This chicken and zucchini is a variation of my black bean quinoa casserole with added chicken for a protein boost and quinoa replaced by zucchini. Everything is cooked within 30 minutes, right in one pan. Tender chicken breast, soft black beans, sweet corn and zucchini, which is added at the very end to preserve the crunchiness.
MY LATEST RECIPESThis dish was delicious! Cooked with diced tomatoes, cumin, taco seasoning, topped with cheese and fresh herbs. I added just a cup of shredded organic Colby Jack cheese and a few handfuls of cilantro and green onions. Fresh herbs are a great way to add flavour to any dish without extra calories.
Enjoy! Also make sure to try my chicken zucchini with garlic corn and zucchini bake.
How to Make Tex Mex Chicken and Zucchini
- Preheat large deep skillet on low – medium heat and swirl oil to coat. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper; saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Move vegetables to the side of the skillet and add chicken. Sprinkle with 1 tsp cumin, salt and black pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add corn, beans, tomatoes, zucchini, taco seasoning and remaining cumin. Stir, cover and cook on low-medium for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle with cheese, cover and cook for a few minutes or until cheese has melted. Top with green onion and cilantro. Serve hot, on its own or with brown rice or quinoa.
Tex Mex Chicken and Zucchini
Low carb chicken and zucchini recipe cooked in one skillet with black beans, corn, fresh herbs, taco seasoning and melted cheese on top.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp avocado or coconut oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 medium bell peppers, chopped
- 1 lb boneless & skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ pieces
- 1 cup corn, frozen or fresh
- 2 large zucchini, diced
- 14 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp taco seasoning
- 1 tbsp cumin, divided
- 1 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup Tex Mex or Colby Jack cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat large deep skillet on low – medium heat and swirl oil to coat. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper; saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Move vegetables to the side of the skillet and add chicken. Sprinkle with 1 tsp cumin, salt and black pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add corn, beans, tomatoes, zucchini, taco seasoning and remaining cumin. Stir, cover and cook on low-medium for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle with cheese, cover and cook for a few minutes or until cheese has melted. Top with green onion and cilantro. Serve hot, on its own or with brown rice or quinoa.
Store: Refrigerate covered for up to 3 – 4 days.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
This dish is tasty! I replaced the diced tomatoes with Rotel. I will be making this again. Thanks for posting.
★★★★★
Glad to hear.:)
It was delicious! Any idea how much fiber in each serving?
Not sure but should be lots.:)
Love this meal. Found it looking for a recipe to use up some chicken and zucchini. This is now a family favourite – so tasty, nutritious and filling! It’s also so easy to put together. A bonus for a busy Mum.
★★★★★
Awesome!!!
Healthy yummy cheap and easy!
★★★★★
Looks so freakin good!
★★★★★
Super good!
★★★★★
My sister made this last week and it was awesome! I want to make it tonight, can I do this in the crockpot? maybe by adding the fresh veggies in later and adding rice?
I’m sorry but no. It will be a mush, especially rice. It’s pretty quick on a stovetop, I promise.:)
This was so amazing. I had to use chili powder instead of cumin and while it was tasty, I am sure The original recipe with cumin is even better! My picky eaters loved it and I now have lunch for the next two days!
I don’t think your eaters are that picky, Anne.:) I’m sure it tasted amazing with chili powder, maybe 5% less flavourful than with cumin.:) Great job!
Im confused on the calories. Ive put it into myfitnesspal as a recipe and im coming up with 419 calories per serving (1/6). Why is my number almost double yours??
Hi Christy. I can’t answer this question. I put calories calculated in spark people calculator for general guideline only. I do not count calories myself.
This was SO SO GOOD!!!!!! The leftovers were even better! The only thing wrong with it is that it’s already gone and I should have made double!
Hi Stacy. You must have many mouths to feed like me haha. Glad you liked it! Happy weekend!
I’m making this for dinner tonight. It looks delicious and the house smells amazing! Always looking for good, healthy dinners that i can make for my lunches as well. I’ve given up sugar so anything with so much yummy flavor is a godsend! ?
Yes. Me too! I always try to make large dinner for lunch leftovers since we barely eat sandwiches.
Good for you. I have given up sugar too lately. Trying to slim down. I made trail cookies today all naturally sweetened. I will post soon.
I was looking for some healthy recipe ideas and ran across your website. We LOVE this one and make it often; I have also shared it with friends. Thank you!
You are welcome, Marie.
This is my favorite meal that I make and my family loves it. This dish is satisfying and delicious.
