This Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe is a remake of the Mexican restaurant classic dish. This version packs in all the same vibrant flavors, but also boasts tons of fiber from vegetables and whole grains.
Recently a friend was looking for some super simple, healthy recipes, and asked me for recommendations. I looked through my blog and although my recipes are not difficult, most of them require more than 1 pan, and because I use so much produce, they often require quite a bit of washing and chopping.
The truth is, on most nights, the meals we have at home are very simple and don’t require very much prep. I put recipes on the blog that are a little more creative, and use a variety of colorful produce because they look good in photos.
It did make me think about how creative, flavorful meals don’t really need to be a ton of work. Especially when using a slow cooker.
The Moroccan Pumpkin Chicken I posted a few weeks back is one of our favorite recipes this year (and I’ve heard back from several reader’s they’ve made it multiple times because their families are loving it!), and it’s a very simple process. Still full of veggies, but making the chicken takes less than 20 minutes of actual hands-on time, and then the slow cooker does it’s magic in bringing out all the amazing flavors.
Working from home sounds like the ideal way to be more productive in both work and home life. I am strugging to prove that! What I am realizing is making food and beverages takes up a lot of my work day. When I worked out of the home, I would prepare my coffee, snacks and lunch for the day, and then while at work, all I had to do was pull something out of the fridge by my desk and eat (or drink). I typically eat while I am working (bad, I know!), because I’d rather go for a walk or go to a yoga class when I take an actual break.
I’m not about to trade in my salads and soups for instant noodles just to save time. What I can do is be more strategic. I need to wrap my brain around this work-from-home thing, and start to structure my days more similarly to how I would if I was still working out of the home. I need to prepare my breakfasts ahead of time (oh hello, chia breakfast pudding!). I am sure this pre-planning will also help me avoid eating cookies for breakfasts and snacks, like I have started doing again lately, for the sake of saving time making a real meal.
I have always loved saucy rice dishes, but have never made rice in a slow cooker before. We have been obsessed with my Slow Cooker Moroccan Pumpkin Chicken, and I knew a spin off on that would make a really tasty chicken and brown rice recipe. I thought I would add tons of Mexican spices, like my favorite Chicken Enchilada Soup recipe.
What I ended up with was a simple, healthy, giant pot of tender chicken chunks, chewy whole grain rice, and veggies, that was enough for dinner plus several lunches. And minimal prep and clean up. That’s key.
This chicken and brown rice recipe is so simple to put together – chop an onion, brown with the chicken in a little olive oil, and dump into your slow cooker with tons of spices, tomatoes, tomato paste and vegetable bouillon. A couple of hours later, add some chopped veggies, brown rice, and olives. Right before serving, top with cheese and more olives, and garnish with avocado, cilantro, or any other Mexican toppings to serve.
Serve dinner to a happy family, knowing you’re providing a healthy, balanced meal, without a sink full of dishes in the kitchen.
Contents
Tips for Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken and Brown Rice
- Make it Paleo/Whole30:Â I often use cauliflower rice in place of grain. This dish uses whole grain rice and cauliflower rice, but if you are following the Whole30 or a Paleo diet, simply use 2 times (4 cups) the amount of cauliflower rice, and up the amount of chicken to 2 pounds. Omit the brown rice and start with only 2 1/2 cups of water- add more to reach desired consistency. The coconut sugar (only 1 teaspoon) is Paleo friendly, but needs to be omitted for Whole30. I haven’t used this version in a crockpot yet, but have made this on the stovetop. You might need to adjust the cooking time after adding the cauliflower rice.
- Make it Dairy Free:Â Omit the cheese topping and add extra avocado or cilantro to up the flavor. The cheese really isn’t necessary, but we enjoy it once in a while.
- Up the Protein: Follow the directions for making this a Paleo/Whole30 dish!
- For the Family:Â This recipe is mildly spicy, and is a favorite with kids. It’s actually a perfect way to sneak extra veggies into your family’s diets, because they are all cooked right into the rice.
