No-fuss Black beans, chicken and rice
This no-fuss black beans, chicken and rice is one of the most convenient meal recipes of all times. Super easy, simple and extremely nutritious.
Here is recipe number two from the Tabasco 10 ingredient challenge.
This one was another easy recipe with few ingredients that it is perfect for any weeknight dinner. This recipe is full of protein and fiber, two healthy nutrition components of a well balance diet.
The preparation time is almost none existent. Besides chopping the chicken and the onion there is not much to do so if you are looking for a well balance nutritional meal that requires hardly any preparation look no further.
Again, for this recipe, I kept the amount of Tabasco to the medium side. My kids do enjoy the occasional spicy food, not too spicy, just a tad spicy, so feel free to add a bit more. My husband did and so did I so when preparing the recipe, you can double the amount of Tabasco for some extra heat.
This dinner also freezes really well. I actually do try to make a bit more quantity at each dinner so that I don’t have to cook each night. I just make sure that I take my leftover frozen dinners the morning off and I am good to go at night.
Tomorrow I will be posting recipe number three of the 10 ingredient Tabasco challenge. Another winner recipe especially on my husbands book so I hope you stay tuned for that one too.
Enjoy!
In a large skillet, over medium to high heat, add the chicken and onions and cook until the chicken has browned a bit, about 3-5 minutes. After that you can add the remainder of the ingredients and cook until the rice is tender. It will take approximately 25 minutes.
Here can see how liquid like it looks but after about 25 minutes the water will be absorbed and the rice will become tender. If you feel like the water has been absorbed and the rice is still hard you can add more water and let the rice cook an extra few minutes.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Tabasco and it contains affiliate links. Tabasco compensated me for the time spent developing and photographing this recipe. All opinions are 100% my own. My sponsors help make this blog possible. The end :-)
PrintNo-fuss black beans, chicken and rice
Miryam's original recipe
Yield: 4-5 servings
Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1.5 lbs of organic chicken, cut into small chunks
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 15oz canned black beans, drained
- 1 14oz canned chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp Tabasco® original sauce, more if you like
- 3 green onions chopped
- 2 cups brown rice, this is the one I used
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
Directions:
In a large skillet, over medium to high heat, add the oil, chopped onion and chicken and cook for about 3-5 minutes until the chicken has browned a bit. Add the remainder of the ingredients except the chopped green onions.
Turn the heat to medium-low and add 4 cups of water. Mix the ingredients through and let it stand, covered for 20 -25 minutes or until the rice is tender and the water has been absorbed. Make sure you keep an eye on the rice in case there is more water needed before the rice is tender.
Garnish the rice with the chopped onions and serve while still warm.
Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 5 servings.
Hello there. My name is Miryam and I am the clinical dietitian and Physician Assistant behind Eat Good 4 Life. My wish is to inspire you to start cooking healthier so that you can live a longer and happier life. Thanks for stopping by (
This looks delicious and so easy to make!! Since I have someone in the family who will not eat anything with pieces of tomato, can I substitute tomato puree? Would it be 14 oz of pureed tomatoes (or maybe less since it is pureed) plus the 4 cups of water?
Yes you will have to use a lot less, I would say perhaps 7 oz. You may also need a bit more extra water :-) Just keep an eye on it to see if there is anymore liquid that maybe needed while it cooks away :-) Thanks for visiting my blog.
That’s what I thought. Thank you. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I love easy meals like this! It looks incredible!
Helpfful info. Fortunate me I found your site by chance, and I’m surprised why this twist of fate did not happened in advance!
I bookmarked it.
I made the last night and it could not have been easier or more delish! I love a one pot meal so I was sold before I even tasted it. Thanks so much for posting!
Super cool. Thanks so much for letting me know. I am glad you enjoyed it :-)
Are the black beans drained?
Yes they were :-) Thanks for visiting my blog!
I think I’ve found what to make for dinner tonight! This looks awesome, Miryam!!
Miryam, hello! I finally joined your site! Long overdue! Your dishes look amazing, and I am starting from this one. I will also look up some cookies/cakes to put in my kids’ lunch bags in the morning.
Great to see you here. Let me know how it turns out :-)
Sharing this on my page! Looks like a good one!
I cooked this tonight. The kids ate a full plate each, which happens rarely. It is a very nutricious meal, too. I was unsure about the proportions because I am working in kg/g but at the end it all worked out. Will do it again! Thank you.
That is just awesome. I need to make it again soon. It is so easy. Maybe next time I will add more stuff to it :-)
Question, should I have used quick cooking brown rice? I used regular long cooking rice and it is not absorbing the liquid at all (the package for normal cooking of the rice says 50 minutes). I’m thinking I may have just wasted a lot of money. I’m hoping it starts to absorb soon, I was really looking forward to this!
