Enchilada Rice Skillet (One Pot)

My love for one pot meals runs deep and today, I’m sharing my newest one pot creation – a Cheesy Enchilada Rice Skillet. As someone who loves to make delicious meals, but dreads the pile of dishes afterward, this one pot skillet is perfect for busier evenings. It’s super easy to make, sneaks in lots of fresh veggies and has minimal cleanup!

Our One Pot Cheesy Enchilada Rice Skillet is loaded with rice, seasoned ground turkey and lots of fresh veggies that all simmer together in a single skillet, promising not only a satisfied appetite, but also the joy of minimal cleanup. Let’s dive into this delicious recipe that proves cooking can be both delicious, nutritious and efficient!

INGREDIENTS

Before we start cooking, let’s gather the ingredients. Cutting the bell pepper, onion and spinach is really all the prep work there is. The rest is super simple. We’re using ground turkey, crisp bell peppers, fresh spinach, sweet corn, and onion that all simmer in a flavorful enchilada sauce. And let’s not forget the best part – a generous blanket of melted cheese that ties it all together!

Here’s everything you’ll need for this Enchilada Rice Skillet:

• Ground turkey – You can use either ground turkey or a lean ground beef. I use ground turkey in mine.
• Bell pepper – A fresh vegetable that works well in this skillet. Any color works, but I typically go with red.
• Onion – Another veggie that compliments this skillet.
• Garlic – This helps elevate all the flavors.
• Seasonings – I’m using my favorites in this recipe – cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle chili powder and salt. I love this combination of seasonings so much.
• Rice – White rice works best. If you prefer brown, you may have to adjust the cooking time, so just be sure to check the cooking instructions on the package.
• Chicken broth – Adds flavor to the rice while it cooks.
• Enchilada sauce – This is what everything simmers in, a mix of broth and enchilada sauce. I use a green enchilada sauce in mine, because that’s my personal favorite, but you could use red too.
• Corn – Fresh (cooked), frozen or canned all work in this. I just happened to have roasted some corn a couple days earlier, so I threw it in this and it was delicious! If you have the extra time to cook or roast some fresh corn, I recommend it, but frozen or canned are perfectly fine too.
• Fresh spinach – Spinach has so many great health benefits, so I love to throw it in my recipes wherever possible. I throw in about 1-2 cups of chopped baby spinach and let the heat wilt it a bit. It doesn’t really taste like much and it’s a great way to sneak in a nutritious leafy green veggie. (If spinach isn’t your thing, you could always leave it out.)
• Shredded cheese – Cheddar, Monterey jack, pepper jack or a Mexican-blend all work great on this.

VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

First, make sure all your veggies are prepped. Dice the bell pepper and onion, and roughly chop the spinach into smaller pieces.

In a large skillet over medium heat, add your cooking oil and then the chopped bell pepper and onion. Cook these for about 2-3 minutes, or until they start to soften.

Once those are done, just push them to the side of the pan and add the ground turkey. Break it up and cook until it’s no longer pink. (Technically, you could cook the bell pepper, onion and ground turkey all at the same time, but I prefer doing it separately to make sure the meat gets cooked properly and all the way through. That’s just me though! I have a slightly weird fear of eating undercooked meat that’s probably not normal lol.)

Once the turkey is fully cooked, add the garlic and seasonings to the pan. Mix everything well and cook for another minute or so.

Next, add the uncooked rice, chicken broth, enchilada sauce and corn to the skillet. Stir well, turn heat up a little and bring to a boil.

Once it starts to boil, cover the skillet, turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, lift the lid, gently stir everything and recover. Simmer for another 15 minutes. (This will help ensure the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.)

When rice is done, remove the lid and add the spinach. Gently fold the spinach into the rice mix. Sprinkle the cheese on top and cover for another five minutes, to let the cheese melt.

Uncover and enjoy! A squeeze of lime and fresh cilantro work great as toppings on this.

TIPS & NOTES

I know this is uncommon, but I like to stir my rice halfway through the cooking time. Every stove can be slightly different and this helps to minimize any risk of the rice sticking to the bottom.

This recipe is already pretty quick to make, but if you want to save even more time, you can always cut the bell pepper, onion and spinach the day before and just store in airtight containers in the fridge.

This skillet is great as is, but a fresh squeeze of lime, cilantro and sour cream all make tasty additional toppings.

This simple enchilada rice skillet makes great leftovers! Just place anything left in an airtight container and it will last for about 3-5 days in the fridge.

If you love one pot meals as much as I do, check out my One Pot Creamy Garlic Pasta. It’s one of the quickest and easiest recipes if you’re short on time, but still want a flavorful meal.

If you make this, please help me out by quickly giving it a rating below! Your ratings and comments help so much. Thank you!

<3 Meghan | Electric Mommy