Name: Chicken Cheese and Rice
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 lb chicken; 2 TBSP butter; 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper; 1/4 tsp cayenne; 1 tsp each of cumin, dried cilantro, and chili powder; 1 TBSP of minced garlic; 1 10 oz can of Rotel; 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce; 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth; 1 cup of long grain white rice (uncooked); 1 tbsp olive oil; White Queso Cheese Dip ((any store bought or homemade queso will work)); Fresh Cilantro for topping

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Chicken cheese and rice is one of my favorite things to order at our local Mexican restaurants. I’ve found that making it at home is easy and it’s pretty close to what we get when we go out to eat. The whole family loves this dish!

Ingredients

1 lb chicken
2 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp each of cumin, dried cilantro, and chili powder
1 TBSP of minced garlic
1 10 oz can of Rotel
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 TBSP Olive Oil
1 cup of long grain white rice (uncooked)
White Queso Cheese Dip (I usually use Pancho’s brand from Sam’s Club)
Fresh Cilantro for topping

How to Make Chicken Cheese and Rice

To make this dish, start by cutting one pound of chicken up into small pieces.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and melt 2 TBSP of butter in the skillet. Once the butter has melted add the chicken.

Next, season the chicken with 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and 1 tsp each of cumin, dried cilantro, and chili powder. Stir the chicken and seasoning together well.

Once the chicken is just about finished cooking, use a spatula to scoot the chicken to the edges of the skillet. Create a little well in the middle to pour 1 TBSP of Olive oil and the rinsed rice in. I like to toast the rice for a few minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Stir the rice around the skillet and then add the minced garlic, Rotel, tomato sauce, and chicken broth. Stir everything together well. Right now this should still be over medium to medium/high heat. Once it starts to bubble, lower the heat to low heat and cover with a lid.

This will cook covered for about 15-20 minutes or until the rice is cooked to your liking. I try not to take the lid off or stir for 15-20 minutes. The more the lid comes off the longer the rice will take to finish cooking.

Serve Chicken Cheese and Rice

Once the rice is cooked to your liking give it a good stir and remove the skillet from the heat. Pour on some White Queso and top with fresh cilantro.

I like serving this dish with some flour tortillas, taco sauce, or fresh Pico de Gallo. You can also serve it with tortilla chips.

If you like this dish, check out some of my other rice skillet meals!

Tips and Frequently Asked Questions

I usually use Pancho’s brand white queso from Sam’s Club, but any store bought or homemade white queso will work.
Freshly minced garlic or jarred minced garlic is fine for this dish.
This dish has a little bit of a kick of spice to it, but my kids ate it just fine. To cut back on the spice use less or omit the black pepper, chili powder, or cayenne.
If you like it spicier add some diced jalapenos!

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