What ever rice you used it should absorb the liquid no matter what. Is the water on a low bubbling stage? That is the only thing I could think of because rice should be absorbing the water. Turn the heat up a tad. Let me know how it turns out.
The brown rice I use always takes about 45 minutes to cook and absorb the liquid. For this recipe, which I’m looking forward to tonight, I think I’ll add only the rice after sauteing the onion, bring it to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients and continue to simmer a half hour or so. Hope this works. Thanks so much.
I’m happy to say the water did finally absorb, took almost an hour. I turned up the heat a little and took the lid off, that seemed to help. It all worked out in the end. It is very yummy!!!
I am glad it did :-) Enjoy!!
This recipe… was a total fail. Your timing is completely off and now dinner is ruined. Followed directions exactly. I always write positive reviews but this time I couldn’t bring myself to serve that to my family.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe too. I was looking for something that was high in protein and magnesium, and this fits the bill!
Your ziplink button does not work.
It is working for me!!
I made this recipe as part of my bulk food prep on Sunday. WOW! It is so delicious and tastes even better heated up. It is economical and super yummy with a little salsa poured over the top. Thanks for the recipe and so glad I found your blog! I can’t wait to try another recipe next week.
That is just awesome. I need to make this one again soon. Super healthy and simple right? Thanks for reporting back :-)
I noticed the cooking time says 20-25 min. Is that for white rice? I’ve never been able to get brown rice cooked through in that amount of time.
Yes, I always use brown rice. Mine took about 25 minutes. I think it depends on the brown rice type. I used long grain brown rice. If yours takes a bit longer is OK too :-) Thanks for visiting.
Hello! Trying this for the first time and wondering if it is completely necessary to have brown rice? I’m trying it with white rice and scared it might not taste the same =\ Please let me know! Thanks again for sharing!
Sure, you can try it with white rice. Just watch it for the cooking time, as I think it may be a little bit less. I hope you like it. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Can I substitute a mix of quinoa and brown rice?
I am sure you could, just watch out for the cooking times :-) They will probably vary!!
Do you start the recipe with raw chicken or cooked organic chicken?
Je suis arrivé sur votre site web par mégarde :
je ne le regrette nullement !
C’est génial. Bienvenue!
Just made this! But i used low sodium organic vegetable broth instead of water and turkey instead of chicken. So delicious!
Awesome. I am glad you liked it. Thanks for stopping by :-)
Hi! This looks like a great recipe and I’m eager to try it…just one question….did you use olive oil when you first added the onion and chicken into the pot?
Yes I did, about 2 tablespoons. I will change that on the recipe :-) Thanks.
Do you think I can use microwave rice and just add it in at the end?
Well a lot of the liquid should have been absorbed by the rice so I don’t know how it would work. You are going to have to tweak the recipe quite a bit. Thanks for stopping by.
I would say the key is to follow the cooking time for whatever rice you are using…my brown rice said to cook 35-45 minutes and it definitely took that for it to absorb the water and not be crunchy.
Hi, I was curious if I could use dry black beans in a bag? Like the rice? Thanks
You would have to cook them first though :-)
That’s a whole lot of cholesterol for something that is supposed to be healthy…
100mg w/ the chicken? I don’t think so. You can omit if you like or use less!
Miryam, since I love your recipes, I will try this 1 pot meal for tonight!
But i have a question: I am missing some more spices in this dish and I love spices! What would you advice to add in this dish? My kids don’t eat spicy food, so I have to take out the Tabasco unfortunately.
Hope to hear from you! :-)
Tilly
Oh gosh you can add whatever really, I think oregano, thyme, cumin, paprika would be great but I think you can’t go wrong with whatever spicy you decide. Even a taco mix if it is not spicy would be great w/ this recipe. I hope this helps. Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks a lot! It turned out very tasty, the kids liked it, hubby loved it, so i’m happy!! :-)
That is super awesome. I am glad they liked it :-)
Should the tomatoes be drained too?
No you don’t have to drain the tomatoes :-)
Can I use fresh tomatoes instead of canned?
Yes you can :-).
To the person that commented about the nutrition, I think the nutrition facts or serving size is incorrect. 414 grams is pretty big and I doubt one serving is almost 600 calories. Great, easy dish! Thanks!
can you use this recipe as a freezer meal
Yes you can :-)
This recipe is prefect for a student like myself. It is fast, simple, cheap, and easy to make in a large quantity to be used later. I made this as the first meal I have ever made in my apartment and it turned out great. I substituted white rice for the brown rice and only used 3 cups of water, along with substituting some of the spices. Can’t wait to have it again tomorrow!
