This easy Mexican Skillet meal with brown rice, bell peppers, black beans, corn, and spices is easy to throw together, filling, and a satisfying one pan meal. Serve it as a main dish, hearty side dish, or even as a filling for tacos or burritos.
One dish meals are just the best. Since I can be a disaster in the kitchen when it comes to using way more dishes than necessary, scaling back to making everything in one dish is a welcome reprieve from the mountain of dishes I normally stare at when I am finished cooking. Knowing that, when I started thinking about this recipe as a new meatless option, I couldn't wait to try it. Hearty brown rice, bell peppers, diced tomatoes, corn, and some Mexican spices come together for a delicious and satisfying dish.
One important note about the recipe, make sure to pay attention to what kind of rice you are using and adjust accordingly. I used uncooked, raw brown rice from the bulk bins which takes about 4 cups of broth per 1 cup of rice and cooks in 30-40 minutes. If you use a quick rice, you will need less broth and it will cook more quickly. Some other rice may take longer. Just adjust based on the cooking instructions included with the rice package.
Recipe Ideas and Tips
This recipe should serve as a blueprint to make all kins of Mexican casserole-style dishes.
- Instead of rice, make this with another whole grain like quinoa, farro, or barley. Just adjust the amount of liquid and cooking time to match that grain.
- If you are in a rush, you can make this with store bought taco seasoning instead of making your own.
- For more spice, use salsa or diced tomatoes with green chilies in place of the fire roasted tomatoes. You could also use green salsa to switch up the flavor even more.
- Exchange the black beans for pinto beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, or a mix.
- If you need to speed up the cooking process, consider using quick-cooking rice and frozen presliced peppers and onions.
- If you want to add some extra protein to this dish, consider starting the dish with some ground chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef. You could also fold in some cooked chicken.
- For a vegan option, leave off the cheese or use a vegan cheese.
What to Serve with Mexican Rice Casserole
While this is a complete meal on its own, you may want to add something on the side.
- Serve this with a green salad with Mexican flavors by using a cilantro salad dressing or a spicy vinaigrette.
- Add some guacamole on the side for healthy fats and a cooling element.
- This can easily be turned into tacos or burritos with some corn or flour tortillas. You could also serve it in lettuce wraps.
- Turn this into a salad by piling it on top of a bed of crunchy Romaine lettuce.
Can I add protein?
This Mexican skillet dish works great with added protein. You can either add a protein at the start by browning some ground meat with the peppers and onions. You could also add some cooked rotisserie chicken, leftover cooked steak, or cooked shrimp. If you want to add vegetarian protein, consider adding some vegetarian crumbles, soyrizo, or tempeh.
Can I make this with white rice?
This works with white rice, brown rice, or quinoa. You just have to adjust the cooking time and amount of liquid to match the rice or grain you are cooking. You can always add a touch more liquid while it cooks if the liquid is being absorbed too quickly.
How to make this with instant or quick cooking rice?
This will also work with instant rice to speed up preparation and cooking time. You will need about half as much liquid if you make it with instant or quick cooking rice.
More Mexican Skillet Meals
- Mexican Shrimp Skillet
- Turkey Taco and Cauliflower Rice Skillet
- Mexican Taco Casserole
- One Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls