Tex-Mex Smoky Chorizo Chicken & Rice Skillet

Kitchen Little Essentials

For this Smoky Chorizo Chicken and Rice Skillet, you will need:

A large oven-safe skillet

A sheet pan (to bake the tortillas)

This Smoky Chorizo, Chicken & Rice Skillet has recently been declared my family’s favorite meal. Ever, I think. Man is this a good one. I mean, on the surface it really presents as a standard op Mexican style casserole bake thing. Yes, I get that’s how it probably looks and sounds. BUT. If you’ll notice the sneaky yet undeniably clutch addition of glorious, glorious chorizo (Mexican spiced pork sausage), and also the bright and tangy banana peppers hanging out in there as well, you might start to see that there is just a little more to this recipe. It’s “extra” as the kids say.

It packs a greater punch than its Tex-Mex brethren and other chicken and rice casserole friends. That’s just how I feel about it. It’s really, really stinking good.

The banana peppers are truly not optional here, as I think their acidity and pickled tang are the heroes of the entire recipe. Think about it: we’re using salty, savory chorizo, chicken, warm spices, cheese, and rice. The thing that the whole lot needs to really sing is something bright and elevating. A pickled something.

I suppose if you really love the heat (I do!) you could also throw in some pickled jalapeños. That would be so excellent of you if you did that, I think. But the banana peppers are where it’s at, and when you combine their flavor with the inherent smokiness of the chipotles and smoked paprika, you’ve got a winning combination.

How to Make this Smoky Chorizo, Chicken & Rice Skillet

This is a very quick one to make – a recipe that comes together in a hurry, which we love! Here’s how we’ll do it:

1. Put some olive oil in a large, oven-safe skillet set over medium-high heat and then, once it’s hot, add the ground chicken and chorizo. We’ll also add the onion at this point, to give it a good chance to really cook down before we add the liquids in. Cook until the meat has browned and the onion has softened.
2. Now, add in the banana peppers and chipotles, the garlic, and the spices. We’ll also put the rice in at this point, because I like to toast up my grains before they absorb any liquid. Makes the rice itself even more tasty than it would be otherwise.
3. Now, once everything is good and happy in the pan, add the store-bought enchilada sauce and a couple of cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and pop a lid on the pan (same as you would any time you make rice, really). Cook for just 15 minutes – we’re not cooking the rice all the way through. It will finish cooking in the oven.
4. Top with cheese, shower with crunchy chips, and then add more cheese. Send the pan, uncovered, into the oven for about 10 minutes. This is long enough to finish cooking the rice and to really melt the cheese. It will also crisp up the chips for you as well, which is extra delicious, I think.

A quick word on the chips, by the way …

You can absolutely just use ready-made tortilla chips in this recipe and it will be great. But I like to cut up some flour tortillas (pictured below) and brush them with some oil (olive or canola) and a little salt. I bake them in the oven just until lightly golden (takes just a few minutes) and use those in the dish. I think crunchy chips are just so much better than limp, soft tortillas in a one-pan Tex-Mex skillet situation like this.

The crunch is just where it’s at, y’all.

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