That is awesome. I am glad you liked it. Good luck in school :-)
I love this recipe My son and I made this last night and it was a family hit. We did modify it some, after cooking the chicken we finished in the oven. Love it
This turned out pretty well, but I made some changes. I added chili powder and cumin to the chicken and onions while that was cooking to get some more flavor into the meat. I also used long grain brown rice which needed about 20 more minutes to cook than the directions call for so i had to add at least another cup of water to soften it up. (The rice package says 40-45 minutes).
I think the next time I make it, I’ll use about 1/2 cup less of the rice and cook it separately. Once that is almost done cooking I will cook the chicken and other ingredients with additional spices and then combine them together. I think I’ll also add a 2nd can of beans. I felt like there wasn’t enough of them in this batch. I love making big batches of food that I can split up and freeze for lunches. This recipe is perfect for that. Thanks!!
I am glad you liked it. Your changes are awesome. I bet the onions and spices gives the recipe a better flavor. Thanks for stopping by.
I also changed the recipe a little bit. I had the black beans from before and had put them in the freezer for future use and today was that day. I forgot all what I had put in it to season. I did add cumin, brown rice and onion and corn. T moisten it I added tomato sauce and oh my did it taste good. My husband complemented me on it and had second helping and he don”t usually do that if he is not fond of it to much, but he did today. Thanks so much for this recipe. It is things like this that cause others to be creative.
Have a great recipe day everyone.
The changes also sound awesome. Such an easy recipe right? Thanks for stopping by!
I used brown rice and it took nearly an hour to become tender. May I suggest adding information on what type of brown rice to use? It’ll save future headaches :)
Thanks for the suggestion. I sure will :-)
Is the brown rice suppose to be cooked before you add it to the pot? I had to cook this dish for an hour and add 2 extra cups of water. The chicken was dry due to being overcooked.
No. My rice didn’t take ore than 30 minutes, maybe because the brown rice I used was different so my chicken was fine. An hour seems a bit much to me. I guess maybe next time add the chicken around 35-40 minutes in? Sorry it didn’t turn out for you!!
Sorry, I need to add a correction to my previous statement. I didn’t realize the amount of water to added was embedded in the instructions. I had glazed over the instructions. My only comment would to use pre-cooked rice.
I made this tonight. Really good. And, my picky 14 year old liked it. Mine took about 45-50 minutes….and I added probably about an extra 2/3 cup of water. The pan I used looks to be bigger than the one you used, so maybe there wasn’t enough depth to cook the rice quicker, since it was more spread out. I monitored it on the stove in 10 min increments and all was well. Served with sliced avocado and fresh lime juice. Lots of leftovers and a definite repeat dish. I do think that the type of rice you used may have impacted the time. The bag of generic brown rice I used said to cook for 40-45 minutes, so I was planning for it to take longer. Thank you for a posting a great recipe!!!!
Yes I think the cooking time depends on the rice used. I am glad you liked the recipe though. I think it is a very convenient one especially for those busy nights. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your input :-)
Just found this recipe and wanting to try it out for lunch today. What if I only have a canoe chili style diced tomatoes on hand? Amy suggestions on how to adjust there recipe?
The same. Maybe you may need to add a tad more water but that is about it :-)
Are you using 2 cups of uncooked rice? That seems like way too much rice for this meal? I would only use 1 cup of uncooked rice which yields a lot of rice lol.
Yes I did. I feed 4 w/ this recipe and then I have left overs :-)
Can you please tell me how much is one serving?
I don’t know what you mean. The nutrition label is attached in the recipe. If you make the recipe and divide it btw 4-5 servings that would be one. I hope this helps.
I’m making this tomorrow!!! I’m wondering, can this be made in a crockpot?
I am not sure though. I thing the rice maybe not do good on the slow cooker.
Made this today as I had a tin of Black Beans and wasn’t sure how to use them.
Added a green chilli (chopped) and some Green Peppers at the end to give it a bit of crunch and up the 5-a-day.
Tasted really god, and now have leftovers in the fridge for the next 2 evenings.
Could probably add other veg to this as well. Got some Chestnut Mushrooms that added 1/2 way through the cooking would be good.
Love these nice simple menus that can easily be adapted.
Are you adding rice and water to the skillet. Everything together all at once?
Yes :-)
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I have to admit I did adjust to make it work for me. I had leftover black beans, petite diced tomatos, and cooked brown rice. I just chopped my chicken breast, and sauteed with onion like the recipe stated and added my leftovers. It was super easy and tasted great. Love that I had dinner on the table in about 30 minutes AND got to use up my leftovers.