Salsa Verde Chicken and Rice with veggies cook together in a foil packet—no pre-cooking needed! Ready in 10 minutes with bold Mexican flavor.
Foil Pack Salsa Verde Chicken And Rice
How fun is this dinner?! Chicken, rice, and veggies all cook in one flavorful foil packet. BAM—dinner’s ready with barely any prep for delicious salsa verde chicken and rice!
Lately, I’m all about tin foil dinners, and I hope you are too because I’ve got two more coming soon! We may or may not have been eating them non-stop for weeks. Though, to be fair, not every meal has been straight from the foil—I’ve been getting creative, like turning the fillings into TACOS. So easy, so good!
Ingredients
- Instant White Rice & Water: Let the rice sit in water for 5 mins before baking so it cooks evenly. Perfect for salsa verde chicken and rice.
- Chicken Breasts: Pound to ½-inch thick so it cooks faster and more evenly, ensuring great chicken and rice.
- Spices: Coat the chicken well so every bite is flavorful.
- Cream Cheese: Slice and place on top so it melts over everything while cooking.
- Salsa Verde: Pour over the chicken before sealing the foil so the flavor spreads.
- Roasted Corn & Black Beans: Drain the beans well so the packets don’t get too watery.
- Pepper Jack Cheese: Add after baking for the best melt.
Salsa Verde Chicken And Rice Tips
- #1 Tip: Trim and pound chicken to ½ inch thick and 7 ounces for even cooking. This helps with making great salsa verde chicken and rice.
- Seal the foil tightly to trap juices, keeping the chicken moist. Loose seals lead to dry chicken.
- Prevent mess: Place a sheet of foil over a pan before baking to catch any leaks—easy cleanup!
- Grease the foil well with nonstick spray to keep the rice from sticking.
- Mix everything after baking to soak up all the juices. Use a fork to spread the cream cheese so it melts evenly.
- Use heavy-duty foil to prevent tearing and leaks.
- Place the oven rack in the middle for even cooking.
- Toppings make it even better! Don’t skip melty pepper jack cheese. Add cilantro, lime, avocado, sour cream, or extra salsa verde for more flavor in your salsa verde chicken and rice.
More Foil Pack Meals
- Hobo Foil Packets with sausage
- Tin Foil Jambalaya with rice
- Shrimp Foil Packets with fast cleanup
- Baked Potato Foil Packs hearty and filling
- Sausage and Potato Foil Packs super simple
Foil Pack: Salsa Verde Chicken & Rice
Salsa Verde Chicken and Rice cook up in a quick foil packet—no pre-cooking, just bold Mexican flavor!
Equipment
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 cup instant white rice
- 1-1/2 cups water
- 2 (7 ounce) large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/8 teaspoon paprika optional
- 1 ounce cream cheese full-fat
- 6 tablespoons salsa verde
- 1/2 cup roasted corn
- 1/2 cup black beans
- 1/2 cup pepperjack cheese
- Serving suggestions see note 1
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Generously grease 2 large sheets of heavy duty foil with cooking spray.
- Weigh your chicken to get two 7-ounce pieces. Pound or slice the pieces to 1/2-inch thickness.
- Toss together the instant rice and water and let stand for 5 minutes.
- In a bowl, toss together all the seasonings: cumin, garlic powder, salt, pepper, chili powder, and paprika. Dredge each chicken breast evenly in the seasonings (both sides).
- Divide the rice and water mixture evenly between the 2 foil packets. Place the seasoned chicken on top.
- Slice the cream cheese into 4 equal pieces and place 2 pieces on top of each chicken breast.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of salsa verde on top of each chicken breast.
- Put 1/4 cup corn and 1/4 cup black beans next to each chicken breast. If desired, add a few pieces of thinly sliced red pepper to each packet.
- Seal the packet, allowing for expansion and making sure it is 100% sealed.
- Bake for 30–50 minutes (see note 2) or until the chicken is completely cooked through (registers 165°F).
- Mix everything around in your foil pack and top each with pepperjack cheese.
- Add other optional toppings as desired.
- To Grill: Preheat grill to medium-high heat and allow to heat for 10–15 minutes. Place completely sealed foil packets on grill for 25–35 minutes (or until chicken registers 165°F) flipping once at about 10–15 minutes.
