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Patty and I have been OBSESSING over our new southwest chicken skillet dish for the past few weeks. It’s basically a mix of ground chicken, rice, chopped peppers and onions, and taco seasoning. Everything is combined in a cast-iron skillet and topped with a blend of melted Mexican cheeses, chopped tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and a drizzle of creamy lime sauce.
It’s so good (a complete meal in a bowl), and really easy to make with minimal prep and only a handful of good whole ingredients. You will absolutely love it!
Table of Contents
Ground Chicken (or Beef)
What I love about this recipe is how easily it comes together with ground chicken. The chicken essentially crumbles and blends with the rice and makes this a meaty and savory dish with lots of flavor.
Ground chicken is perfect because it requires no prep or chopping and can be tossed into the skillet and cooked in a few minutes. You can easily substitute with ground turkey or even ground beef as well.
Taco Seasoning
I’ve made this recipe with my own blend of spices but I prefer to use a 1-ounce packet of premade taco mix for simplicity. Look for a packet of Old El Paso taco seasoning of your choice. Any level of heat works well. When using a lot of dry seasoning I add 1/2 a cup of water to help it mix together better. It also keeps the dish from being too dry.
If you want to make your own blend of spices, I like to mix equal parts cumin, paprika, chili powder, and garlic powder. A teaspoon of each is usually good. Don’t under season or it will be bland. The rice will soak up a lot of the spices.
What Peppers Are Best?
My go-to pepper for this recipe is poblano peppers. They’re very mildly spicy and have a lot of flavor in general. A sweeter version is cubanelle peppers. If you can’t find either, you can of course use red or green bell peppers.
Creamy Lime Sauce
My creamy lime sauce is actually a HelloFresh-inspired sauce. It’s essentially a watered-down sour cream that you can drizzle over the entire skillet. My special touch is fresh lime juice for a little extra zest. The trick is to slowly add water, a splash at a time, and stir well in between until the desired consistency is reached.
You’ll Also Love
- Skillet chicken fajitas
- Chicken burrito bowls
- Baked chicken chimichangas
- Skillet flank steak fajitas
Southwest Chicken Skillet Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 cup jasmine or brown rice, uncooked
- 1/2-3/4 cups Mexican blend cheese
- 2 poblano, cubanelle, or bell peppers, cored and chopped
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced
- handful fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 lime
- 1- ounce packet Old El Paso taco seasoning
- 2-3 tablespoons sour cream
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook rice according to instructions on the package. I usually do 1 cup of jasmine rice to 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Set aside.
- Place tomatoes in a small bowl with coarsely chopped cilantro (stems are edible as FYI). Top with juice from half a lime and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Mix with a spoon and set aside.
- Combine sour cream, juice from the other half of lime, and 1-2 tablespoons of cool water. Stir until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. If too thick, add a little more water. Set aside.
- Heal oil over medium heat in a cast-iron skillet or oven-safe pan. Add peppers and onions and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add ground chicken and season all over with salt and pepper. Use the tip of a spatula to break up the chicken into small chunks. Cook, tossing occasionally until chicken is fully cooked through and no longer pink, about 5-6 minutes.
- Add cooked rice and stir to incorporate. Add 1/2 cup of water and taco seasoning. Mix until everything is thoroughly mixed and evenly seasoned. If you need to add more water to help spread the seasoning, add 1/4 cup at a time.
- Top skillet with cheese and broil on high for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from the oven, top with tomato/cilantro mix, and drizzle with creamy lime sauce. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
