could definitely add drained Rotel or petite diced tomatoes if it suits your fancy!
So anyway, I make this chicken and put it on the table, sort of dreading the typical comments like “Ew, what’s that?” that I usually hear when trying to feed the kids real food. To my very pleasant surprise, instead I heard, “That looks really good!” Not only did The Tall One say it looked good, he ate it up gushing several times about how much he liked it. He even ate the leftovers in his lunch the next day! (I’m not saying much about The Short One because he doesn’t eat much at dinner under any circumstances, but he did eat a few bites without complaint.) The grownups loved it too, so this dish will definitely be a repeat guest at our house!
Print 5-Ingredient Southwest Chicken Rice Bowls
These chicken rice bowls are very easy to make and a dish the whole family can agree on!
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 24 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 16 oz. jar green salsa
- 15 oz. can low-sodium black beans rinsed and drained
- 15 oz. can low-sodium whole kernel corn drained
- 4 c. cooked white or brown rice (Prepare rice while cooking chicken.)
Instructions
-
Heat a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts, salsa, beans, and corn. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium, and cover. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. <em>(Cook rice while chicken simmers.)</em>
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Remove chicken breasts to a cutting board, and shred meat with two forks. Return chicken to bean mixture, and stir to combine. Adjust salt to taste (mine was fine without any added salt). Turn off heat, and serve chicken mixture over rice.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 40
Brianna says
I made this today. Instead of the salsa i bought fresh pico de gallo, and put it over orange spanish rice instead. It turned out amazing! And didn’t dirty many dishes. :)
Andi Gleeson says
Oh, your changes sound perfect. I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Brianna!
GAIL says
Such a good recipe for easy dinner that everyone enjoys! Thanks!
★★★★★
Andi Gleeson says
Thank you, Gail! I appreciate that so much!
Colleen says
I looked at the clock, saw 9pm, and I was just too tired to make this on the stove. I through the chicken, beans, salsa, and corn in the slow cooker overnight. I work an odd shift so I need to make dinner before I go in….This worked out great. It made some great leftovers too.
★★★★
Andi Gleeson says
Oh, throwing it in the slow cooker is a great idea, Colleen! I’m happy to hear this one worked well for you. Have a good weekend!
Bonnie says
This looks like a perfect fast dinner for us! It was fun to meet you at Indulge PDX this past weekend!
Andi Gleeson says
It was great to meet you too, Bonnie! Thank you!
Pattyg says
Does your little guy like spicy food? What I mean is: doesn’t the salsa make everything hot? I’m prepared to make this anyway, but just wondering. I have a little someone who thinks ketchup is hot at times! haha.
Andi says
Hi, Patty! My kids definitely don’t like spicy food, but most green salsa I’ve tried is mild. If you have a brand of salsa you like that you know is mild, you could use that even if it’s red instead of green. Hope that helps. Thank you!
Heather says
I have used your recipe in the past, and now I don’t see it as part of the post? (I only see your blog and pics…) Having kids with MSPI makes finding tasty recipies a challenge. But this has always been a hit. My kids love these chicken bowls!
Andi says
I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but it is fixed now. I’m actually in the process of converting my recipes to a new system right this very minute because this has been happening a lot lately (recipes disappearing from posts), but hopefully it will all be worked out soon. Thanks for your patience. I’m so glad you like my recipe! :)
Jacquita says
Hey Love
Just finding you and i love you!!! lol
I may be slow but do i need to add some liquid (water, broth) when i add the chicken, corn and salsa.
Thanks In Advance
★★★★★
Andi says
You are too sweet, Jacquita! You don’t need to add liquid because there is plenty in the salsa. Hope you like the recipe!
Deb@ Cooking on the Front Burner says
Andi, this really does look amazing and in fact, I’m putting it on my menu next week. I need quick meals when I come home from work and I know John would love this also! Pinning
Andi says
Hi, Deb! Thank you! I’m excited that you want to try the recipe. Do you think you will make it as is or add tomatoes? Either way will be good! I hope you have a nice weekend and had a happy Valentine’s Day :)
Beth @ Goodness Gracious Living says
Looks delish! Can’t wait to try it! #SITSblogging
Andi says
Thank you, Beth!
Natashalh says
Whenever I see “chicken” and “rice” together I know I have to check it out! My finance loves rice in any way, shape, or form, and he adores black beans. This is a must try!
Andi says
It sounds perfect for you guys, Natasha! I just got a rice cooker this week and used it for this recipe. I’m in love! I’ve been cooking rice on the stovetop all these years, but now I’m feeling very modern ;)
Laura @ Lauras Baking Talent says
Love these. They look delicious and easy to make. I may try it tonight since i have all the ingredients and we are under another snow storm warning.
Andi says
Hi, Laura! How much snow did you get last night? Did you end up trying these rice bowls? If so, I hope you liked them! I love when I find recipes that I don’t require a trip to the store :) Stay warm!
Kelly says
I love the sound of the flavors in this rice bowl and it’s so awesome that your oldest loved this too :) It looks so tasty and I love that you only need a handful of ingredients :)
Andi says
Thanks, Kelly! I’m excited to find something new he will eat, and hopefully he’ll keep trying new things.