Red Chili Chicken and Rice
Red Chili Chicken and Rice is a simple chicken and rice dish with classic Mexican flavors. A filling healthy meal quick enough for weeknights.

Monday I posted about Pioneer Woman’s delicious Restaurant Style Salsa, so today I will post a recipe that I served to go with the salsa (wait, shouldn’t it be the other way around?!)
I first saw this Rick Bayless recipe on Elly’s blog. Rick Bayless is a celebrity in Chicago, and most Chicagoans are proud to have such a talented and decorated chef practice his craft here. I’ve been to Frontera several times, on one visit Rick was there meeting with the staff. I’ve also been to his Mexican street food restaurant XOCO, and he happened to be there quality control taste-testing the drinks! I’d love to try Topolobampo sometime. Last time I called they were booked for 6 weeks!
I quickly bookmarked this recipe when Elly posted it, and then I saw that Annie recommended it as well, so I knew I’d love it. It’s been on my ‘to make’ list for a long time, but for some reason I kept moving it. I finally realized I had all the ingredients one night and went for it – it’s fabulous!!! I have a weird relationship with black beans, so I left them out. The ingredient list is simple, but the components combine together perfectly to make a very tasty dish. If you want to make this a little less healthier, you could even top it with some cheese and sour cream – not sure what Mr. Bayless would say about that, but he’ll never know!
Gluten Free Red Chili Chicken and Rice
This dish is naturally gluten free!
Looking for More Mexican and Tex/Mex Recipes?
Check out these favorites:
Panera Chile Lime Ranch Dressing
Panera Southwest Chile Lime Ranch Salad with Chicken
Chicken Street Tacos – Costco Copycat
Turkey Tacos
Grilled Chicken Fajitas
Skillet Chicken Fajitas
Chicken Mexican Pizzas
Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chili Sauce
Pico de Gallo Chicken Quesadillas
Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas
Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls
Layered Taco Dip
Jalapeno Popper Dip
Mexican Rice
Chicken Tortilla Soup
And for dessert . . .
Tres Leches Coconut Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream
Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes with Cheesecake Filling
Sweet Corn Tomalito – Chevy’s Copycat
Cinnamon Ice Cream
Easy Homemade Dulce de Leche
Samoa Cupcakes with Easy Dulce de Leche Buttercream
or see all of my Mexican recipes HERE.

Red Chile Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
- 1 1/4 tablespoons ancho chili powder (divided, see note)
- 1/2 medium onion (large dice)
- 1/2 cup rice
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 7.5 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onions (roots and wilted outer leaves removed before chopping)
- salsa (for serving)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium heavy pot (with a lid) over medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breast with salt and 1/2 tablespoon of the ancho chili powder. Place chicken in the hot oil and brown on each side, 2 – 3 minutes. Remove to a place, leaving behind as much oil as possible.
- Add the onion and rice to the pot. Stir for several minutes, until the rice turns from translucent to opaque. Add the garlic and the remaining 3/4 tablespoon ancho chili powder. Cook one minute, and then add the broth and salt to taste. Stir well.
- When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Cut the chicken breast into 1″ pieces. Add them to the pot along with the beans, if using. Recover and cook 12 minutes longer.
- Sprinkle the green onions and test a kernel of rice. It should have no more than a hint of chalkiness in the center, in which case you place the cover back on, remove it from the heat and let stand 5 – 10 minutes. If it’s not cooked, cook for another 5 minutes or so (at this point I added a tad more chicken broth because I think my pan was too big and the added surface area caused more of the liquid to evaporate; if you use the right size pan this should be fine).
- Fluff the mixture with a fork and serve with salsa.
I have to say Rick Bayless is my favorite chef. I admit, many years ago during college I'd tune into his show on PBS. Kinda nerdy-isn't it. Chicken looks delicious.
Looks absolutely gorgeous n tempting!
Rick Bayless is awesome, have you seen his show on PBS? Good times.
The chicken and rice looks wicked good, I'm bookmarking this one.
Oh, great blog you have here, I loved all the recipes, now I'll need to try them all…:)
xxx
I love a spicy dinner. This must have been incredible.
Great photo! Looks like a scrumptious meal!
This looks delicious Meghan! I love your site- your recipes are just the best!
Oh this looks de-lish!!!
Yeah, I don't like black beans either – but I couldn't tell you why.
That being said, this recipe looks fantastic!
Looks like such a tasty chicken dish! I recently tried to find ancho chile powder too and even went to a Latin market and couldn't find it. I guess I'll have to hunt around online for it!