Written by Kate Tietje
I had this on my meal plan once and then “chickened out” (haha) before actually making it. I went with a normal chicken-and-rice dish instead. Then I put it on my meal plan again, determined to do it. I soaked and cooked the beans, mixed everything in the dish, and then…
YUMMY.
Why didn’t I do this sooner?! Not to mention, it’s a filling, balanced, cheap, and an overall easy meal. I think it will grace my meal plans every week or two now. Just delicious.
Mexican Chicken with Rice and Beans
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups brown basmati rice
- 2 cups chicken broth or stock
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup cooked black beans (about 1/3 cup dry)
- 1 cup peas
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 – 2 lbs. chicken
Directions:
Step 1: The night before, soak black beans in water (to cover by 1″) with a pinch of baking soda.
Step 2: The next day, cook the black beans in water until soft, about 45 min. Drain and set aside.
Step 3: In a 9×13 baking dish, add your rice.
Step 4: Add stock.
Step 5: Add tomato sauce.
Step 6: Then spices.
Step 7: Add carrots, peas, and black beans.
Step 8: Stir it all together.
Step 9: Lay your chicken pieces on top. I use leg quarters because they are cheap, and then I use the bones to make more chicken bone broth. You can use drumsticks, bone-in breasts, boneless breasts…really whatever you want. Ideally, the chicken should cover most of the rice. If not, lightly cover with foil. I don’t need to.
Step 10: Put it in the oven at 350ºF for about an hour. Then it’s done. If you already had pre-cooked beans in the fridge or freezer, this dish would come together in 10 minutes. It is a no-brainer.
Serve it with shredded cheese (my favorite), slices of avocado, sour cream, fresh salsa — whatever you like and have on hand. Pair it with a salad and fresh fruit (or canned in the winter), and you have a perfectly easy meal. Baking it beforehand would make a great lunch, dinner, or even an on-the-go meal.
Depending on the type of chicken you use, this is a $5 – $6 meal, and it will feed a family of 4 – 6, possibly with leftovers. You could add more beans if desired.
Mexican Chicken with Rice and Beans
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups brown basmati rice
- 2 cups chicken broth or stock
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup cooked black beans about 1/3 cup dry
- 1 cup peas
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 - 2 lbs. chicken
Instructions
- The night before, soak black beans in water (to cover by 1") with a pinch of baking soda.
- The next day, cook the black beans in water until soft, about 45 min. Drain and set aside.
- In a 9x13 baking dish, add your rice.
- Add stock.
- Add tomato sauce.
- Then spices.
- Add carrots, peas, and black beans.
- Stir it all together.
- Lay your chicken pieces on top. I use leg quarters because they are cheap, and then I use the bones to make more chicken bone broth. You can use drumsticks, bone-in breasts, boneless breasts...really whatever you want. Ideally, the chicken should cover most of the rice. If not, lightly cover with foil. I don't need to.
- Put it in the oven at 350ºF for about an hour. Then it's done. If you already had pre-cooked beans in the fridge or freezer, this dish would come together in 10 minutes. It is a no-brainer.
I love easy casseroles! I’m definitely going to try this one. Awesome that you don’t have to prep anything on the stove and dirty extra pots and pans! My favorite kind of recipe. 🙂
Hi. Shouldn’t the rice be soaked too?
[…] Mexican Chicken and Rice with Beans : Modern Alternative Mama […]
this looks great! i live in asia and we’re always looking for mexican-flavored recipes that we can actually make here, and this is certainly within reach! thanks for sharing!
[…] Mexican Chicken with Rice and Beans, Guacamole, […]
I made this last night and it was great! It took more like 1.5 hours for the rice and carrots to get done, and the carrots were still a little crunchy. Next time I’ll chop them smaller or shred them. I also sprinkled some of the seasonings onto the chicken and man was that skin yummy! Thanks for this great EASY recipe!
I also soaked the brown rice with this method, and then used 1.5 c. stock instead of 2 c. And I forgot the peas. 🙂
http://plusothergoodstuff.blogspot.com/2011/07/easy-change-5-switch-to-soaked-brown.html
I wish I would’ve read your comment sooner, Joanna! I made this tonight and my rice was not soft enough, but everything else tasted great. I think another 30 minutes probably would’ve helped. We finished dinner now but I may stick the rest of the rice back in the oven to see if I can get it less crunchy! I didn’t realize brown rice takes much longer to cook than white!
Would I need to change the amount of liquid or the cooking time if I use white basmati instead of brown? thanks, can’t wait to try this!
[…] Chicken w/ Rice and Beans […]
[…] Mexican Chicken and Rice with Beans – I often replace the spices with an equivalent amount of taco seasoning. I also soak a big batch of beans, cook them, then freeze them in one-cup portions which are used in this recipe, on nachos, in a corn and black bean salad (yummy in the summer!), and wherever else I can include them. […]
[…] Mexican Chicken with Rice and Beans […]