If you’re missing those fast food rice bowls, never fear! Here’s a Tex-Mex version that’s made in one skillet and uses pantry ingredients so you can get your fix anytime!
I love rice bowls like the ones you get at Chipotle. My kids love them too, so they make for a perfect mid-week dinner. This version is extra amazing since it’s all made in one skillet AND it uses all pantry ingredients. That means that I can always have the ingredients on hand to whip it up with a moment’s notice.
The basic part of these Tex-Mex bowls is long grain rice that is cooked in broth with canned diced tomatoes, black beans, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt. Then you stir in some jarred queso. To serve it, you top it with salsa, sliced black olives, and jarred jalapeno rings (drained). That’s it!
Well, that’s not quite it. You can totally add non-pantry ingredients to this dinner to make it even better.
If you have some cooked meat, you can add that after the rice has cooked and just let it heat through a bit. You can go with cubed cooked chicken, pork, or beef, ground beef, ground chicken/turkey, or cooked shrimp for sure. The other thing you can do is to add cured meat like diced ham or cooked bacon or kielbasa.
When you serve these rice bowls, you can leave them as described above, or you can add some Tex-Mex flair by topping each serving with any of the following that you have on hand: diced fresh tomatoes, green onions, avocado, guacamole, shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream, or Greek yogurt.
I bet you’re totally understanding why I like this dinner so much. It truly is a breeze, it uses ingredients that I always have, and it can be spruced up even more if I have extra tasty stuff in the fridge. I’m so excited that I want to go make some right now! I hope you do too!
Christine xo
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One Pan Mexican Skillet Dinner
If you’re missing those fast food rice bowls, never fear! Here’s a Tex-Mex version that’s made in one skillet and uses pantry ingredients so you can get your fix anytime!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 tsp. cooking oil
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14.5 oz.) can black beans, drained
- 1 cup chicken or beef broth
- 1/2 cup jarred queso or melted velveeta
- Optional meat*
- ½ cup salsa
- ½ cup sliced black olives
- 2 Tbsp. jarred jalapeno rings, drained
- Optional toppings***
Instructions
- In a deep large skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Add the rice, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt. Stir for a minute.
- Add the canned diced tomatoes, black beans, and broth. Stir.
- Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover (if your skillet doesn’t have a lid, use a double layer of aluminum foil or a large cookie sheet).
- Cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the queso and any cooked meat, if using. Allow to heat through for 2 minutes.
- Top each serving with salsa, black olives, jalapenos, and any other optional toppings that you’d like.
Notes
*You can use 2 cups of diced or shredded cooked chicken, cooked ground beef or chicken, pulled pork, or cooked shrimp.
***If you have any of the following ingredients, top each serving with some or all of them: diced fresh tomatoes, green onions, shredded cheese or crumbled queso fresco, cilantro, diced avocado, guacamole, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.
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