One Dish Chicken Fajita and Rice Bake

April 10, 2021 By Steph 71 Comments

If you love easy meals, this one dish chicken fajita and rice bake is what dreams are made of. This entire meal takes just minutes to prep, and everything cooks all at once in the oven; no boiling water for rice, no searing chicken on the stove top, so that means no cleaning pots and pans after this meal. Tender fluffy yellow rice, tender chunks of seasoned chicken breast, and soft peppers and onions make this the perfect all-in-one meal, no side dish required.

All about this recipe

I created this recipe on a whim. I wanted to create an easy, one dish meal, because everyone loves those. Let’s face it, there’s nothing easier than popping a dish in the oven and walking away for an hour while it cooks on its own. The best part about this dish is that the rice cooks at the same time as everything else.

I wasn’t sure how this would all come together, but was pleasantly surprised with how it worked out. This recipe was originally created with easy meal prep in mind, but now I realize it would make a perfect family dinner for a weeknight as well.

When you are looking for one dish meals with easy cleanup and minimal ingredients, taste should never be sacrificed. And I promise you, this dish is not lacking on flavor. The method used to cook this meal results in fluffy and tender rice, and moist and juicy chicken. I honestly couldn’t believe it when I tasted it for the first time.

How to serve this dish

This meal makes six servings at 1 2/3 cup each (1 cup of rice and veggies, and 2/3 cup of chicken). I served my portion in a bowl, with a dollup of sour cream and some extra cilantro for garnish. This would be delicious with all of the toppings and fixin’s you would pair with fajitas (think: shredded cheese, avocado).

To reheat for meal prep, simply pop individual portions of this meal into the microwave for a couple of minutes to take the chill off, and then top with your favorite toppings, as desired.

You could also put the chicken inside of a tortilla with toppings, and eat the rice separately!

What you’ll need to make this recipe

Here’s the ingredient list! It’s pretty short and sweet. There are quite a few spices used here, but they are probably already in your pantry.

1 Box Goya Spanish-Style Yellow Rice
chicken breast (full chicken breast should be used here, not thin-sliced)
- Tip: You need 2 lbs of chicken for this recipe. When you buy chicken in the store, purchase closer to 2.5 lbs, because when you weigh it out, it actually weighs closer to 2 lbs. Especially if you plan on trimming off any fat before you use the chicken.
bell peppers
onions
garlic powder
onion powder
cumin
oregano
paprika
kosher salt
cayenne pepper
fresh cilantro

Can I use plain white or brown rice?

I have already gotten this question a bunch of times. To put it quite frankly, I haven’t made this recipe using plain rice. I am assuming it would work similarly (the ratio of dry rice to liquid is 1:2). But, since the rice I use for this recipe is seasoned, you will need more seasoning if you use a plain rice.

The box of rice I use for this recipe is equivalent to 1 1/4 cup dry, uncooked rice, and I use 2 1/2 cups of water to cook it. So, if you plan on using plain rice, I recommend using the same measurements. However, I do recommend using chicken broth to cook the rice instead of water, because as I mentioned, it will need more flavor.

I can not attest to the taste of this dish using plain rice. If you do make it this way, I recommend tasting it and adding more salt and other seasonings as needed. I do recommend using the rice I used, because it came out absolutely delicious, flavorful and so tender.

Here is the box of rice I used again, for reference:

How to make one dish chicken fajita and rice bake

First, preheat the oven to 375F. While the oven is preheating, you can prepare the other ingredients. For this dish, I use a 9 x 13 glass baking dish from Pyrex. This is the perfect size for this meal. Most casserole dishes will work great.

Start off by thinly slicing the peppers and onions, and then pour the contents of the rice package into the baking dish. Then, add the water. Stir the rice and water together so that it is combined.

Next, slice up the chicken breast. Each full chicken breast should be cut into about 4 strips. This is important so that the chicken pieces aren’t too small or thin; they will dry out when cooked. Combine all of the spices in a small bowl to create your spice mixture. Toss the chicken, peppers, onions, and the seasoning together in a large mixing bowl.

Then, pour the chicken, pepper and onion mixture over the rice, and spread it evenly out in the dish. Then, cover the entire dish with foil, and bake it for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the dish from the oven and stir in some fresh cilantro.