Home › Recipe Index › Entrees › Chicken

15-Minute Salsa Verde Chicken, Rice, and Beans

15-Minute Salsa Verde Chicken, Rice, and Beans — Fast, EASY, one skillet recipe!! Between the salsa verde, lime juice, and cilantro mixed with juicy chicken, rice, and beans, you’ll be hooked! Perfect for busy weeknights and meal prepping!!

Salsa Verde Chicken, Rice, and Beans

There’s nothing better than an authentic-tasting Mexican meal made in one skillet that’s ready in 15 minutes. Hello busy weeknights, here’s looking at you! This green salsa chicken skillet also a healthy recipe you can feel good about enjoying and serving.

The salsa verde is so fresh tasting while the rice and beans add a comfort food touch. The truth is that I made this recipe ages ago, and I’ve made many more iterations that I’ll be sharing, but I keep coming back to this one as my favorite!

The fresh lime juice and cilantro really give this recipe the finishing pop of bold flavor that will keep you going back for more.

Ingredients In Skillet Salsa Verde Chicken

This is such an incredibly flavorful chicken, black beans, and rice skillet that will have your family going back for seconds!

To make the recipe, you’ll need:

Olive oil
Vidalia onion
Boneless skinless chicken breast
Garlic
Cumin
Mexican oregano (regular oregano may be substituted)
Salsa verde
Rice
Black beans
Lime juice, or to taste
Fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper, optional and to taste

How to Make the Salsa Verde Chicken Skillet

Simply sauté an onion with boneless skinless chicken breast pieces before adding garlic, cumin, Mexican oregano, and plenty of salsa verde. (I used two 12-ounce jars of Trader Joe’s salsa verde but you can use your favorite.)

To the skillet, next add cooked rice, a can of black beans, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper if desired, and get ready to dig in!

Recipe Variations to Try

This is a very flexible recipe and in keeping with the Mexican-themed flavor profile, I suggest:

Garnishing with avocado
Adding green onions into the skillet or garnishing with them
Sautéing green bell peppers with the onion before adding the chicken
To sneak in extra veggies add jicama or zucchini
If they’re available in your area sautéed chayote (squash) or nopales (cactus leaves) would add wonderful texture and crunch

What Type of Rice Should I Use?

To save time, I used two packets of Uncle Ben’s Long Grain Rice in the Black Beans and Lime Cilantro flavor.

My dish came out extra black beany because the Uncle Ben’s has a generous portion of black beans included in the rice. If you’re not as into black beans, use a variety without beans, or use your favorite type of cooked rice that you make from scratch.

Can This Recipe Be Made in Advance?

Yes! This is a great recipe for meal prepping because it makes six hearty portions that keep well in the fridge or freezer. Dinner or lunch is as easy as reheating in the microwave.

It’s always nice to have a stockpile of containers in my fridge and freezer for those days when cooking something for my ‘starving’ teenager at the drop of a hat isn’t always possible.

What to Serve with Salsa Verde Chicken

This green salsa chicken, rice, and black beans is a meal in itself. However, if you want to stretch the recipe even further, try serving it with one or more of the following Mexican-inspired sides:

Baked Corn Tortilla Chips
Pina Colada Fruit Salad
Mexican Wedge Salad
Grilled Mexican Corn (Elote)
Creamy Mexican Corn and Zucchini Salad
Blueberry Corn Salsa

And if you’re of age, make sure to wash everything down with homemade margaritas !

Tips for Making Chicken, Black Beans & Rice

I don’t find the Trader Joe’s salsa verde I used to be spicy so the dish doesn’t read spicy at all, but it’s packed with flavor galore.

If you want to make your own salsa verde, I would use the blender portion of the recipe that I begin my Vegan Pozole Verde with. It includes tomatillos, poblanos, jalapeños, and white onion. Add a splash of vegetable or chicken stock to thin it out to salsa consistency.

If you want more heat and a spicier dish, add jalapeno — keep the seeds if you want even more heat.

Ingredients

▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
▢ 1 large sweet Vidalia onion , diced small
▢ 1 to 1.25 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast , diced into bite-sized pieces
▢ 4 to 5 cloves garlic , finely minced or pressed
▢ 2 teaspoons cumin
▢ 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano , regular oregano may be substituted
▢ 24 ounces salsa verde , I used Trader Joe’s; see my Vegan Pozole recipe and make the blender portion to make your own
▢ two 8.5-ounce pounces , 4 cups ready rice, cooked according to package directions*
▢ one 15.5-ounce can black beans , drained and rinsed (I used no-salt added)
▢ 2 tablespoons lime juice , or to taste
▢ 2 to 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro , finely minced; or to taste
▢ salt and pepper , optional and to taste

Instructions

To a large skillet, add the olive oil, onion, and saute over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes, or until onion is beginning to soften.
Add the chicken and cook until done, about 5 minutes. Stir and flip frequently to ensure even cooking
Add the garlic, evenly sprinkle the cumin, Mexican oregano, and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir nearly continuously.
Add the salsa verde , rice , black beans, and stir to combine.
Add the lime juice, cilantro, optional salt and pepper, stir to combine, and taste. If necessary, add additional salt, pepper, cumin, lime juice, etc.as desired. Serve immediately.

Notes

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

↓ Click the Stars to Rate This Recipe ↓

Tried this recipe? Leave a review!

Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes!

More Mexican Chicken Skillets:

Favorite Mexican Recipes.

15-Minute Salsa Verde Chicken with Avocado — Fast, EASY, one skillet recipe!! Juicy chicken with salsa verde, lime juice, cilantro, and creamy avocado has so much Mexican-inspired FLAVOR the whole family will LOVE!! Perfect for busy weeknights and meal prepping!!

Salsa Verde Chicken Chilaquiles – An EASY comfort food recipe with just FOUR main ingredients and ready in 30 minutes!! Layers of corn tostadas and juicy chicken smothered in salsa verde and melted pepper Jack cheese! Great for breakfast, dinner, snacks, a party appetizer or anything in between!!

Skillet Lime Cilantro Chicken – EASY, juicy, tender chicken thighs with plenty of tangy lime and fresh cilantro!! Ready in 30 minutes, starts on the stove, and finishes in the oven! Just a handful of ingredients used and PERFECT for busy weeknights!!

15-Minute Salsa and Black Bean Chicken Skillet – Fast, EASY, family-friendly, healthy yet hearty, naturally gluten-free, Mexican-inspired meal!! The PERFECT recipe to jazz up your usual weeknight chicken dinner!!

Skinny Mexican Chicken Skillet — EASY, ready in 20 minutes, and is a skinny recipe that keeps you full and satisfied!! A great Mexican-inspired meal that’s naturally gluten-free and is a flavor FIESTA in your mouth!!

15-Minute Cheesy Chicken Taco Skillet — Craving tacos minus all the empty carbs? This EASY taco skillet without tortillas is PERFECT!! Fast, EASY, loaded with awesome Mexican-inspired flavors and it’s super CHEESY!!

Easy Chicken Fajitas — These chicken fajitas take just 30 minutes to make and are the perfect weeknight dinner. Friends and family will go crazy for this recipe!