Southwestern Crock-Pot® Chicken and Rice recipe – cheesy chicken, vegetable and rice dish made in a slow cooker for an easy weeknight dinner. Peppers, corn, beans and a good mix of spices add a Southwestern flair to a classic.
This post is sponsored by Crock-Pot® brand.
Since I turned the calendar page to August (okay, my calendar app did that), life got busy. Everyday seems not to have enough hours. School, errands, new recipes, photos, videos, laundry (ugh, that always appears out of nowhere!), dishes – so.much.to.do. At least dinner is easy. I said it so many times before, here on my blog and to my friends, that I am so grateful for the invention of a slow cooker. This machine saves me so often and our dinner time too. When Crock-Pot® brand invited me to create recipes this fall using their slow cooker, I was thrilled! I am a huge fan of the Crock-Pot® brand and all of it’s countertop appliances, most of all the original slow cooker.
I know I am not alone in this busy time of year and try to find ways to make every day easier. I hope this recipe will do just that. Cheesy comfort food that takes only few minutes to prep and cooks pretty much itself. Yes, winning at dinner time every weeknight!
My family adores Southwestern flavors so turning a classic chicken and rice dish that just seemed to be begging for a makeover was the way to go. Green bell pepper, red onion and fresh garlic already make a dish for me. But add green chiles, sweet golden corn, a few spices and there is nothing boring about this dish. Flavors to the max!
Everything cooks together in the Crock-Pot® slow cooker. Chicken and rice too. You can, of course, use already cooked rice, if you have some on hand (skip the water if you are doing so), but it’s just so nice and convenient to have everything cook together.
To make things even easier, you can chop the fresh veggies the day before and pop them into a ziploc bag. I also used fresh corn I bought in bulk this summer and froze in freezer bags. I measured out a heaping 1 and 1/2 cups and added to the dish. You can substitute whole kernel corn in a can, drained and rinsed. To add more spice, you can use enchilada sauce in place of tomato sauce.
After all of the ingredients are in the Crock-Pot® slow cooker, stir them well together. Place the chicken breasts on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set the slow cooker to HIGH for 4:30 hrs. The chicken should be cooked through (165 degrees F internal temperature). Remove the chicken from slow cooker and chop into bite-size pieces on a cutting board. Return to the slow cooker and stir in. Cook on HIGH for another 30 minutes OR until the rice is cooked. With the Crock-Pot® slow cooker on WARM setting, sprinkle the cheese over the dish, cover and let sit for 10 minutes, allowing the cheese to melt.
SOUTHWESTERN CROCK-POT CHICKEN AND RICE RECIPE:
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 medium green bell pepper chopped
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3.5 oz can green chiles
- 15 oz can whole kernel corn OR heaping 1 and 1/2 cups frozen sweet golden corn
- 1 cup long grain rice
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 cups water
- 14 oz . crushed tomatoes
- 3 chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- 2 cups Colby Jack cheese or a mix of cheddar and Jack
- Pour tomato sauce on the bottom of Crock-Pot® slow cooker. Spread evenly.
- Add beans, pepper, onion, garlic, chiles, corn, rice, cumin, chili powder, paprika and chicken bouillon cube. Stir everything together. Add water and crushed tomatoes. Stir well.
- Place chicken breasts on top of the mixture. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken.
- Cook on HIGH for 4:30 hours. The chicken should be cooked (internal temperature of 165 degrees F). Remove the chicken, chop on cutting board. Return to the Crock-Pot® slow cooker. Stir everything together.
- Cover and cook additional 30 minutes OR until the rice is cooked.
- Sprinkle cheese over the top. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro.
- Serve.
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out!
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Crock-Pot® brand. All text, photographs and opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting brands that make this blog possible.
Lisa says
Sounds delicious! Would brown rice work in this?
[email protected] says
Hi Lisa! I did not test this recipe with brown rice so I can’t say what the final result will be. Brown rice requires longer cooking time.
carlyn says
Could this be made in the casserole crockpot? When the casserole crockpot came out, I HAD to have it! But now I have trouble finding good sounding recipes for it, or can any crockpot recipe be used, and would cooking times be the same?
[email protected] says
Hi Carlyn! Thank you for the question. I actually created the recipe in partnership with Crock-Pot and made it in their casserole crock pot. No need to adjust anything, just follow the recipe. I hope you love it! Please, let me know how it goes. Thank you!!
Jenn says
If we are cooking the rice separately do we still need to add the water?
Mike says
This looks good. I think I will make up a big batch for my lunches for the week. Great comfort food now that the days are getting colder
[email protected] says
Thanks, Mike!
Linda says
We don’t care for black beans. Is there another bean you would recommend for this recipe? I’m very excited to make this.