Made this recipe tonight and it was a major hit! I left out the cilantro and used only one bell pepper, but it was still delicious. Thanks for sharing! I have it pinned so that I can make it again and share with my family and friends 🙂
Glad to hear that.:)
Kind of a silly question…But is the chicken already cooked before you add it to the pan? Or are you cooking it IN the skillet? Thanks!
Raw. Not a silly question.:) Many people are just learning to cook and I applaud to that.
I have a friend who just had surgery and her doctor is keeping her to a high protein, high veggie diet. I made this for her last night and it was exactly what she needed. Everyone else has been bringing her heavy dishes and she was so relieved when I brought this because it was clean and delicious! We fed 4 ladies and I still have enough for lunch today, it is perfect!
Thank you so very much for your recipes. I am making this again tonight. I’ve made it several times already these past few months. The family adores it! And they don’t think it’s “healthy” but little do they know, they are eating well. Thanks for sharing your marvelous creations with us!
You are very welcome! Thank you for such a nice comment from the bottom of your heart. I could tell.:)
This was amazing! Now I have lunch for the rest of the week. 🙂
Oh LOL. I know, my recipes are huge. 3 boys in the house. This is enough for not even two meals for us. Enjoy your lunches.
Its looks so good I am going to try it next month so I can get the stuff I need. Can you add sour cream and avocado with it also and the end when serving it.
Of course, why not?!
So excited to try this. I’m skipping the corn and beans to lower the carbs and adding avocado. So looking forward to this new recipe.
That works too! Enjoy!
This looks fantastic!
I am wondering though… Can this be frozen?
I would say no. Frozen zucchini doesn’t taste good, in my opinion. You can try though but the texture becomes like a cotton pad. Not good if you ask me.
Your instructions say to bring to a boil but there is no liquid in your ingredients. Do you drain the can of tomatoes or is that the liquid that you’d be boiling? I’m planning to make this for dinner tomorrow. Looking forward to trying it!
Yes, liquid from diced tomatoes. Do not drain them. Hope you like it!:)
I like to use avocado in place of cheese. It’s rich and creamyand balances out the spiciness.
That is a very good idea for a lighter version if you are on a strict nutrition plan too.:) Thanks!
I made this dish tonight and the 1 cup of cilantro ruined it. I was so looking forward to all the flavors but was disappointed with the overpowering taste of cilantro. 🙁
Feel free to adjust cilantro to your personal taste.:) I love fresh herbs. To me 1 cup for such a big casserole is perfect. But everyone is different. An easy fix.
Made this for dinner last night and loved it!! It was a hit! Thanks!
Making this for my carnivore boyfriend tonight! Hoping the cheese and chicken will distract him from all the healthy veggies 🙂
LOL. Men love Tex Mex cuisine. Just sprinkle more cheese on his plate.:)
This looks so amazing! I adore Tex Mex flavors. The colors in this are just beautiful. I’ll be so sad when summer is over! I love me some fresh produce 🙂
I will cry with you!:( Can’t believe summer is over soon.:(
I recently found your blog and LOVE it. Your recipes are wonderful. Simple, delicious, without all the added crap we don’t need and really don’t miss. 🙂 I completely agree with your view on dairy. Moderation is key. I learned this lesson when my babies had mild allergies, yep both of them, and I was breastfeeding so I couldn’t have ANY dairy. And I was HEAVY dairy prior to that. The only thing I truly missed was… CHEESE. There are no good replacements. I no longer haphazardly add it to everything though. Now, I make it count. If there is cheese in my dish it truly needs to add something. Thank you for your recipes. They have made several great additions to my supper table and my husband loves them too!
Hi Debbie. Well, thank you! I’m blushing. I agree with you – there are no good replacements for cheese. All that vegan cheese is not good either, full of cr@p, unfortunately. I tried, nope. I realized what dairy is when I started drinking whey protein and my skin would go nuts. I googled and I learnt a lot about dairy. Nope, thanks. Just a little bit and organic. Glad you enjoy my stupidly simple recipes.:)
We used to stock up on cheese too when we lived in Canada – it’s half the price in the US! I love anything Tex-Mex and this looks great!
Thanks, Kari. Yes, many things are cheaper in the US. I guess there must be a reason.:)
Such a gorgeously colorful dish – so much flavor! I am not a big cheese person, but my daughter loves it – she tries to get me to buy those humongous pkgs at Costco, but I haven’t yet!
Thanks, Shashi! What kids do not love cheese?! I know. I used to buy those humongous bags of cheese and freeze it. My kids love cheese strings and Baby Bel. I wish it didn’t exist or at least was available in organic variation. I truly hate Baby Bel LOL. I buy it occasionally but waaaaaaay less than even a year ago.