By blog team member, Kiran. To learn more about Kiran, check out our team page or her blog!
We all have go-to recipes we turn to on busy nights when we don’t have time to cook. Or nights when we just don’t feel like cooking. This Easy Mexican Chicken is one of ours.
My husband and I came up with this recipe back when we were dating. Yeah, that’ll take us back 16 years ago – yikes! It was a go-to for us because we always had most ingredients on hand, and it was always one that we could tweak with minor changes. It’s basic upon basic, I know. I mean, if you can rip open a bag and open a can, you’re halfway there! So we came up with these silly names for it to make it sound fancier than it really is – El Pollo was one and Chicken Especial was another. Ah, the dating days …
Back then, we used whatever canned chicken we could find. I had yet to learn about the importance of organic, real food and did not even realize until last year there is now an organic canned chicken option from Valley Fresh! Part of what makes it a better product is that it has minimal ingredients – three to be exact: chicken, water (or broth), and sea salt. You won’t find any unwanted preservatives or artificial ingredients. Lisa created a chicken salad recipe with it, and you can substitute it in most recipes that call for shredded or chunks of chicken.
In the meantime, I hope you’ll try this recipe, and I’d love to hear what you did with it. Did you make nachos out of it? Serve it atop a bed of greens? Make some tasty burritos out if it? Comment below and let me know if you love this classic as much as my hubs and I do.
Easy Mexican Chicken
If you can rip open a bag and open a can, you're halfway there! This is a go-to for us because it's easy to tweak and we often have the ingredients on hand.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 onion, medium, diced
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 10-oz can chicken, Valley Fresh organic, drained (see note)
- 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- cheese, shredded, optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a skillet or cast iron pan. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 - 3 minutes.
- Add corn and cumin and cook for 1 minute.
- Add chicken, tomatoes, and black beans and cook for 4 - 5 minutes with an occasional stir.
- Add cheese and cook to combine for one minute.
- Serve on tortillas, with rice, or on tortilla chips.
Recipe Notes
1. I typically double the chicken in this recipe and use 2 cans because of our family size (6 people) and because my husband loves meat, but this recipe works fine with 1 can, too.
2. Dairy free if cheese is omitted.
3. Gluten free if served with gluten-free tortillas, chips, or rice.
4. We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
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Wild Mushroom and Brussels Sprouts Quesadillas
We had this tonight for dinner; super good!
Yay! Glad that you loved it:).
What is the can size for tomatoes and black beans?
15 oz black beans; same for tomatoes (though I sometimes use the larger – think it’s 28 oz – can to get more tomatoes in). HTH!
Has anyone figured out the calories, fat, protein and carbs in this dish?
Quick and easy. I used fresh chicken and ran it through a food processor. Added garlic, salt and pepper with maybe triple the cumin. I like it spicy! I also added cilantro and lime juice. Put it in a flat out wrap with guacamole, Spinanch, and low fat sour cream with 2% mexican cheese. Next time I make it I won’t drain the tomatoes and I may add some organic tomato paste.
I just made something similar last night, but added some cream cheese. It was delicious! Put in in a corn tortilla and baked it to get it crispy.
This looks delicious! I love Mexican and am always looking for new ways to spice up my dinners. Check out my latest salmon recipe at https://courtneylivin.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/super-delicious-atlantic-salmon/
Delicious! I made it tonight and used leftover chicken from Lisa’s crockpot chicken recipe. Served it with rice on tortillas with a little cheese and sour cream. Thanks for a quick and easy weeknight meal that tastes great!
Yay! So glad that you loved it.
I really appreciate this recipe. I work really hard to have ingredients on hand to make quick meals. Sometimes it’s just not possible to keep up or replace used items in the freezer in a timely manner. I love the idea of having canned chicken to throw something together fast.
We all need easy go-to meals here and there. Canned chicken is so versatile; hope you get to try this!
Please don’t kill me, my girlfriend made a blog about her everyday problems while becoming vegan and trying to stay active via workouts. She doesn’t really get any comments or like/shares so i’m trying to make commercial for her without her knowing it.
http://healthysmartprincess.com/2016/11/13/fitness-routine-every-little-counts/ Please be nice and read, maybe you like it. Or share it?!