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.
This was delicious. Can I get the nutrition facts. I didn’t see them on the post. Unless I am missing something 🙂
Hi Jenn! Unfortunately I don’t have nutrition facts on all of my recipes (yet!) so I’d recommend using My Fitness Pal in the meantime! 🙂
Made this recipe and it is delicious. Cut back on the rub for the chicken but that was my choice. Added a little seasonings/my choices to black beans. Everything tasted delicious, quick, no big clean up. Great recipe! Thanks, Chelsea.
So thrilled you enjoyed these foil packs Helen! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Delicious, easy, & so full of flavor Thank you for sharing this!
I’m so happy you liked this dish 🙂 Thanks for the comment Susannah!
Made this tonight for supper. Family really liked it. Will definitely make again. I used a covered stoneware baking dish instead of foil & cooked rice separately.
So happy to hear that! Thank you so much for the comment 🙂
Do you cook the rice before putting it in the foil?
Nope 🙂 Just make sure you get minute rice and soak it; it will cook in the foil!
What should the oven temp be to bake these foil dinners
400 degrees F 🙂
We had a dinner party last night st a friends house and it was my turn to cook. I prepped 4 of these babies, brought them over and popped them in their oven. DELISH. Turned out fantastic! Everyone loved it. So easy and mess free.
That is so great to hear!! I’m thrilled these were a hit 🙂
This was delicious! So easy and flavorful. I took it to a friend who just had a baby!
So happy to hear that this was enjoyed! And what a sweet friend you are! Thanks for the comment April 🙂
Made this tonight! It was delicious but I get zero points for presentation after dumping everything out of the foil packs and onto a plate ? My chicken was bigger and 40 minutes was perfect! Yum! PS I used frozen sweet corn instead because that’s what was in my fridge.
This was my very first time preparing a foil packet dinner…and it most definitely will not be my last! I was a bit distracted during the prep and am pretty sure I left out the chili powder, but even still, it was absolutely delicious!! Thanks for a great recipe and for the extra tips, which I found very helpful!!! ?