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.
Hi if this is a duplicate I apologize. I’m looking for the nutritional information on this recipe please. I see where you said you added it at the end of the recipe but I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find it. TIA
I just added them! Thanks Carla! 🙂
These taste exactly like Chipotle but even better. We ate these this week and I’m making them again as we speak. Seriously my mouth waters just thinking about them. Thank you for sharing!!!!
Ahh I am thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much Jamie! 🙂
This is an amazing and simple dinner. I made this two weeks ago and it back on my list for Sunday. The flavors are so good and the chicken is tender. Absolute best!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear Sara! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Loved it so easy too!
Thanks Heidi! 🙂
I made this tonight for dinner. Used salsa I had on hand. Frozen corn. Costco chicken tenderloins (frozen, but I thawed them in the fridge first). Cooked regular rice in the microwave (about 1 cup of rice and 1 1/4 cups water for about 7 mins) and then added it. Topped with avocado and LOVED IT!!! Delicious and easy. Thank you!!
I am so happy to hear this! Way to work with what you had! Sounds delicious, thanks for your comment! 🙂
Is the 1 ounce of full fat cream cheese necessary in this recipe? I always use plain nonfat Greek yogurt in place of cream cheese in recipes, but I am thinking that would not work in this recipe. So, I am wondering if I could leave the cream cheese ingredient out and still have the recipe turn out good. Thank you.
Is the 1 ounce of full fat cream cheese absolutely necessary in this recipe? I always use plain nonfat Greek yogurt in place of cream cheese in recipes, but I am thinking that would not work in this recipe. So, I am wondering if I could leave the cream cheese ingredient out and still have the recipe turn out good. Thank you.
You can leave it out, but it will taste different for sure! I don’t think the Greek yogurt would work either. You could use Neufchâtel cheese instead
Do you think it would work to instead add an additional tablespoon of salsa verde to each chicken and a half teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) to each chicken?
Leaving out the cheese won’t make the dish not work, it just won’t have the same flavor and creaminess. If you leave it out, you don’t need to change anything else unless you’d like to.
Don’t have instant rice, if I make the rice separate, will the foil packet still turn out the same, without the added moisture from the water and rice?
I haven’t made it without the rice and water, so I’m not entirely sure, but I think it should be okay without it!
I have made these once before and they were absolutely amazing. However, with the size of my family foil pack dinners are just not a convenient option for me. It’s so time consuming. I’m also not sure we’d love them as much in your taco idea as we do this version. Have you tried doing a version that was like a bake for multiple people at one time? Do think this would even be possible?
So happy you’ve enjoyed the recipe! I totally get what you’re thinking, and I’m sure a bake of this recipe would be delicious. I can’t give exact recommendations without personally testing, but I would think if you complied it all together in a 9 x 13 pan and baked until chicken was cooked through it would be great!
Ahh I was wondering how you cooked the rice in the foil packs! I can’t wait to try and add some instant rice to some foil packs for our next camping trip!
You’ll love it! It’s sooo simple! Thanks! 🙂