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Weeknight style One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake…finished with all the toppings…of course! Mexican seasoned chicken, rice, and enchilada sauce all cooked together in one skillet, then topped with tortilla chips and plenty of cheese. Throw the skillet in the oven to create the perfect cheesy, one skillet, Mexican inspired chicken and rice dinner. There’s simply nothing not to love. This dish is easy, takes under an hour to make, is cheesy, and all-around delicious. The perfect meal to serve to family and friends.
There are days when developing new recipes, that do not go nearly as planned. The “bad” days don’t happen often, so I’m thankful for that, but they’re never very fun when they do happen. I had a day last week where literally not one of the five recipes I was working on showed any promise. Nothing I was testing was working and the entire day was a struggle. Finally, at the end of the day, I accepted that something was clearly off and it just wasn’t my day for recipe testing.
These days happen, it’s hard not to beat myself up about them. But I’m slowly learning to accept them and attempt to move on the best I can.
Now, all that said, the one good thing I’ve noticed about bad days? Nine times out of ten, the following day ends up being so much better. As my dad always tells me, you wouldn’t know what a good day is without having the bad days.
Anyway, I’m completely rambling, but the point of this long story is that this recipe came to be after a bad day of cooking. It was almost as though I knew I needed a great recipe to make up for the previous day’s failed dishes.
Enter this one skillet chicken and rice dinner. Somehow this dish worked perfectly the very first time I tested it out. It’s probably my favorite recipe of the week. I’ve been excited to share it with you all since the day I created it.
Here are all the details.
As you can guess, this simple dinner is made start to finish all in one skillet. So, the very first step…find yourself a great skillet. I love using a cast iron skillet, but any oven-safe skillet or even dutch oven will work great.
Next, brown some ground chicken, turkey, or beef. Really, use whatever you love most. I typically use chicken, but when my brothers are in town, beef is always their first choice. Brown the meat, season it up, then pour in your favorite enchilada sauce and water. Bring this mix to a boil, add the rice, cover and let the rice steam for a bit. This only takes ten or so minutes. You do not need to cook the rice completely as it will finish cooking in the oven.
Now, once the rice is “al dente”, the rest is pretty simple and comes together quickly. Top the skillet full of chicken and rice with cheese, then tortilla chips, and finish with one more sprinkle of cheese. Transfer the skillet to the oven, bake until the cheese is melty and the sauce is bubbly.
And that’s it. Simple right? This dish smells incredible and tastes even better. But then, what’s not to love about Mexican rice topped with cheesy tortilla chips!?
So good!
The secret to this skillet dinner?
It’s all about the seasoning mix plus that enchilada sauce.
For the seasoning mix, I was inspired by my quick weeknight tacos. I used smoky paprika, ground cumin, and a chipotle chili pepper in adobo. It’s just a touch spicy, a little smoky, and hinted with garlic.
For the enchilada sauce, I like to use the homemade recipe from the original HBH Cookbook, but if you’re using store-bought I typically pick up this one. It’s as close to homemade as it gets. Just be sure to use a sauce that’s high quality and one that you know you really enjoy, as it’s key in this recipe.
Let’s talk about the toppings.
I topped this skillet bake just as I would a taco, with plenty of fresh cilantro, avocado, a dollop of yogurt, and a squeeze of lime. You could even add a pickled red onion on the side if you like.
If you wanted to take the toppings a step further, I would recommend a pineapple salsa or mango salsa. But you all know me, I love a good fruity salsa. Oh, and maybe add a nice margarita too. This strawberry margarita is perfect for the springtime days ahead.
What I love most about this recipe is the fact that it’s a complete dinner. It’s an all-in-one dish that everyone can really enjoy. I can serve this up on busy weeknights, but it’s equally great for a Saturday or Sunday night dinner with friends and family. I’ll be making this dish time and time again…actually, I’ve made it three times in the past week. Yep, it’s that good.
Looking for other one skillet dinner ideas…check out these. Or maybe a couple of my favorites below.
One Skillet Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken and Orzo
One Skillet Greek Meatballs and Lemon Butter Orzo
One Pot Creamy Tuscan Pesto and Artichoke Pasta
Lastly, if you make this one skillet saucy chicken tortilla enchilada rice bake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 765 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken, beef, or turkey
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1-2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped, use to your taste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups (19 ounces) red enchilada sauce
- 1 chipotle chili in adobo, chopped (optional)
- 1 cup dry long grain rice
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, plus more for serving
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 cups tortilla chips
- 1-2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- sliced avocado and yogurt, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.2. In a large oven safe skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the ground chicken and onion. Cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until the chicken is browned, about 5 minutes. Add the jalapeños, garlic, paprika, cumin, and salt, cook 1 minute. Stir in the enchilada sauce, chipotle chili, if using, and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, stir in the rice. Place the lid on the skillet and turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook 15 minutes, until most of the liquid has cooked into the rice, but not all of it. 3. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese over the chicken/rice. Add the tortilla chips on top, pressing them gently into the cheese. Evenly sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. 4. Serve topped as desired with avocado, cilantro, and yogurt. Enjoy!
