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Home » Cuisines » American » Skillet Chicken with Black Beans and Rice

Skillet Chicken with Black Beans and Rice

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This skillet chicken with black beans and rice is a one-pot chicken dinner with zesty Mexican flavors! Seasoned rice, tender beans, and flavorful, meaty chicken thighs bake together to create a spectacular meal!

Our chicken and black beans recipe takes under 30 minutes to prepare and the oven does the rest of the work for you.

Flavorful, comforting, and family-friendly, this skillet chicken dinner is one for the books! 😉 Or it at least deserves a permanent place in your dinner rotation. And when it comes to ease, this recipe is right up there with our Easy Italian Chicken Skillet and our Sausage and Rice Skillet Dinner.

A skillet with chicken thighs on top of rice and black beans.

Chicken, rice, and beans are an incredible combination, and also the base of Mexican cuisine. We love different iterations of this combo, like our Sheet Pan Chicken Fajita Bowl, our Gluten-free Chicken Enchilada Casserole, or this Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup!

Our skillet chicken with black beans and rice carries all those same flavors but with minimal effort required. Plus, it’s all done in one pot which makes for easy cleanup and less time in the kitchen (who doesn’t love that?).

Why We Love This Skillet Chicken Dinner:

It’s cozy, flavorful, and brings just a touch of heat but not an overwhelming amount of spiciness.

Chicken and black beans with rice are perhaps the most comforting of comfort foods and when you toss it all together in one skillet with some delicious aromatics and herbs and spices, you get a scrumptious meal that will warm up even the chilliest nights.

This one-pot chicken and black beans recipe is perfect for fall and colder temperatures ahead, yet it’s still an enjoyable dish any time of the year!

Our skillet chicken with black beans and rice is:

  • Hearty, flavor-packed comfort food that will hit the spot
  • Simple to make
  • Gluten-free and grain free
  • Delicious as leftovers

A chicken thigh on a bed of rice and black beans.

The Ingredients :

To make this skillet chicken dinner, you will need the following ingredients

  • Chicken broth. Either canned or homemade chicken broth.
  • Chicken thighs. Make sure to choose bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Yellow or white onion, chopped
  • Red bell peppers, thinly sliced
  • Garlic cloves, minced
  • Red chili peppers, seeds removed and thinly sliced. If you can’t find red chili peppers, you can substitue with Serrano or Jalepeno peppers.
  • Whole cinnamon sticks. The cinnamon sticks infuses warm, spicy flavor as the chicken cooks. This spice isn’t just for cinnamon rolls.
  • Ground cumin
  • Chili powder. Chili powder is actually a blend of spices and different brands will have varying levels of heat.
  • Black beans. You can use canned beans with the juices drained or make Instant Pot black beans.
  • Diced tomatoes (canned)
  • Basmati or long-grain rice (make sure it’s not instant rice)
  • Cilantro, chopped. If you are not a fan of cilantro, you can use parsley.

Ingredients for chicken black beans and rice skillet dinner.

Let’s Make Skillet Chicken:

This skillet chicken recipe is an easy one, which means it’s the perfect weeknight meal! It’s wonderful for meal planning since leftovers make a delicious next-day lunch or dinner.

Here’s how to make skillet chicken with black beans and rice. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details and read the tips below.

  1. Brown the chicken. First, heat the chicken broth and set aside. Brown the chicken thighs in the skillet. Set the thighs aside on a plate.
  2. Sauté. Add the onions to the pan to sauté. Add the bell peppers, garlic, chili peppers, and spices. Cook just until fragrant. Add the black beans, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle the rice evenly on top of the mixture.
  3. Bake the skillet chicken. Place the chicken thighs on top of the rice, then pour the hot broth around the chicken and bake uncovered. When done, sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Browning the chicken in the skillet.
brown the chicken

Tips for the best skillet chicken dinner

  • For the chicken: We use bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe and have found they work the best. That’s because the cooking time for the chicken needs to match the cooking time for the rice.

    If you would like to make this chicken skillet with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, you can, but don’t add the chicken to the skillet until it has cooked for 15 minutes. Then continue baking, uncovered, for the remaining 25 minutes.
  • When browning the chicken thighs: The goal with this step is to brown the skin and the outside of each piece. The chicken won’t be fully cooked at this point but that is okay since it will cook completely during the bake time.
  • Brown rice substitute: To make this dish with brown rice, add an extra 1/4 cup of chicken broth. Cook covered with foil for 35 minutes without the chicken, then add the chicken and bake uncovered for an additional 40 minutes.

