A quick one-pot, skillet meal of chicken, seasoning veggies, diced tomatoes, yellow rice and cheese.
Cheesy Chicken And Yellow Rice Skillet
I don't buy a lot of rotisserie chickens.
Not that I don't love them, because I do, and not that they aren't convenient, because they sure are. It's just now that I'm finally seeing whole chickens showing up on sale again here lately, I always pick up a couple of them.
Sometimes I bake my own rotisserie style version in the oven, or I grill one or smoke cook it on the Traeger. Other times I use the Instant Pot, and I'm loving the way that the air fryer works for a whole chicken too.
Just inserting a quick reminder here.... that this is a blog, not just a "recipe site," and yes, there is a difference! I want to first thank all of you who have supported my work over the years, but if you aren't interested in the chit chat, info, photos, tips and such in a post, as always, you'll find the complete recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll down to the bottom of the post!Since there's only The Cajun and me at home, we eat off of it for one meal, then I usually package the rest of it up in 2 cup servings and vacuum seal it. Love that thing! Those become chicken salad, casseroles, enchiladas and other Tex-Mex meals, soup, whatever!
This recipe is a cross between one I found on the Minute Rice website, with a hint of one from Zatarain's and elements from my own Homemade Yellow Rice from my cookbook, Deep South Dish.
I used red bell pepper because I had one already cut up and needed to use it! Green is perfectly fine, or use a little of both to add a little extra color against the yellow rice.
For this recipe, and as I often do with skillet versions, I am using instant rice. Instant rice isn't a product that I always keep stocked in the pantry but it really is a great time saver for skillet dishes like this, but for some reason folks seem a little fearful of it!
So really... what is instant rice exactly?
- It's really just rice that has already been precooked and then dehydrated.
- Since cooking it requires only that you re-hydrate it, it cooks much quicker, in at least half as much time as regular white rice.
- Like any other convenience product, it costs a little more, but it's certainly a handy helper in the kitchen, especially for those busy weeknight mealtimes.
- Because of all that, it performs beautifully for dishes just like this.
Ingredients You'll Need to Make This:
- Butter, to sauté the veggies in
- Basic seasonings of salt and black pepper
- A bit of turmeric for flavor and color on the rice
- Seasoning veggies - onion, red or green bell peppers and garlic
- Chopped or shredded cooked chicken
- Salted chicken stock or broth, unless you use a rotissiere chicken and then I'd probably go with unsalted
- Diced tomatoes, undrained
- Instant white rice
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Here's how to make my Cheesy Chicken and Rice Skillet!
Melt butter in a large skillet, add onion and bell peppers and cook until softened, about 4 minutes.
Add garlic and cook another minute.
Stir in chicken broth and tomatoes.
Add seasonings. I'm using some turmeric to make this into a yellow rice, though you can skip that if you prefer.
Add the cooked chicken. You can use boiled, poached, or use my better than poached "Ready Chicken." You can certainly also use a rotisserie chicken as well, though keep in mind those are often highly seasoned and salt brined so watch your sodium in all other sources you are using such as added salt, canned tomatoes and broth.
Add the rice. Remember, I am using instant rice, so that's how the ratios are written. If you want to substitute a long grain or other rice, you'll have to experiment with the liquid proportions.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
Remove from heat, fluff with a fork.
Fold in half the cheese.
Top with remaining cheese and cover until cheese is melted
I forgot to get a photo of our plates, but all you need to add with this is a nice garden salad, some bread and some sweet iced tea and you're good to go!
For more of my favorite skillet meals, check out the collection on my Pinterest page!
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