Fajita-Spiced Chicken & Black Bean Bowls
with Dark Meat Chicken, Cotija Cheese & Lime Crema
- Milk
Mexican-style rice bowls are always welcome on our table, and this one is an instant winner. You'll sizzle up juicy spiced dark meat chicken and serve it over a bed of fluffy rice. Top with zesty lime crema, and serve alongside mashed black beans sprinkled with crumbled cotija cheese. A squeeze of lime juice just before serving brings it all together.
Ingredients
1.5 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
½ cup
Cotija Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
½ cup
White Rice
10 ounce
Diced Skinless Dark Meat Chicken
1 tablespoon
Fajita Spice Blend
1 unit
Black Beans
1 unit
Lime
2 unit
Scallions
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
¼ teaspoon (tsp)
Sugar
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
In a small pot, combine rice, ¾ cup water (1½ 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, wash and dry produce.
Zest and quarter lime. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens.
In a small bowl, combine sour cream, ¼ tsp sugar (½ tsp for 4 servings), juice from half the lime, a pinch of salt, pepper, and as much lime zest as you like.
Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.
Open package of chicken* and drain off any excess liquid.
Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and scallion whites; season with half the Fajita Spice Blend (you'll use the rest later), a pinch of salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in 1 TBSP butter, 1 TBSP water, and juice from one lime wedge (2 TBSP butter, 2 TBSP water, and juice from two lime wedges for 4 servings).
While chicken cooks, in a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine beans and their liquid, remaining Fajita Spice Blend, 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4), a pinch of salt, and pepper. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; microwave until butter has melted and beans are warmed through, 3-4 minutes. Using a potato masher or fork, gently mash half the beans. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.
Fluff rice with a fork and season with salt and pepper if desired.
Divide rice, beans, and chicken between bowls in separate sections. Drizzle chicken with crema; sprinkle cotija cheese over beans. Garnish everything with scallion greens. Squeeze remaining lime wedge (remaining wedges for 4 servings) over the top and serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many enjoyed the dish, but some found it bland; adding extra seasoning or hot sauce boosted the taste 🌶️.
- Ease of prep: Quick and simple to make, though some had trouble with the bean consistency when microwaving.
- Suggestions: Consider adding fresh elements like pico de gallo, avocado, or bell peppers for more flavor and texture.
- Portions: Some wanted more rice or chicken; others felt the bean-to-meat ratio was off.
- Texture: Mashing only half the beans or cooking them longer on the stove improved consistency for many.
Reviews from our home cooks
I think the thing this dish was missing most was something to enhance the rice. Adding cilantro, lime and butter to the rice would've made the dish more enjoyable. The flavors of the chicken and the beans were wonderful. My only criticism of the beans were that they never got really nice and smooth and were still very gritty as if they hadn't been fully cooked. I think next time if I made this again, I would pour off some of the bean liquid because I think that didn't help to make the beans creamy. It made them very runny.
This was very easy to cook. The flavor was very subdued, so if you like things a bit spicier you might want to add some of your own spices. Overall a good meal.
We loved this meal! The only change we would have made was to add more seasoning to the chicken. But we still loved it and gobbled it up!
Absolutely delicious, big fan of this dish! The lime really ties it all together.
I loved this dish. It was easy and the flavors were really tasty.
Overall good flavor and substance. Would personally prefer a few more veggies to put in the bowl (tomatoes / lettuce, etc)
This was very tasty, BUT the beans were VERY watery. I think that the beans should have been drained or at least mostly drained. Consistency was like soup. Ended up using a little as a sauce.
So tasty! Even someone who doesn't like black beans loved it. I did add a clove of garlic to the beans
This was good but needed a little more spice. Something to kick it up a bit. Maybe some pickled onion or jalapeño.
The beans had a bit of a watery consistency, but otherwise this dish was very tasty!
