One-Pot Chicken with Black Beans, Rice and Chiles

If you tend to follow a recipe to a t for predictable results, especially in uncertain times, this one is for you. This recipe shows you how to cook a one-pot chicken with black beans, rice and chiles. In her new book, “From the Oven to the Table,” Diana Henry delivers a one-pot chicken dish that I’ve seen repeatedly on the internet. However, when the New York Times writes about it, I have to give it more than a passing look.

I’d have cooked the chicken thighs, black beans and rice, separately, in three individual pots, not one. That’s because I am most familiar with roasting chicken in the oven, simmering beans slowly in a small pot and pressing go with the rice cooker. These are my mindless and default modes until now. At the same time, very few recipes demonstrate successfully how to simplify a congruent three-parts cooking. Surely, there is no hiding when they don’t deliver.

If you’re buying into the process of this one-pot recipe, there are a few guidelines to keep in mind. First and foremost, you need a 12-inch ovenproof skillet — nothing smaller. For chicken, you need bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. For black beans, they come from a can. (Or you might cook the black beans beforehand.) Furthermore, rice means white basmati rice. I was tempted to use brown rice, but refrained from doing so because that’d throw off the carefully calibrated cooking time in the recipe. Finally, measure all the ingredients accurately.

One-pot cooking or not, flavor is still key. To bring together all the components, the recipe calls for the warm spices of cumin and cinnamon, garlic, bell pepper, chiles and tomatoes for a boost of flavor. In the end, the extended baking time in the oven does the trick. The pot goes into the oven with liquid over the beans and rice surfing in a pond of stock. Some time later, it leaves the oven topped with a golden saucey glaze which makes you hungry.

I made the mistake of not submerging the rice in the liquid completely, hence some of the rice still tasted crunchy. I do it the second time and verify that the recipe works well as is. I have a new appreciation for uncomplicated one-pot chicken dishes for a weekday meal.

Print Recipe

One-Pot Chicken Thighs with Black Beans, Rice and Chiles

Serves: 4-6

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• Flaky sea salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or peanut oil
• 1 large yellow or white onion, chopped
• 2 green or red bell peppers, halved, seeded and sliced
• 2 ½ cups chicken stock
• 2 red Fresno chiles or jalapeños, halved, seeded and chopped
• 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick, broken in half
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed
• ⅓ pound cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup basmati rice, rinsed in a sieve until the water runs clear
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
• Lime wedges, pickled chiles, sliced fresh chiles, sour cream and sliced avocado, for serving

Instructions

1

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet (the pan size is very important) over medium-high. Brown the chicken on both sides to give it good color, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Add the onion and bell peppers to the pan and sauté until just starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

2

In a small saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Meanwhile, add the Fresno chiles or jalapeños, cinnamon, garlic and cumin to the skillet and cook for about 2 minutes, then add the black beans and cherry tomatoes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the rice on top in an even layer. (It’s important that the black beans are beneath the rice and chicken. The rice will burn otherwise.) Add the stock and return the chicken to the pan, skin-side up.

3

Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes. The chicken should be lovely and golden, the stock should be absorbed and the rice should be tender. Sprinkle with the cilantro. Serve with lime wedges, pickled chiles, sliced fresh chiles, sour cream and avocado (squeeze some lime juice over the avocados in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper).

Notes

Adapted from Diane Henry's From the Oven to the Table