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Made even better with a homemade salsa verde, this cheesy chicken and rice Mexican dish is an enchilada in skillet form. It doesn't hurt that it uses only one dish, which makes clean up easy!
Everybody has a type of food they love. For me, I have a few, but in general Mexican and Italian meals are near the top for me. Ironically when my wife and I go out to eat, those are usually the last two type of places we go to, as I make Mexican and Italian quite often at the house - from chicken fajita quesadillas to Italian braciole.
With that in mind, when my favorite blog (Half Baked Harvest) posted this Salsa Verde Chicken Tortilla Rice Bake, I immediately wanted to make it! There isn't much better than chicken, rice, tortillas, salsa and a lot of cheese and this chicken enchilada skillet hits the spot.
As I've said in the past, I love simple recipes that taste great! And why this one does have a few more steps as your making your own salsa verde, it's all made in one skillet, so the simplicity is in that you only have to clean one dish!
And if you aren't keen on making the salsa verde yourself, you are welcome to just buy some, but I highly recommend making it as it's outstanding and what really puts this cheesy chicken and rice skillet over the top.
This is comfort food at its core and would be a great dish in the cool fall months. I've always been of the opinion that you can eat everything you enjoy, as long as it's in moderation.
Although cheese might be the only thing I don't eat in moderation, but I digress! So if you're looking for a one skillet meal that tastes amazing, this chicken and rice skillet is the one for you.
Jump to:
Recipe Ingredients
- Tomatillos, sweet onion, garlic, poblano peppers, jalapeño pepper - the ingredients for the salsa verde.
- Kosher salt and black pepper - enhances the flavor.
- Chicken stock - use low-sodium.
- Chicken breasts - tenderloins or thighs work as well.
- Brown rice - farro works as well but takes longer to cook.
- Frozen corn - you need some vegetables.
- Flour tortillas - can also use corn tortillas.
- Pepper jack cheese and sharp cheddar cheese - the combination makes for a great dish.
- Cilantro, avocado, lime - additional flavors.
How to Make a Chicken Enchilada Skillet
- Place peppers in cast iron skillet and broil for 5-7 minutes or until the skin is charred. You'll have to rotate every couple of minutes. Remove from oven and place in bowl, covering with seran wrap so it can steam for 15 minutes.
- While peppers are steaming, add tomatillos, onion and garlic to same skillet and broil for 5-7 minutes, or until everything is charred.
- Scrape off charred skin from peppers and remove seeds. You can keep some depending on the amount of heat you like.
- Place tomatillos, onion, garlic and peppers in blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Set aside.
- In same cast iron skillet, add chicken stock and bring to boil. Stir in rice and chicken and cover, cooking for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and rice is done.
- Once chicken is done, shred the chicken.
- Stir in salsa verde, corn, 4 torn tortillas, cilantro and half the cheese. Top with remaining torn tortillas and cheese.
- Bake at 425°F for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbling. Top with some fresh cilantro and avocado.
Do I Have to Make My Own Salsa Verde?
No although to me homemade salsa verde is worth the extra effort. However if you are short on time, just use 2 cups of store-bought salsa verde.
What Cast Iron Skillet Do You Use?
For this as well as many other recipes such as spiralized sweet potato enchilada skillet, I use a Lodge cast iron skillet. It’s surprisingly affordable and will last years if you take care of it.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- You don't have to cook your own chicken. Just use rotisserie chicken, which would be about 2 cups chicken.
- Use any type of rice you prefer, or even farro which is a healthy old world grain.
- If you don't want to make your own salsa verde, just buy 2 cups worth at the store.
- Not a fan of salsa verde? Just use regular enchilada sauce.
- Don’t have frozen corn? Not a problem. A can of drained corn will work as well.
- Use corn or flour tortillas, whichever you prefer.
- Don't want to buy two different cheeses? Just get shredded Mexican cheese.
Similar Recipes
- Spiralized Sweet Potato Enchilada Skillet
- Veggie Black Bean Enchiladas
- Chili Lime Sweet Potato and Chicken Skillet
- Skillet Nachos
- Salvadoran Pupusas
If you’ve tried this chicken enchilada skillet or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Chicken Enchilada Skillet
Ingredients
Salsa Verde
- 6 tomatillos, peeled
- 1 medium sweet onion, peeled and quartered
- 6 garlic cloves with skin on
- 3 poblano peppers
- 1 jalapeño pepper
- Kosher salt and pepper
Chicken Enchilada Skillet
- 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 lb chicken breast or tenderloins
- 1 cup brown rice (can use farro as well)
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 6 flour soft taco tortillas, torn
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 avocados, sliced
Instructions
Salsa Verde
- Turn on broiler and place rack 6 inches from the top. Add poblano peppers and jalapeño pepper to cast iron skillet and broil for about 5-7 minutes, turning until charred on all sides. Remove the peppers from the skillet and place in bowl and cover with saran wrap to allow the peppers to steam for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, scrape off the charred skin and remove the seeds.
- In same skillet, add the tomatillos, onion and garlic and broil for about 5-7 minutes, turning until charred on all sides. Remove skins from the garlic once cooled. In a blender, add the tomatillos, onions, garlic and peppers and blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.
Chicken Enchilada Skillet
- Preheat oven to 425°F. In same skillet, add chicken stock over high heat and bring to boil. Add the rice and chicken, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. When chicken is done, remove skillet from heat and shred the chicken with two forks. Stir in the salsa verde, 4 torn tortillas, corn, cilantro and half the cheese. Top with remaining 2 torn tortillas and cheese.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and light golden brown. Top with some fresh cilantro and avocado.
Notes
- You don't have to cook your own chicken. Just use rotisserie chicken, which would be about 2 cups chicken.
- Use any type of rice you prefer, or even farro which is a healthy old world grain.
- If you don't want to make your own salsa verde, just buy 2 cups worth at the store.
- Not a fan of salsa verde? Just use regular enchilada sauce.
- Don’t have frozen corn? Not a problem. A can of drained corn will work as well.
- Use corn or flour tortillas, whichever you prefer.
- Don't want to buy two different cheeses? Just get shredded Mexican cheese.
Nice with the stretchy cheese!