This is one of our family’s favorites! I hide finely chopped spinach in it and sometimes sub some quinoa for some of the rice. I also leave out the jalapeños and chili pepper to keep it kid-friendly, but it still has great flavor. Thank you so much! This one is requested every week in our home.
Hi Abbey,
Awesome! I appreciate you making this so often and sharing what works well for you:) So glad it is always enjoyed! xT
Hi there,
Someone recommended this recipe, and now I’m eager to give it a go!
I have a cookware question about it first – Do you have a certain lid you recommend for this pan shown? I have the same 11″ pan with the rounded pour spouts on the sides; it didn’t come with a lid, but I’d love to know what you use to cover yours when cooking the rice in it.
Does it still work okay with any round lid that fits, even if it doesn’t cover the side spouts all the way?
Thanks so much, can’t wait to hear what cover you use with it; this looks delicious!
I LOVE this recipe and have made it many times. I typically use my Dutch oven (not enameled).
However, sometimes the rice isn’t fully done and still a little crunchy. Any tips for avoiding that? I usually end up adding cooking time at the end.
Hi Rachel!
I had the same issue, so I started cooking the rice separately and added it in at that point in the recipe. This is a great way of saving time too. Since you can cook the rice while you’re cooking the meat and veggies.
Another way is to add more water and continue cooking the rice longer in the bake.
Hope that helps!
So enjoyed this! Delicious and easy….thanks v much.👏
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Have an amazing week! 🙂 xT
So good! Also super easy and comes together quick for a good weeknight meal.
Hey Jamie,
Happy Monday!! I am thrilled to hear that this dish turned out well for you, thanks for trying it and your comment!🌼🌸 xx
This recipe was easy to follow. Like others, I thought it was liquidy in the pan, but followed the instructions and it came out perfectly. The rice was cooked well. I used ground beef, 3 jalapeños, and no chilis. I felt it needed a little something more…maybe just salt. Good flavors all around, though, and it fed 8 people, to include 5 teenage boys
Hi Tara,
Happy Easter!! 🐰🐣🌈 Thank you very much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your comment, I’m so glad it turned out well for you! xT
Highly recommend this recipe! I forgot to buy ground turkey at the store so I substitute with diced chicken breast which worked wonderfully! I was worried that the meal wasn’t going to turn out because the skillet was super liquid-y after the inital 15 minutes of low simmer… so I kept it on an extra 5 minutes. There was still a lot of liquid (in my opinion) but I topped the rice with cheese and tortilla chips as instructed, placed it in the oven, and was happy to find that the extra liquid cooked off in the oven! Yay! Super yummy.
Hey Kelsey,
Lovely!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well:) xx
SO good and easy. I have young kids so I left out the jalapeño and chipotle chili, and it was still delish. Perfect weeknight meal!
Hi Ashley,
Fantastic!!🐣 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
So good – grandchildren 6 and 10 loved it as well as adults. A fun type of dinner! It will be happening again.
Hey Lyn,
Fantastic!!🐣 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
This one was a big hit. So easy and delicious. It is one of those recipes you can put together when you “have nothing to make”. I am going to make it again today but will switch to vegan chorizo from Trader Joe’s and black beans. This is going to be on regular rotation. I can’t wait for dinner tonight!
Hey Bobbi,
Fantastic!!🐣 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
Another winner! (I had to leave out the chipotle and jalepeno for my fam…) So delicious.
I also added in can of Black Beans after the initial 15 minutes cooking the rice.
Great flavors and everything cooked up perfect!
Hey David,
Awesome!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xx
Another hit in our household from you! Other than adding some frozen corn, I followed the recipe and it is delicious. Nice heat, but not too spicy. Please keep them coming!
Hey Mechele,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was a winner!🌞 xx
Absolutely delicious- thank you for another fabulous recipe!
Hi Emily,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear that it was a hit! xx
Just made this tonight and it was really delicious, I did use the Chipotle in Adoba which gave it even more smokey flavor. I did add pinto beans ….either way it was delicious 😋
Hey Marcy,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear that it was a hit! xx
So good! Adding beans next time. Thanks!
Hey Alja,
Happy Monday!!⛅️ Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it turned out well for you:)