Sharing a favorite easy chicken and rice recipe today perfect for dinner or a side dish! This chicken and rice recipe is packed with vegetables and feeds a crowd!
Easy Chicken and Rice Recipe
This smoky rice skillet is healthy and absolutely delicious. One of my favorite weeknight dinners. For those of you with a Trader Joes, run-don’t walk, to their frozen food area to pick up a box of their rice medley. You simply pop it in the microwave and poof it’s done. Seriously, I use it all the time. It’s fabulous in this rice skillet. If you are not lucky to have a Trader Joe’s in your area, use your favorite rice blend as a substitute.
Try my Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole too! Follow Picky Palate on Instagram for daily recipe inspiration.
Here’s your ingredients.
How To Make This Tasty Rice Recipe
- Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute zucchini, squash, and onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken, beans, rice, cumin, salt, pepper and parsley stirring to combine. Cook for 5 minutes or until hot.
Slice and quarter your zucchini.
…and your yellow squash.
Saute your veggies.
Saute until softened.
Stir in garlic.
Stir in your chicken.
Black beans please.
Stir in your cooked rice.
Almost done.
Add the smokiness now. A nice handful of cumin.
Add your salt and pepper.
…..a little parsley and you are good to go. Bon Appetit!
Easy Chicken and Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped white onion
- 2 cups sliced zucchini
- 2 cups sliced yellow squash
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 15 ounce can black beans drained
- 6 cups prepared rice medley
- 2-3 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute zucchini, squash, and onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken, beans, rice, cumin, salt, pepper and parsley stirring to combine. Cook for 5 minutes or until hot.
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Made this tonight! Followed all the steps, but it did not turn out good. I guess I’m not fun of cumin.
Does the trader joes rice have any seasoning on its own? If I use my regular rice will I be missing any flavor?
Made tonight for dinner, Loved it! Thanks. Any idea on calorie count?
Made this for dinner tonight! We LOVED it 🙂
Thanks!!! Love your recipes!
I made this tonight and it is SOOOOOO good!!! Love the flavor, and the different textures and I feel like I’m eating so healthy!!
So glad to hear it Anna 🙂
What a great one dish meal! And I love all the veggies in it too-very versatile!
I too want to shred some of the added weight from the holiday season, but I don’t want to diet. Eating delicious food in moderation is an excellent idea. I’ll be looking forward to your next recipes because this one in so delicious!
Made this tonight and it was really good! Thank you! We just recently got a Trader Joes here in Dallas and oh I love it so so much.
This looks so hearty and tasty! Love all that cumin!
Looks wonderful and I’m excited to try it. I love all-in-one type dinners so I don’t have to make sides. Could I swap cilantro for the parsley? I don’t usually have fresh parsley on hand, but I almost always have cilantro.
I do love this kind of family dishes. It looks easy and so good;
Healthy, delicious and not so difficult, that’s just what one needs. Asks for! 🙂 Loved it.
Lovin’ the one-pot dinner solution, Jenny!
YUM! This looks delicious!
I’m the same, Jenny. Never cared too much for resolutions. I just do my best throughout the year and things balance out nicely.
Yes! Makes me so much happier 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! We just got back from a little vacay in California and need a yummy non take out meal for dinner tonight! (My hubby works for Trader Joes, so I have one more bag of this rice medley in my freezer just waiting to be used)
Nice! I like to keep that rice in my freezer at all times 🙂
HOLD. ME.
Loving this one pot dish!
I love all of your easy recipes Jenny! Looks so perfect!
Jenny, this looks so good!! By the way, we were looking through your cookbook in class today… Oreo stuffed cookies on the wishlist menu again, and a new one we’ll be trying… p. 195, Peanut Butter Marshmallow Fudgy Brownies… Can’t wait!
This looks like the perfect weeknight meal!! Thanks Jenny 🙂
YUM! This is definitely being added to our weeknight routines! And thanks for the tip on the race from TJ’s…I love that place but am always looking for the best things to pick up in there.
Pinned it! Just curious – how do you usually get your shredded chicken?
This sounds incredible! 🙂 I’m pinning it now!
Yum & easy, too! Thanks 🙂
Hi Jenny! The idea of a smoky rice is so tempting. I need this in my life ASAP!!
YUM! This looks delish and healthy! I’m totally going to make this for my family very soon. I have most of the ingredients too. Thanks for sharing!
Hope you enjoy Ashley, this is one of our favorites 🙂
Great weeknight meal!
Hearty and healthy! What a great dinner idea. 🙂
What a great quick, healthy recipe, Jenny! Love that it is a skillet meal!
Thanks Robyn 🙂
love this recipe…..I noticed that many of your recpies are low in fat and healthy…thanks for that….
I’m trying to have some healthy options for the new year, hope you enjoy!
I love that this is all made in the skillet with such great ingredients that every pantry already should have. This looks so delicious!
ooh, I love the idea of a rice skillet – a nice simple, healthy dinner. This looks great!
Thanks Megan!
Smokey & simple? I’ll take it! Although I’ll have to find a different rice blend…TJ’s is ever so elusive 😉
Oh shoot, no Traders for you? Any favorite rice blend will work 🙂