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Serving suggestions: roasted green chiles, lime, cilantro, sour cream, and red bell pepper.
Note 2: Be prepared to be flexible on timing as it could be anywhere from 30–50 minutes depending on the heat of your oven and size of your chicken. My best recommendation is to make sure your chicken is pounded to 1/2-inch thick and exactly 7 ounces. In my oven with a 7 ounce chicken breast, it was cooked through at 37 minutes.
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave until warmed through, adding a splash of broth if needed.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 626kcal | Carbohydrates: 47.8g | Protein: 59.5g | Fat: 20.7g | Cholesterol: 187.1mg | Sodium: 824.1mg | Fiber: 5.7g | Sugar: 4.7g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What are the nutrtion facts for the dish??
Hi Melanie! Just added the nutrition label to this recipe for you. Right at the end of the post 🙂
Hi, Chelsea! I made these for dinner last week and it was one of our favorite meals I’ve made! One question. I had a hard time keeping the juices and everything in while sealing the packets. Do I pour the excess water from the rice in? They seemed a little runny but great overall when they were done. Just wondering if you have a tip for sealing without the water going everywhere!
Hi Andrea! I am so thrilled to hear that! It’s been one of our favorites as of late too 🙂 You do pour the excess water from the rice in but there shouldn’t be too much extra left. For keeping it all in, a few tips: get a super large piece of foil and try folding up all four sides of the foil before adding anything in. Create almost like a bowl with the foil and that should help in keeping everything together 🙂
Can this be cooked on a grill?
Yes absolutely! 🙂
Any idea if this could be assembled and then put into the crock pot on low?
Thanks, Mary
Sorry Mary I’ve never tried a tin foil dinner in the crockpot so I really have no idea how long to recommend it be cooked and how well it would work out. Wish I could be of more help!
Hey I seen a recipe where you can make this up in the foil, put them in a slow cooker and cook for 4-6 hours on low. Haven’t tried but I’m gonna. Let me know if anyone has tried this. Thanks
Making these tonight! I already messed up several steps (forgot to grease the foil and put the cheese on before baking – oops!)
I’m still optimistic.
Thanks for the recipe!
You are so welcome Rachel! I hope you loved it 🙂
Could you use regular salsa instead of the salsa verde??
Absolutely 🙂
*** instant rice. Can’t I use regular rice? Or brown rice? It’s 2016 who uses instant rice anymore?
Regular rice does not cook in the right amount of time as everything else. If you’d like you can cook the rice separately
Do you think these could be frozen and cooked from the freezer?
i know when you type with CAPS you’re yelling–how bout we use italics when were just being rude?
maybe those that go camping-….use minute rice. plus its all bout everything being done at once….but you go ahead and use your regular/brown rice and let me know how it works for you…
Does it have to be minute rice ??
Yes it does for it to cook correctly
I used the brown Microwaveable rice from Traders Joes – It worked perfectly
I realize this comment is old but if using TJ rice did you put it in frozen or cooked and did you add liquid to the foil pack? I can’t get them rice water ratio right inside the packs and would love to use TJ rice. TIA!!
These look delicious! Have you tried on the grill? I’m thinking this would be fantastic for family dinner at our lake cottage!
Yes, check step 15 for grill instructions. Enjoy Beth! 🙂
Love these foil packs I cook mine in the oven, but I double layer the foil and you do all kinds of different veggies, I like corn on the cob, squash, zucchini, quartered red potatoes. You add shrimp later about 15 minutes before this gets ready to come out of the oven. I have chicken spice that’s a generic I found at a food land, i put in a baggie and shake it up with chicken. I have also done boneless pork chops with red potatoes, onion slices, squash, asparagus, I just mixed up a variety of spices in my cabinet put on top and they melted in our mouths they were so good. My hubby doesn’t normally like veggies unless it’s beans and cornbread, we’re from the south. But he lives these.
This looks so so good!! All those tasty Mexican flavors smothered in cheese! YUM! I’ve never cooked in foil packs before, I’ll have to try it out!
Thank you so much Alaina! 🙂 I love cooking in foil packs, so much fun! 🙂