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Chicken Fajita Rice, Low Fat and Full of Flavor!

My Chicken Fajita Rice is one of those meals that we love to have around our house. It just feels like comfort food to me and my little guy loves it too, so that’s a huge plus! 

We’ve always loved fajitas and they can be a great meal that is easily adapted to be lower in fat if need that or if you follow a lower-carb diet and want to have sour cream and guacamole they can fit well into and high-fat diets also.

So you can see that with just a few switches of ingredients, you can transform the fajita ingredients into something that works well for your family and diet.

In this recipe, I used fajitas as inspiration to our low-fat meals by adding some of the traditional ingredients to brown rice. 

While it is packed with lots of protein from the chicken breast and great nutrition from the tasty veggies like red and green peppers, it is lighter in fat.

So not only is this recipe a keeper in the taste category but it is also a great way to enjoy your slow impacting carbs, like brown rice, and fresh veggies without overloading on fat.  

There is a little fat used in this dish when cooking up the onions and peppers, but once divided out between the servings this Chicken Fajita Rice will fall nicely into the low-fat and Trim Healthy Mama “E” meal category.

I also like to make sure our meals are gluten-free so when I am shopping I always look to make sure my rice says “certified gluten-free”. You wouldn’t think you had to watch that, but I have read that some rice can’t actually say that. I think it is from cross-contamination during the processing, so if you are avoiding gluten or have an allergy be sure to watch your labels for that.

Feed a Crowd or Enjoy Leftovers!

Thankfully this recipe is simple enough to whip up on those nights where you need something delicious and filling without a lot of work.

If you are limited on time you can have this ready in about an hour or so. Be sure to check the tips below on how you can save even more time on this recipe. 

Another great thing about this Chicken Fajita Rice is that it makes a large amount that would work well for large families.

However, if your family is smaller, like mine, this recipe will make enough for a yummy dinner with great leftovers.

Tips and Tricks with Freezing Instructions

It also freezes very well! So I use it o Either in disposable pans or single portions in plastic bags.

I try to have a couple of pans of this rice in my freezer most month because my son loves it and I like how convenient it is to get dinner on the table even faster.

Funny how certain freezer meals on my inventory list go faster than others and trust me this one does not stick around long! If my son realizes we have it on hand, he is requesting it for dinner!

Let me know if this type of recipe goes over well in your family below in the comments. 

 Freezer Instructions and Time-Saving Tips for this Meal:

To free this meal to follow the simple instruction below. You won’t be disappointed!

• Prepare the recipe per the recipe instruction.
• Next, add the completed rice your dish of choice or a disposable pan and cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil and place on a flat surface in your freezer.
• This recipe will keep up well up to 1 month in the freezer.
• If you wish to the freezer this rice in a smaller portion I recommend putting single portions into quart size freezer bags. Flatten the rice out in the bag and make sure to remove all the air from the bag. Lay flat to freeze.
• When you ready to eat the rice, let it thaw completely before reheating.
• To reheat using the microwave place an individual serving on a plate and heat for 3-4 minutes. For the oven remove the plastic wrap and reheat at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.
• Serving Size is 1 to 1/2 cups of this low fat (THM “E”) Fajita Rice. Serve with a salad or nonstarchy vegetable.

Time Saving Tips for This Recipe:

• Prepare the brown rice in your Instant Pot instead of the stovetop. Since brown rice takes longer than white rice, it can a long while to cook on the stove so cooking the rice in the pressure cooker will save about 20 minutes of cook time on the rice.
• Don’t have an Instant Pot but still want to cut cooking time on the rice, pick up some Instant Brown rice instead of the regular brown rice. 
• To save a little time on slicing the peppers you can pick up a bag of the frozen onion and pepper mix in the freezer section of your local grocery store and just use two cups of that in the rice. 
• My tip for saving time on the chicken portion of this recipe would be to use leftover chicken you may have on hand or to pick up a store-bought rotisserie chicken. 
• Use a fajita seasoning packet you can purchase at the store if you don’t have all the individual spices the recipe calls for.

 

 

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Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Chicken Fajita Rice, Low Fat & THM "E"

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Fluffy brown rice loaded with chicken, peppers, and all the great flavors of fajitas.

Print

Ingredients

• 3 cups dry brown rice
• 2/3 cup of no sugar added salsa
• 1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon of Avocado Oil
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of cooked and shredded chicken breast

Instructions

1. To begin this recipe first prepare cook the rice per the package instructions. I use an Instant Pot to save cooking time.
2. Once your rice is cooked add in the salsa, diced tomatoes, and all the seasonings.
3. Stir the rice well and set aside to prepare the peppers.
4. In a skillet, over medium heat, add in the oil and toss in the bell peppers and onion. Sauté the veggies until they are tender.
5. Next, add the cooked peppers and the shredded cooked chicken to the rice mixture and stir well. At this time I suggest tasting the rice dish for seasonings. If needed add in more salt, chili powder or cumin as needed.
6. Heat the Chicken Fajita Rice over medium heat until warmed through.
7. If you would like to freeze the leftover you can see my freezer instruction above in blog post.

Notes

Serving Size is 1 to 1/2 cups of this low fat (THM "E") Fajita Rice. Serve with a salad or nonstarchy vegetable.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1 cup
Amount Per ServingCalories 409Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 72mgSodium 268mgCarbohydrates 57gFiber 4gSugar 20gProtein 31g

I am not a nutritionist. If you have strict dietary needs I always recommend using an online nutrition calculator to calculate your totals using your exact brands you're using in this recipe as values may vary per brand.

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