One pot chicken enchilada bowls are a simple meal that can be made in one pot (or skillet) for easy clean up. It’s the flavor of chicken enchiladas in half the time.
One pot wonder chicken enchilada bowls are simple and delicious. This is a full meal that can be made in one pot (or skillet) for easy clean up.
Chopped chicken breasts and yellow onions are sautéed in olive oil until they begin to turn golden.
Rice, enchilada sauce, Rotel, chicken broth, corn kernels, and spices are added to the chicken and simmered until the rice soaks up all the flavorful broth.
Black beans are stirred in. Then, the whole thing gets covered in shredded cheese.
These enchilada bowls are fantastic topped with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and sliced green onions!
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One Pot Wonder Chicken Enchilada Bowls Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped into bite size pieces
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 cup rice uncooked (I used long grain white rice)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 (14.5 oz.) can Rotel diced tomatoes and chilies
- 1 (10 oz.) can or jar enchilada sauce
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 (15 oz.) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup Mexican blend cheese shredded
- Optional toppings: shredded lettuce diced tomatoes, diced green onions, sour cream
Instructions
- Add the oil to a large skillet or pot and place over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the onion, chicken, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion softens and chicken is no longer pink, stirring occasionally.
- Add the rice to the pot and stir. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Some of the chicken and rice should be golden brown.
- Add the chicken broth, Rotel, enchilada sauce, frozen corn, chili powder, and cumin. Stir, and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer and cover the skillet/pot. Cook covered, stirring occasionally. Let it cook until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid (about 20 minutes for white rice, brown rice will take longer).
- Remove from the heat. Add the black beans and stir to combine. Top with cheese. Cover and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve warm with optional toppings.
Nutrition
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Loved this recipe my son sent me as is. One night I didn’t feel like dicing chicken so I replace the chicken with ground beef and beef broth. Both ways are amazing!
I really want to try this but Rotel is nigh on impossible to purchase in Ottawa, ON. Would you have any subs you can recommend? Thanks!
This is an awesome recipe! We had lots of leftovers. Can it be frozen? This dish is great for sharing.
We served it as a bowl and alternatiley used it as a filling for warmed tortillas. Absolutley delicious both ways.
This is on e of my go to for our family fav Mexican food recipe.
This is in our regular rotation for a hearty winter dinner. It’s so good.
Made this tonight but substituted chicken for Turkey. It was sooo good!
As with all the recipes I have made from this site, it was a winner! My family seemed to like it even more the second day around.
This was an all around perfect weeknight dinner. Super easy and quick, really tasty, and everyone liked it. It will definitely be added to our menus. Thanks for sharing!
This is one of my favorite dishes and it is so quick and easy to make! It’s often a lunch option, it is so fast!
We can easily make it dairy free due to allergies and even the kids like it if I just mix the beans into individual bowls of those who don’t hate beans.
The whole family loved it, even my picky eaters!
Where did you buy your lid for cast iron skillet?
Recipe looks delicious
Planning to make.
For the enchilada sauce, are we supposed to use red or green sauce?
Love the recipe as is…I have made this several times and I believe its better the next day! Tonights dinner I used pepper jack cheesecake for an extra kick..thank you for sharing!
The flavor is amazing! Sadly the rice was crunchy ? Which always seems to happen when we attempt to make one pot recipes with rice. I’ve only ever had one turn out Spanish Beef and Rice. We had to add a lot more liquid which muted the great flavor and it was still a bit crunchy after a super long cooking time. Any suggestions?
I just made this for dinner tonight and both my husband and I loved it! It will definitely be going in to my dinner rotation. I substituted the enchilada sauce for taco sauce since I had that on hand. I put a cu and a 1/4 in and I thought it still tasted like an enchilada. My husband loved this recipe so much he had 2 servings and said,”I feel like I’m eating it too fast. I need to chew for twice as long to get all the flavor.”
I just made this for dinner tonight but used leftover roasted chicken instead of the raw chicken (I added it at the same time as the liquids). It was really good! I also used leftover cooked corn and added it when I added the beans. It was a great meal to help me clean out my fridge and pantry!
Can you make this with brown rice? Will any thing need to be adjusted?
This is the best thing I have made in quite a while!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was AMAZING! I didn’t need to add any sauce, just the spices, stock and chicken gave it a lovely flavour. The cumin stood out the most. And I didn’t spread cheese over the whole thing, just a sprinkling in the bowl when serving and mixing it in. I’ll be making this again!
That’s wonderful Olivia! I’m so glad you liked it!
I made this tonight for dinner. It was sooooo yummy!
It was a little spicier (probably due to the brand of enchilada sauce) so I stirred in some sour cream. I served it with tortilla chips and lettuce. I’ll definitely make it again!
Amanda,
I fixed this recipe tonight and must say that it is delicious…???? I was thinking it was made with hamburger, so this is what I thawed out. Once I reviewed it again, it was then I realized it was written with chicken. I chose to use jasmine rice, (thinking it might give a mellowed rice flavor and I was right, it did) but followed every other detail to the letter. I guess the browning of hamburger and rice helped shorten the cooking time because in about 12min the rice was cooked and the liquid absorbed.
