Cheesy chicken and rice skillet
36 min · 53 g protein · 499 cals / serving
Smoky paprika chicken browned in the pan, then rice toasted in the drippings and simmered in broth with onion, garlic and red pepper until fluffy. Broccoli steams on top, cottage cheese blended smooth melts into the rice like a cheese sauce, and sharp cheddar goes over the top until it is gooey and stretchy. All the comfort of a cheesy casserole, in one pan.
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 lb chicken breast, in 2 cm (3/4-inch) cubes
- 1 tsp paprika, smoked if you have it
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2/3 cup jasmine rice, long-grain, rinsed
- 1 2/3 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- 4 cups small florets broccoli
- 1 1/4 cups cottage cheese (1%), blended smooth
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, extra-sharp
To serve
- 2 green onions, sliced
Steps
- Toss the chicken with the paprika, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet with a lid over medium-high heat and brown the chicken 4–5 minutes, turning, until golden on most sides (it finishes cooking later). Move it to a plate.
- Add the onion and pepper to the pan and cook 2 minutes, then the garlic and rice, and stir 1–2 minutes until the rice turns translucent at the edges and smells toasty.
- Pour in the broth, scrape up the browned bits and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and simmer on low for 10 minutes.
- Scatter the broccoli and the browned chicken with its juices over the top without stirring, cover again and cook 6–7 minutes more, until the rice is tender, the liquid absorbed, the broccoli bright and tender and the chicken cooked through (165°F).
- Turn off the heat. Stir the blended cottage cheese through the rice until it melts into a creamy sauce, then scatter the cheddar over the top, cover for 2 minutes until melted (or slide under the broiler until bubbling and browned). Finish with scallions.
Good to know
Cottage cheese? Really?
Blended smooth and stirred into hot rice it melts into a creamy, mild cheese sauce; nobody can tell it is there, they just notice the rice is creamier. Light cream cheese, about half as much, does a similar job if you prefer, at a score of about 54 instead of 66.
My rice is still firm.
Pans and stoves differ. Add 3–4 tbsp hot water, cover and give it 3 more minutes on low. Brown or quick-cooking rice need different times; this is written for ordinary long-grain white.
Swap the cheese?
Pepper jack makes it spicier, a Tex-Mex blend with a spoon of salsa makes it a burrito bowl, and a little parmesan with mozzarella makes it Italian.
Per
- Calories
- 108
- Protein
- (44%)
- 11 g
- Fat
- (22%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (34%)
- 9 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 295 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1996 kcal goes into the pot and 2175 g of ingredients comes out as about 1855 g of food: 108 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.