Other Crockpot Chicken Recipes:
- Crockpot Moroccan Pumpkin Chicken, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Crockpot Chicken Sausage Spaghetti Sauce, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Crockpot Chicken Gumbo, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Crockpot Enchilada Chicken, by Sunkissed Kitchen
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Crockpot Mexican Chicken and Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts cut into chunks
- 1 cup brown rice uncooked
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 bell peppers diced
- 1 15-ounce can black olives sliced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or more, to taste
- 4 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded, optional
- clantro and avocado to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Into the crockpot, add the cut chicken, brown rice, onions, bell peppers, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, spices and salt. Slow cook on low for about 3 hours (until the chicken is very tender).
- Mix the dish well. Add shredded cheese to the top of the chicken and rice mixture. Add the lid back onto the crockpot for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted.
- Add the toppings either to the whole dish if serving right away, or add toppings to individual servings.
Notes
How to Store Leftover Mexican Chicken and Rice
Once the chicken and brown rice has cooled, add it to airtight containers and refrigerate it for up to 4 days. Reheat it in a saucepan on the stovetop with a little extra chicken broth until simmering. Freeze it: Freeze the leftovers in individual portions! I do this and it’s amazing to have meals ready to go for my lunches. Allow it to thaw long enough to take it out of the container, and reheat it in a saucepan with a little water and a lid over low heat. Fresh toppings will make it taste fresh again!Tips for Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken and Brown Rice
Make it Paleo/Whole30: I often use cauliflower rice in place of grain. This dish uses whole grain rice, but if you are following the Whole30 or a Paleo diet, it can be omitted.- Omit the brown rice & cheese.
- Up the amount of chicken to 2 pounds. Reduce the chicken broth to 2 1/2 cups.
- When there is about 1 hour left of cooking time, add in 4 cups of cauliflower rice.
- If the mixture is too watery
This sounds like the perfect dish for cold winter nights.
Yes, exactly!
OMG, this sounds amazing. I LOVE slow cooker dishes and Mexican food is a staple in my house. And I really enjoy the idea of sneaking some extra veggies into my guys’ diets. Thanks for sharing!
No kidding– extra veggies is always a good thing. This is a great combo for kids because they really need the carbs from the brown rice, but veggies are important, too 🙂 Slow cooker meals really are great for when you have kids at home because they are so hands-off.
I love slow cooker meals too, and this Mexican recipe looks delicious. I’m not familiar with the dish as we don’t have many Mexican places here but loving all the flavours!
What a fabulous recipe! and so healthy too yet so much flavour in there. I will be trying this one in my slow cooker for sure
Great Jayne 🙂 Yes, I think I will be making this again this week. We really enjoyed it!
This looks like a great meal! And I love that it’s made in the crock pot. I bet I could leave the chicken out to make it vegetarian and it would still be great!
Yes, you certainly could! You could sub beans too, and just cut the cooking time in half 🙂
This looks like the perfect winter meal!I am trying to add more whole grains into my family’s diet, I will definitely be trying this.
A slow cooker makes meat especially tasty and tender. This dish looks packed full of flavour. yummy!
This one looks like a perfect weeknight dinner! Love that you are including a nutritional information 🙂
That looks like a keeper! I can taste it now… Thanks for making my life easier and tastier!
I love slow cooker recipes but have never tried mexican rice !! Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to try this!
This sounds perfect for today’s lunch! Thank you!
My pleasure! Ooh, this dish is so good– and perfect for the summer because crockpots don’t heat up your house! Win Win.
As a new owner of a slowcooker looking for recipes, this looks great. One question; I would like to omit the cauliflower ‘rice’. Should I alter something else in the recipe because of this? For it will surely do something to the consistancy, leaving those 2 cups out, I imagine
Hi Linda! You can just omit the cauliflower rice! I use it to bulk it up and add more veggies, but the dish will cook fine without it.
We LOVE this simple method – soul satisfying meal!