One Pan Mexican Rice Skillet is the perfect easy weeknight meal. Best of all, just 30 minutes to make entirely in one pot with all your favorite taco flavors.
With Cinco de Mayo coming up, I’m trying to squeeze in as many Mexican-inspired meals as I can. They are my husband’s absolute favorite!
This One Pan Mexican Rice Skillet is another easy one pan wonder meal. It’s a similar version to this {One Skillet} Taco Pasta but I used rice instead. They’re both perfect for busy weeknights since they come together easily in as little as 30 minutes.
You’ve got all your favorite taco-style flavors with the rice cooked directly in the same skillet. I used long grain white rice but you can certainly use brown rice if that’s what you prefer or have on hand.
Make a double batch and enjoy some the next day for leftovers to take along for school lunchboxes or work lunch bowls.
Like all my other skillet meals, feel free to swap in any veggies or protein you like and have fun with the toppings!
Clean up is a cinch with only one pan to wash and makes the perfect weeknight meal or part of your Cinco de Mayo fiesta!
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red bell pepper cored, seeded and diced
- 1 lb ground turkey or beef
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 jalapeno cored, seeded and diced (optional)
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice you can also use minute or brown as well and adjust the cooking time
- 1/2 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn kernels frozen or canned
- 1/2 cup sweet peas frozen or canned (optional)
- 1 14-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes undrained
- 2-1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
- 1 cup shredded Colby-jack or cheddar cheese
- diced avocado
- green onions
- fresh chopped cilantro
- sour cream
- In a large 12" skillet over medium heat, sauté onions and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 1 minute until fragrant. Add bell pepper and jalapeno and cook for another minute. Add ground meat to skillet and cook until brown, about 4-5 minutes, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Drain any excess fat.
- Push everything to one side of the pan. Add another tablespoon of olive oil and sauté uncooked rice for about 1 minute or just until some grains start to turn golden brown.
- Stir in black beans, corn, peas, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, cumin, paprika, chili powder and cayenne pepper.
- Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low.
- Cook about 17-19 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring gently every few minutes so the rice doesn't stick. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed.
- Sprinkle with cheese and cover with the lid and remove from heat.
- Allow cheese to melt for 1-2 minutes then serve hot with desired toppings.
Feel free to substitute brown rice instead. The cooking time may have to be increased as needed.
More recipes you might like:
One Pan Taco Pasta Skillet with Vegetables
{One Skillet} Mexican Vegetable Quinoa
Sarah -
So good!
Nicole -
Oh that looks wonderful!
Sarah K. -
Is it ok to use minute rice or would it be better to use regular?
Kelly -
Hi Sarah, I’ve never tried it with minute rice before but if that’s all you have then I would probably reduce the cooking time once you add the rice according to the rice package directions (usually 5 minutes) and reduce the amount of chicken broth to 1 1/4 cup instead. Hopefully that works out, if not, then I would just suggest to use regular rice. Please let me know how it works out if you do use minute rice.
Thanks 🙂
Kelly
Sarah K. -
it turned out wonderfully with minute rice!
Kelly -
So glad to hear that! Thanks for coming back to let me know! Have a great rest of the weekend!
Ambar -
I made this & it came out delicious! My family loved it!
Kelly -
I’m so glad to hear that you all loved it! This is one of my husband’s favorite. Thanks so much for coming back to let me know! 🙂
Laura -
I’m making this right now and it smells delightful! Love that it is naturally gluten free and fits all my other food allergy needs as well. At what point do you add the corn and peas? It never mentions them in the directions, just the ingredient list. I’m contemplating tossing in some slices of yellow crookneck squash too. Yum!
Kelly -
Hi Laura,
I’m so glad to hear that your making this right now. Sorry about that, I added the peas and corn in step # 3 together with the beans and spices but you an always add it near the end for a few minutes as well since they are both cooked already. I’ve updated the recipe to show that. Hope you loved it as much as we did. Thanks so much for stopping by!