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One Pan Chili Lime Chicken and Rice is made in one pan with minimal ingredients but is packed with amazing flavor! Your entire family will love this easy 30 minute meal!
This one pan meal is quick and easy! If you love one pan meals try this One Pan Fajita Chicken and Veggies, One Pan Southwest Blackened Cajun Chicken with Rice with this Red Beans and Rice.
One Pan Chili Lime Chicken and Rice
I am OBSESSED with one pan and one pot meals.
The whole idea of making a main dish and a side dish all in one pan without having to worry about separate cooking times, or dirtying up a million bakeware items is kind of genius.
And I’m always looking for simple 30 minute dinners my family will love so anything that can be done in about a half hour is right up my alley.
This dish has SO much flavor packed into it and it only calls for a few ingredients – you can’t be that!
It meets both of my big checklist items: one pan AND ready in about 30 minutes.
And this dish is one you can easily customize by kicking up the spice with some chopped jalapeños, or adding corn and beans to the rice right at the end.
My whole family loves this and I know yours will too!
What you need to make chili lime chicken and rice
Don’t let this list of ingredients scare you.
It is all simple ingredients that add so much flavor.
You will love how easy this recipe is and it all comes together in less than 30 minutes.
It is a perfect weeknight meal when everyone is busy.
Enjoy your dinner with your family this week!
- Chicken: boneless, skinless chicken breast pounded to even thickness
- Vegetable oil: helps ensure your chicken will not stick to the pan.
- Chili powder: a little spice.
- Paprika: some gently added heat.
- Garlic powder: you can’t have enough garlic.
- Onion powder: added flavoring.
- Cayenne pepper: a little bit of spice!
- Salt and pepper: just to taste.
- Lime: squeezed lime juice.
- Cilantro: add for a topping.
- White rice: I prefer jasmine rice but a long grain rice would be best.
- Chicken broth: soaks up all the chicken pieces and adds flavoring to the rice and chicken at the end.
How to make chili lime chicken and rice
I love how easy and simple it is to make on a busy weeknight!
Save time by making this wonderful meal that is going to be a family favorite.
It only takes 30 minutes to make and one pan.
Which means quick and easy plus quick and easy cleanup!
This is a tried and true favorite in our home.
- Prepare chicken: Stir together chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Season chicken with half of the seasoning mixture and set remaining seasoning aside.
- Cook chicken: Drizzle a pan with oil over and bring to medium heat. Cook chicken 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. Remove from pan.
- Add rice and chicken broth: Add rice, remaining seasonings, chicken broth, and lime juice to pan and stir to combine. Return chicken to pan on top of the rice. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes until liquid is dissolved.
- Prepare to serve: Fluff the rice with a fork. Top with cilantro and squeeze fresh lime juice over the top. Serve immediately.
Storing one pan chili lime chicken and rice
You can prepare parts of this dish ahead of time.
This recipe is great to even make a meal prep plan with.
- Can you make this ahead of time? Yes, this is a great recipe to make ahead of time.
- How do you store this one pan meal? Once cooked, let cool completely and store in an air tight container for 5 to 7 days.
- Can you freeze chili lime chicken and rice? Yes, this is best frozen without the rice. Separate the chicken and the rice. Let cool completely and add your chili lime chicken into a freezer bag and place flat in the freezer. When ready to reheat, let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- How do you reheat chili lime chicken and rice? Cook your rice ahead of time or during the reheating process. Add your chicken to a pan and cook on low to medium reheating your chicken. Place on a oven pan and cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until your chicken is cooked through or microwave you chicken in small time increments. This will ensure you do not over cook your chicken,
More delicious one pan meals
- One Pan Honey Mustard Chicken and Veggies
- One Pan Cheesy Chicken with Broccoli and Rice
- One Pan Crispy Walnut Herb Chicken and Vegetables
- One Pan Crispy Parmesan Garlic Chicken with Vegetables
- Sheet Pan Teriyaki Chicken with Vegetables
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One Pan Chili Lime Chicken & Rice
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- juice of 1 lime plus additional lime wedges for serving
- chopped cilantro for topping
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 1/4 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Stir together chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Season chicken with half of the seasoning mixture and set remaining seasoning aside.
- Drizzle a pan with oil over and bring to medium heat. Cook chicken 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. Remove from pan.
- Add rice, remaining seasonings, chicken broth, and lime juice to pan and stir to combine. Return chicken to pan on top of the rice. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes until liquid is dissolved.
- Fluff the rice with a fork. Top with cilantro and squeeze fresh lime juice over the top. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this exactly how suggested. Perfect, loved the flavours. I would not call it spicy, just right amount of heat. Just remember to eliminate salt if using a salted chicken stock. I served it with corn on the cob and arugula beet salad for relief.
Sounds amazing Richard! Thank you for coming back to comment and review, it means a lot to me!
I wish that you would list your ingredients by scale measurement. It gets a little tedious trying to measure out, for example, 0.67th of a teaspoon, etc. With baking it is essential to own a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients, and they can be purchased at Amazon for approximately $20 bucks. Just some advice!
Found this recepi last min for our Sunday family dinner yesterday and it was such a hit, everyone loved it, defenetely keeping this recepi, thank you for sharing and hope you have a good week.
Rakel.
this recipe kicks ass. i make it all the time because it’s so simple and delicious and includes so many shelf-stable ingredients that i already have on hand, love it!
I love this recipe. I have made it for my family many times now.
Hi, I really want to try this recipe but need the UK measurements for the rice and liquids. Can you help, please? x
Hello! Sorry that they aren’t measurements for the UK! There are websites out there that will convert them over. I would try Googling for that!
i’m confused after the chicken is cooked you take it out. then cook the rice and serve right away. the chicken is cold by then.
After you add in the rice, remaining seasonings, chicken broth, and lime juice to the pan, you stir them together to combine. Then, you return the chicken to the pan on top of the rice. You cook it all together for 25 minutes and then serve! 🙂
Love this recipe. I have two questions:
1) my pan always get crusted at the end. So I have a layer of almost burnt rice on the pan. How do I avoid that happening?
2) is it only 186 calories for 6 chicken breast and rice??
Thank you!
This usually happens because your pan is too thin and the bottom layer of rice gets heated up too much. Try using a different, thicker pan! the 186 calories is per serving so just for 1 chicken breast and rice!
Made this for dinner tonight, I have a picky eater… she loved it so much that she kept saying it was delicious and proceeded to have seconds.
Changed it up slightly by cubing my chicken instead of making it individual portions, and doubled everything else for how much I made. (I had planned leftovers for lunch tomorrow but my whole family loved it so much they ate the whole pot.)
Will definitely be making again and again! Thank you! ❤
This recipe was amazing. Best rice I’ve ever eaten. The spices were spot on for the chicken. I finished it on rice setting in the instapot. It was perfect thank you for the recipe