Mexican Chicken Skillet with Corn Salsa (Easy One Pot Meal)

Medically reviewed by Abbey Sharp, Registered Dietitian (RD), BASc.

This Mexican Chicken Skillet with Corn Salsa is an easy one pot meal. It is the perfect simple chicken breast recipe that’s gluten-free and high protein, and perfect for Summer or any time of year.

I’m big on tacos, but truth be told, my favourite dish to order when I’m out for Mexican is Mexican Street Corn, also known as Elote. If you’re not familiar with this amazing, yet decadent side dish, it’s basically grilled corn on the cob slathered in some kind of mayo sour cream mixture, topped with salty cojita cheese, sprightly lime and spicy chilli pepper.

It’s admittedly not very date-night friendly considering you’ll VERY likely get corn stuck in your teeth and white gloopy sauce all over your mouth and fingers, but man, I’ve been with my hubby for over a decade, IDGAF about class.

Why This Recipe Works

This Mexican chicken skillet is a combination of my love for an easy one pot meal and my favourite Mexican street corn! This recipe works as it is:

• Easy to make
• Clean up is a breeze
• No messy sauce all over my face
• Meal prep friendly

Key Ingredients

Corn – You can use frozen corn, canned corn or corn kernels removed directly from the cob. 

Spices – No Mexican recipe is complete without a flavourful combination of chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper which, in my opinion, makes this recipe sing!

Lime – This recipe uses lime juice and zest to add some citrus to really bring out the amazing Mexican flavour. You can of course use lemon instead, if thats what you have available, but I personally think that lime juice gives this recipe that extra somethin somethin. 

Chicken – While this Mexican chicken skillet recipe only uses 2 chicken breasts, you are more than welcome to add more!

Cheese – This recipe uses cotija cheese which is deliciously salty and crumbly Mexican cheese. If you don’t have this cheese available to you, you can substitute it for feta cheese instead to get the same flavour profile that we want in this recipe. 

How to Make This Recipe

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400F and season chicken with chili, cumin, lime zest, salt, and pepper.

Step 2: Add the olive oil to a 10” cast-iron skillet and heat to medium high. Brown both sides for about 5 minutes per side.

Step 3: Remove from the pan and add in another tablespoon of oil. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Then add the corn, garlic, lime zest, chili, cumin cayenne and a pitch each of salt and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes.

Step 3: Nestle the chicken breasts back into the corn.

Step 4: Transfer to the oven and cook for 10 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 Remove from the oven and sprinkle with diced tomatoes, cojita cheese, and cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Expert Tips

If you’d like to swap chicken breasts, for chicken thighs, keep in mind that it changes your cook time. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs will take much longer to bake through whereas you can pan fry a boneless skinless chicken thigh in less than 10 minutes to cook through.

Want to make this vegetarian friendly? Swap the chicken breasts for some firm tofu. Press the tofu to squeeze out excess water, season, and pan fry it like you would with the chicken, until it’s crispy. No need to bake the tofu.

I skip the mayo and sour cream sauce that’s usually on the corn in this Mexican chicken skillet but you are more than welcomed to drizzle some overtop if you’re craving it!

Recipe FAQs

More Recipes You Might Like

Want more easy weeknight meals like this Mexican chicken skillet? Try these ones!

• Gluten Free Vegan Chickpea and Cauliflower Sheet Pan Dinner with Pomegranate Harissa Glaze
• Gluten Free Buffalo Chicken Fingers Sheet Pan Dinner | Healthy Freezer Meals
• Sheet Pan Stir Fry with Shrimp & Veggies
• Grilled Marinated Chicken Breasts 5 Ways

So now loves, I would love to know – what are some of your favourite one pan meals? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Mexican Chicken Skillet with Corn Salsa (Easy One Pot Meal)

This Mexican chicken skillet with Corn Salsa is an easy one pot meal. It is the perfect simple chicken breast recipe that's gluten-free and high protein, and perfect for Summer or any time of year.

5 from 9 votes

Print Pin Rate

CourseMain Course

CuisineMexican

Prep Time15 minutes minutes

Cook Time27 minutes minutes

Total Time42 minutes minutes

Servings4 people

Calories454kcal

AuthorAbbey Sharp

Ingredients

Chicken:

• ▢ 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ▢ 1/4 tsp chili powder
• ▢ ¼ tsp cumin
• ▢ 1 tsp lime zest
• ▢ salt and pepper

Vegetables:

• ▢ 1 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 4 cups of frozen corn or 6 ears of corn kernels removed from cob
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 small red onion finely minced
• ▢ 1 tbsp lime zest
• ▢ juice of 1 Lime
• ▢ ½ tsp chili powder
• ▢ ¾ tsp cumin
• ▢ 1/8 tsp cayenne
• ▢ 2 roma tomatoes seeded and finely diced
• ▢ ¼ cup crumbled cojita or feta cheese
• ▢ ½ cup cilantro leaves
• ▢ lime wedges

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Season chicken with chili, cumin, lime zest, salt, and pepper.
• Add the olive oil to a 10” cast-iron skillet and heat to medium high. Brown both sides for about 5 minutes per side.
• Remove from the pan and add in another tablespoon of oil. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Then add the corn, garlic, lime zest, chili, cumin cayenne and a pitch each of salt and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes, then nestle the chicken breasts back into the corn.
• Transfer to the oven and cook for 10 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 Remove from the oven and sprinkle with diced tomatoes, cojita cheese, and cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Notes

• If you’d like to swap chicken breasts, for chicken thighs, keep in mind that it changes your cook time. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs will take much longer to bake through whereas you can pan fry a boneless skinless chicken thigh in less than 10 minutes to cook through.
• Want to make this vegetarian friendly? Swap the chicken breasts for some firm tofu. Press the tofu to squeeze out excess water, season, and pan-fry it like you would with the chicken until it’s crispy. No need to bake the tofu.
• I skip the mayo and sour cream sauce that’s usually on the corn in this Mexican chicken skillet but you are more than welcomed to drizzle some overtop if you’re craving it!

Nutrition

Calories454kcalCarbohydrates38gProtein46gFat15gSaturated Fat4gCholesterol116mgSodium234mgPotassium1096mgFiber5gSugar9gVitamin A1010IUVitamin C16.2mgCalcium75mgIron2.2mg

Mention @AbbeysKitchen or tag #abbeyskitchen if you try and share this recipe!

Abbey Sharp

Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.