A serving of chicken with black beans and rice on a plate with a skillet in the background.

This skillet chicken with black beans and rice is such a yummy, bold-flavored, comfort food dish that we know you will enjoy!

If you’ve perused our site or have been here for a while, you know we have a weakness for delicious skillet dinners (like this Creamy Chicken Pasta Skillet and our Leftover Roast Beef Pasta Skillet). We’ve set the bar high and this one certainly won’t disappoint!

Chicken with black beans and rice with a lime wedge.

Helpful Tools

Some of the following links are affiliates. If you click on these links and purchase something, we may receive a small commission. You don’t pay any extra but it will help us keep the lights on. 

  • oven-safe skillet (Lodge has good affordable ones but a higher-end pan like Staub is also a favorite of ours)

Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love:

Sage Brown Butter Skillet Cornbread: Cornbread is a classic but we’ve taken it one step further and upped the deliciousness! Sage and brown butter give this homestyle skillet cornbread an extra depth of flavor that is hard to beat!

Breakfast Potato Skillet with Bacon and Mushrooms: Skillet potatoes with crispy bacon, mushrooms, veggies and a poached egg. This lazy-Sunday kind of breakfast is the best way to kick off your day.

Chicken in Mushroom Cream Sauce: Tender, meaty chicken thighs in a creamy mushroom sauce is an easy meal and forever a favorite of mine! Chicken and mushrooms are a classic combo and we just can’t get enough.

For more chicken recipes, try our panko chickencast iron chicken, tender baked chicken quarters, Traeger whole smoked chicken, or chicken stuffed peppers.

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Did you make this recipe? We would love to hear from you. Drop us a comment below. 

This recipe was adapted from Cooking NY Times.

A large skillet with chicken black beans and rice.

Skillet Chicken with Black Beans and Rice

Zesty Mexican flavors are packed into a one-pot chicken dinner. the rice and black beans bake at the same time as the chicken thighs. All the flavors blend together for a spectacular meal.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 450kcal
Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 6 bone-in chicken thighs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large yellow or white onion chopped
  • 2 red bell peppers thinly sliced
  • 4 to 5 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 small red chili peppers seeds removed and thinly sliced
  • 2 whole cinnamon sticks
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 can 14 ounces black beans, drained
  • 1 can 14 ounces diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup basmati or long-grain white rice not instant
  • A few sprigs of cilantro chopped

Instructions

  • Boil the chicken broth in a saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm until later. 
  • Heat the oven to 375°F. Trim the fat and loose skin off the chicken thighs. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. 
  • Heat the oil in a 10-inch oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the chicken for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken and set it aside on a plate. 
  • Add the onions to the pan and sauté until soft and lightly browned. Add the bell peppers and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until slightly soft. Stir in the garlic, sliced chili peppers, cinnamon sticks, cumin, and chili powder. Cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. 
  • Add the black beans and canned tomatoes (along with all the juices). Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and stir well to combine. 
  • Sprinkle the rice evenly over the top of the mixture. Place the chicken on top of the rice then pour the hot broth around the chicken. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. 
  • Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges. 

Notes

  • Bone-in chicken thighs work best in this recipe since the cooking time is the same as the rice. 
  • If you want to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, add them after the dish cooks for 15 minutes then continue cooking uncovered, for the remaining 25 minutes. 
  • When you brown the chicken in the skillet, the goal is only to get the outside of the chicken brown. It will not be fully cooked at this point. When you set them on a plate, there will be some bloody juices, which is fine. You will return the chicken and the juices back to the skillet later.
  • If you want to make this with brown rice, add an additional 1/4 cup of chicken broth. Cook covered with foil for 35 minutes without the chicken then add the chicken and bake uncovered for an additional 40 minutes. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 450kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 168mg | Sodium: 875mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g

Dahn Boquist

Dahn is a retired nurse, recipe creator, home cook, baker, and self-proclaimed foodie. She loves creating in the kitchen and cooking for family and friends. She lives in Washington State with her husband and dog. When she isn't cooking or baking, you can usually find her spending time with her grandchildren or exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

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Recipe Rating




Conyce Mitchell

Tuesday 26th of April 2022

I think 1 thinly slice green pepper added with red pepper would look good as well as adding charred corn at the end.

Dahn Boquist

Tuesday 26th of April 2022

That sounds great! Thanks for the comment.

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