Cuban-Style Pollo a la Plancha
Chicken with White Rice, Black Beans & Cilantro
Inspired by members of our own HelloFresh community, we’re proud to share this delicious limited-time dish in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. You’ll marinate chicken in a bright, sunny blend of fresh-squeezed lime and orange juice while black beans simmer with green pepper, garlic, and cumin. Sear the chicken along with sweet onion wedges to golden brown perfection, and serve atop fluffy rice along with black beans and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro and final squeeze of lime.
Ingredients
3 unit
Lime
1 unit
Orange
6 clove
Garlic
10 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
2 teaspoon
Cumin
2 teaspoon
Dried Oregano
¾ cup
Jasmine Rice
1 unit
Bell Pepper
1 unit
Yellow Onion
¼ ounce
Cilantro
1 unit
Black Beans
5 teaspoon
Red Wine Vinegar
1 tablespoon
Fry Seasoning
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
2 teaspoon
Cooking Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry produce. • Quarter one lime (two limes for 4 servings) and set aside for serving; halve and juice remaining limes into a large bowl. Halve and juice orange into bowl with lime juice. Peel and grate garlic; add to same bowl and whisk to combine. • Pat chicken* dry with paper towels; place between two large pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with a mallet or rolling pin until chicken is about ½ inch thick. Season all over with half the cumin, half the oregano, salt, and pepper. TIP: Press to adhere seasoning to chicken. • Add chicken to bowl with citrus marinade and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to marinate. TIP: Wash your cutting board now or use a second one to finish prep in Step 3!
• In a small pot, combine rice, 1¼ cups water (2¼ cups for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
• While rice cooks, halve, core, and finely dice bell pepper. Halve, peel, and finely dice half the onion; cut remaining onion into ½-inch wedges. Mince cilantro.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a second small pot over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and diced onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5-7 minutes. • Add beans and their liquid, half the vinegar (all for 4 servings), and ½ cup water (1⁄3 cup for 4). Season with Fry Seasoning, garlic powder, remaining cumin, remaining oregano, 1 tsp salt (2 tsp for 4), and pepper. • Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 3-5 minutes. Stir in half the cilantro. Remove from heat and keep covered until ready to serve.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over high heat. Add chicken (letting any excess marinade drip off first) and onion wedges; cook until chicken is browned on one side and onion is softened, 3-5 minutes. • Reduce heat to medium-high and flip chicken; cook until chicken is cooked through and onion is browned, 3-5 minutes more. TIP: Be sure to turn onion occasionally using tongs while chicken cooks. If onion is done before chicken, transfer to a plate. • Transfer chicken to a cutting board; let rest 1-2 minutes.
• Slice chicken crosswise. • Fluff rice with a fork; divide rice and chicken between shallow bowls. Spoon beans over rice; top chicken with onion wedges. Garnish with remaining cilantro. Serve with lime wedges on the side.
Chicken is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the citrus-marinated chicken, but some found the beans and overall dish bland despite the spices.
- Ease of prep: Several noted it was time-consuming with multiple pots and steps; consider marinating chicken earlier for better results.
- Suggestions: Add a sauce, guacamole, or sour cream to enhance moisture and flavor; consider reducing bean portion.
- Leftovers: Some found it made generous portions with good leftovers; others felt the rice and beans overwhelmed the dish.
- Authenticity: Cuban customers had mixed reactions; some praised its authenticity while others felt it missed the mark.
Reviews from our home cooks
AMAZING!!! I'm Cuban and I can say this definitely hit the spot and definitely has that authentic Cuban taste. I really hope this sticks around because this was one of my all time favorite dishes (and that's coming from a Cuban!) So tasty and delicious
LOVED the marinated chicken. SOOOO good!! And the beans! Wow! My husband is Cuban and he asked how a gringa could make such authentic beans. Thank you for a great meal.
This was probably our favorite among all the Latino meals offered--the marinade made the chicken amazing, and the rice and beans were delicious!
Of all of the Latino recipes Hello Fresh featured, this was tied for best with the Lomo Saltado (which we're having again next week!). This meal had great flavors, wasn't all that hard to make, and even makes for yummy leftovers!
As a Cuban, it is very tasty. Portion is huge once you add the beans.
I marinated the chicken for a couple hours and it was so tender and juicy. The only downside is that the beans didn't thicken. But the flavor was insane!
Good meal. Balanced ingredients - starch, protein, vegetables. And the portions were great, too. Loved the taste although I did end up hitting my dish with some chile sauce for spiciness. I'm also learning that with our altitude (7k feet) that water amounts definitely need to be increased for rice and cooking times extended by about 25%.
This could've used more spice. Really good but a bit bland for being a Cuban dish.
It was okay, the chicken is great!! But the beans took much longer to thicken than the recipe says, I should have started those first. Also, the bean portion is huge compared to the chicken, it kind of overwhelms the dish.
I think it needed more onion. Maybe a shallot with the beans, and a whole onion with the chicken. Otherwise very good.
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