Name: One Pot Lemon and Lime Fiesta Chicken and Rice
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 4 Chicken Breasts; ¼ cup Avocado Oil (or olive oil); ¼ cup lime and lemon juice (I used half a lemon and half a lime); 1 tsp Ground Cumin; 1 tbsp Garlic Paste; ½ cup Cilantro (chopped, leaves and stems); 1 tsp Salt; ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper

One Pot Lemon and Lime Fiesta Chicken and Rice is one of those meals that feel like something from a restaurant. It is a mixture of creamy from the chipotle ranch and fresh from the pico and time. With a little crunch added from the tortilla chips, it makes the perfect meal when you want to get a little fancy but don’t want to pay those takeout prices.

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I started making this dish at home when I figured out how simple it actually is – marinated chicken, over a bed of rice, topped with pico, chipotle ranch, and tortilla chips. It was one of my favorite dishes growing up at a pretty well known chain restaurant.

The chicken is marinated in lemon and lime along with herbs and spices and adds so much flavor to the rice. It is seriously like a fiesta in your mouth. It is a pretty simple meal to throw together and if you don’t want to do homemade ranch or pico you can always grab those two ingredients at your local grocery store (which I love the easiness of!).

Why you’ll love One Pot Lemon and Lime Fiesta Chicken and Rice

So good – It really is so delicious! My kids ask for this meal pretty frequently.

Better than Takeout – Because you get to control the flavor and the ingredients, this is way better than takeout!

Simple Ingredients – I have a lot of ingredients on hand but was also able to grab everything else from my local Aldi instead of going to multiple grocery stores.

Supplies needed to make One Pot Lemon and Lime Fiesta Chicken and Rice

A mixing bowl, like one of these, for marinating your chicken
A large pan or an electric skillet
Cutting board and knife for cutting your lemons, limes, and cilantro as well preparing your pico
Measuring cups and measuring spoons

Ingredients

Chicken – I used chicken breast for this meal and then sliced the chicken breast up. To me it holds up well in the citrus juices and is what I always remember being used in this dish.

Rice – Something I always have on hand, rice is a pantry staple!

Chipotle Ranch – To keep things simple, grab a bottle of your favorite chipotle ranch from the store. You could also use my Easy Homemade Buttermilk Ranch as a base for the chipotle ranch and add adobo sauce and a squeeze of lime to make a jar of chipotle ranch!

Pico de gallo – Pico de gallo adds so much freshness to this dish! I like purchasing the fresh made pico from the produce section of my local grocery store. You could also make this from scratch as well!

Lemon and Limes – This is where a lot of the seriously good flavors come in! The lemon and lime adds so much flavor to the chicken. Don’t forget to get your dish a good squeeze of lime before eating!

Tortilla strips – I found these in the salad section but you could always use broken tortilla chips instead!

The full recipe, along with the ingredients, can be found below.

How to make One Pot Lemon and Lime Fiesta Chicken and Rice

First, marinate your chicken in a mixing bowl using your lemon, lime, garlic paste, cilantro, salt and pepper, and a splash of water. Allow that to sit and marinate in a bowl for around 30 minutes.

Then, once your chicken has finished marinating, place your marinated chicken breast in a hot skillet with a little cooking oil. I like to cook my chicken on medium heat but I always watch for any burning.

Next, flip your chicken once it has become golden brown on one side and repeat on the next side. I continue to flip the chicken until it is fully cooked in the center.

Once the chicken is fully cooked, set your chicken to the side on a plate to rest.

Next, add your two cups of rice to your pan and begin toasting your rice. I don’t rinse my rice every time I cook it, especially if I plan to toast it in a pan. Allow the rice to begin toasting and pick up all the bits off the bottom of the pan. Add your carton of chicken stock and cover your skillet until the rice is fully cooked. The rice should take about 20 minutes to cook through once you added your chicken stock, but follow the cooking directions on the package.

When the rice is cooked through, begin slicing your chicken and placing the chicken on top of the rice. Top your chicken with chipotle ranch and pico de gallo, as well as tortilla strips.

Additionally, you could top your chicken and rice with shredded cheese before adding your chipotle ranch or pico de gallo.

Tips

You can either use homemade pico de gallo or grab some from your local grocery store. You could also use fresh salsa instead!
Once your rice is cooked and your chicken is sliced, add shredded cheese to the top of the chicken and allow it to melt before adding your chipotle ranch, pico de gallo, and tortilla strips.
If you don’t have any lemons, just use lime instead!

FAQs

The key ingredients are chicken, lemon and limes, cilantro, cumin, rice, chipotle ranch, pico de gallo, and tortilla strips.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It reheats well!

Recipe

One Pot Lemon and Lime Fiesta Chicken and Rice

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 30

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Ingredients

4 Chicken Breasts
¼ cup Avocado Oil or olive oil
¼ cup lime and lemon juice I used half a lemon and half a lime
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tbsp Garlic Paste
½ cup Cilantro chopped, leaves and stems
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Ground Black Pepper

Instructions

First, marinate your chicken in a mixing bowl using your lemon and lime juice, avocado oil, garlic paste, cilantro, salt and pepper, and a splash of water. Allow that to sit and marinate in a bowl for around 30 minutes.
Then, once your chicken has finished marinating, place your marinated chicken breast in a hot skillet with a little cooking oil. I like to cook my chicken on medium heat but I always watch for any burning.
Next, flip your chicken once it has become golden brown on one side and repeat on the next side. I continue to flip the chicken until it is fully cooked in the center.
Once the chicken is fully cooked, set your chicken to the side on a plate to rest.
Next, add your two cups of rice to your pan and begin toasting your rice. I don't rinse my rice every time I cook it, especially if I plan to toast it in a pan. Allow the rice to begin toasting and pick up all the bits off the bottom of the pan. Add your carton of chicken stock and cover your skillet until the rice is fully cooked. The rice should take about 20 minutes to cook through once you added your chicken stock, but follow the cooking directions on the package.
When the rice is cooked through, begin slicing your chicken and placing the chicken on top of the rice. Top your chicken with chipotle ranch and pico de gallo, as well as tortilla strips.
Additionally, you could top your chicken and rice with shredded cheese before adding your chipotle ranch or pico de gallo.