[email protected] says
Hi Linda! Thank you for the question. You can use light red beans or simply skip them. 😀 I am excited for you to try this recipe. Have a beautiful week! -Anna
Heather says
Hi! I made the rice separately and was wondering…should I add the rice right into the crock pot and stir it all up…or can I just ladle the crock pot ingredients over the rice in a bowl?
Thanks!
[email protected] says
Hi Heather! You can add the rice in the last 30 minutes of cooking this dish or definitely pour it over the rice in a bowl. Thank you so much for the question! Have a beautiful week! -Anna
Erin says
This looks absolutely amazing!! Could you cook on low for say 8 hours? For a weekday meal?
[email protected] says
Hi Erin! Thank you so much for the question! Eight hours can be too much because of the rice. It may get mushy. I would suggest cooking the rice the day before, cooling completely and storing covered in a fridge. Cook the rest (minus the water) in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours and add the cooked rice at the end to warm up. I hope this helps! Let me know if you make it. I’d love to know how you like it! Have a beautiful weekend! -Anna
Kathy says
Looks so yummy! Could you do this up as a freezer meal that you cook in your crockpot? Then you could add on a couple of hours more to the cooking time, right?
[email protected] says
Hi Kathy! Do you mean keep everything uncooked in a freezer and then place in slow cooker and cook? I would say yes, however I’ve never done it with a rice dish. You can cook the rice, cool and freeze separately (I’ve done that many times!) and the other ingredients in a separate freezer bag. Then cook without the rice and add it at the last 30 minutes. I hope this helps! Let me know if you make it. I’d love to know how you like it! 😀 Thank you so much for the comment! Have a beautiful weekend! -Anna
PinkPrincess says
Anna, I’m assuming your dishes can be done in a “pressure cooker” on the “slow cooker mode” for this same timeframe…or…should the timeframe be reduced? I have a “pressure cooker” and wanted a variety of dishes with flavor. Based on the ingredients in this dish (Southwestern Chicken & Rice), which I have not cooked yet, I decided to “follow” you for more “flavorful” ideas. 🙂
Lisa says
Great recipe…found it yesterday & made it last night. I love it when a recipe tastes as delicious as expected. (Doesn’t always happen, right?) Thank you so much, Anna.
[email protected] says
Hi Lisa! That is fantastic! Thank you so much for trying the recipe and for coming back to let me know you enjoyed it. Have a beautiful day! -Anna
Lisa says
Can you make with frozen chicken breast or does it need to be thawed first! If frozen, how long do you cook for? Thanks, this looks delicious!
Sarah says
Excited to try this tonight! Had almost everything but a few small changes for what I had fresh corn & chicken thighs as well as diced tomatoes instead of crushed. Smells divine!
[email protected] says
Hi Sarah! Yay! Thank you for making the recipe. Let me know how you like it! Have a beautiful day! -Anna
Whitney says
Hi I’m just curious. It shows the chicken bouillon cube in the ingredients but I don’t see when/where we use it in the instructions.
[email protected] says
Oops! Sorry for that! You should add it with the spices. 😀 Thanks, Whitney!
Kim Beaulieu says
This is one fabulous recipe, nothing beats a great Southwestern chicken recipe. I love that it’s a crock pot recipe too. I haven’t seen this model yet. I need to scope it out. I need a new crock pot, mine is too dang small.
Gina says
I can’t get over how good this looks!
[email protected] says
Thank you!
Liz says
This is totally my cup of tea!! Love this so much!!
[email protected] says
Thank you, Liz!
Monique says
WANT this so bad. I love how it can easily be healthy. 🙂 YUM.
Meg says
This looks like it is going to be a family favorite in a lot of homes!
Trish says
One – I need that Crockpot. Two – I need this for dinner. This looks heavenly!
shelly says
This kind of dish is right up my alley! Looks delicious!
Erin says
There definitely aren’t enough hours in the day! And this looks SO good. Love that it’s made in a crockpot!
Kimberly says
That looks soooo yummy, it’s everything I love about slow cooker dishes. And that Crock-Pot sounds fabulous!
Ginny McMeans says
What a great bunch of ingredients. This would be a wonderful family meal.
Becky Hardin says
What a great dinner idea. Super easy and delicious!!
Karen says
Southwest flavors from the crock pot?? I’m all over this!! Sounds so good!
Cookin Canuck says
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used my slow cooker in the past few weeks. It is a lifesaver on busy days! This chicken and rice dish is one I need to try for my family.
Sues says
I reallyyy want to try to get into using my slow cooker more this year. My problem is that we’re generally out of the house from 6:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and it’s tough to find recipes that can be out that long! This looks incredibly delicious 🙂
Becky says
I purchased a slow cooker that I can set a timer to cook at either low or high setting for certain amount of time and then default to warm. I also found that the old school crock pots can cook for 8-12 hours and not ruin the meal. Use low setting if you are going that route.