Our teenage son is becoming more and more particular about what he likes and well this recipe was a double helping winner with him! He actually wrapped it in a tortilla and chowed down…twice. Thank you for sharing! It’s a keeper in our house!
I’m a single guy and I work long hours but I always prefer a home-cooked meal and I know my way around the kitchen. I’m always happy to find delicious recipes to cook during the week when I don’t have time to go all out on something especially grand. This recipe more than fits the bill with a short prep time, reasonable cooking time, and a level of deliciousness that made it one I’ll be cooking again and again. The other great part for someone like me who is only feeding himself is that it re-heats well so all the leftovers are still good for the whole day and a half to two days that it actually lasts. I recommend this recipe for anyone who, like myself, likes home cooked meals and enjoys cooking once every few days as opposed to a new meal every night.
Thank you Jeremy! I’m so glad you liked it!
Made this tonight and it was a winner! Thanks so much for sharing. Can you freeze it?
Great recipe. I can think up lots of variations. Thanks so much.
Just made this recipe and it was more like soup. Was really disappointed, followed everything exactly. Another Pinterest fail 🙁
Just made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. The rice stuck too much to the bottom and got burnt. I felt that I had to keep babysitting this and couldn’t get much else done. I think next time I would make the rice separately & then combine everything together.
Could this be made in a electric pressure cooker?
Thanks
I’m considering making this as a freezer meal. Do you think it would freeze well? Have you ever tried it?
Loves it and meal not mask…
I used ground beef and pinto beans. Didn’t taste like an enchilada but it was tasty and the family lives it. Looking forward to trying another one pot mask. Great concept!
Made this and swapped the chicken for ground turkey and the rice for bulgur. It was so delicious and filling.
It took a longer simmer to get the liquid absorbed by the bulgur, but the wait was well worth it.
I just wrapped up making this and it has so much liquid. Should I just drain that off?
Made this tonight using quinoa instead of rice and LOVED it!! Delicious and an easy clean up. Definitely a keeper!
Jillian,
I’m so glad you liked it! Quinoa would be awesome in this!
Did you put in the quinoa uncooked, Jillian? I am curious about using quinoa as well but wasn’t sure if I should just cook it separate or put it right in and have it cook in the pot. 🙂
Do you cook the rice before adding it to the chicken onion mix?
Taly, No you don’t cook the rice ahead of time. It gets cooked with the chicken, veggies, and broth. Hope you like it!
This was a hit with the family:) We LOVE it! And so easy. I can’t thank you enough for sharing it.
Thanks Esmeralda! I’m so glad you and your family liked it!
Very good. Just the right amount of spices.
Thanks Darlene! Glad you liked it!
How about using ground beef instead?
Amy,
I haven’t tried it. But, I think it would work out.
Here is what I would try:
Start the recipe by cooking and breaking up the ground beef in the skillet. Cook the beef until it is completely done. Drain off as much fat as you can. Then, add the rice and continue with the recipe as written.
Hope you like it!
I’m getting ready to try this with ground beef. Thanks for asking because I was a bit hesitant.
Would this work with taco seasoning and pinto beans, instead of black beans and the other seasonings?
Shaena,
Yes. That sounds fantastic!
The amount of taco seasoning you need will depend on the brand you use. For such a big pot of food, I would imagine that you would need 3-4 tablespoons of taco seasoning.
Hope it works our for you.
I made this, thought it delicious, then made it for company. The second time I bought “original” rotel tomatoes ans green chilies instead od “mild” and it was soooo hot we could not eat it. I would always buy mild enchilada sauce as well because you can’t take the hot out but can add it in later.
Do you think this could be made in the crock pot somehow?
Lucy,
I haven’t done it in a crock pot. But, I do think it’s possible.
I would not recommend adding everything to the crock pot and letting it cook all day. The rice would end up turning to mush. You would need to add the rice during the last few hours of cooking.
This is what I would try.
1. Either, sauté the chicken and onion with the oil, salt, and pepper in a skillet and transfer it to the crock pot. Or, skip this step and just add the uncooked chicken, onion, oil, salt, and pepper to the crock pot.
2. Add the broth, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, corn, and spices to the crock pot. Cover.
3. Either, cook on high for around 4 hours total and add the rice during the last 2 hours of cooking. Or, cook on low for around 7-8 hours and add the rice during the last 2 1/2 hours of cooking.
4. Stir in the black beans and top with cheese just before serving.
Hope this helps.
What type of enchilada sauce did you buy? I bought red sauce and it turned my chicken an unappetizing shade of pink!
Michal,
I used Old El Paso red enchilada sauce.
This looks so yummy… all the enchiladas with none of the rolling!
Thanks Cassie! Yes, much easier to skip the rolling process.
This looks delicious!
Thanks Julie!