Easy Cheesy Chicken and Bean Bake

This one skillet dinner was a huge hit with the family!

There was a time in my life when I loved making a complicated dinner on a weeknight. Now, I live for recipes like this Cheesy Chicken and Bean Bake—the kind I can make in less than 30 minutes, in a single pan, and serve to my kids without hearing any complaints. It is the holy grail of dinners.

Let me praise the chicken thigh for a bit, because it’s really the star of this show. Chicken thighs are easy going and reliable, the kind of ingredient you want on your team for the group project. Ask a chicken thigh to show up for dinner, and it’ll be there on time and ready to work. Overcook them and they’ll apologize to you by being even more tender than usual. In this recipe, the humble chicken thigh teams up with a bubbling skillet of tomatillo salsa, green chiles, white beans, and cheese for a dinner that’s ready for anything. Tacos? Rice? All your favorite toppings? Yes, yes, and yes.

As I mentioned, this was a big hit at our family dinner table. Each of the kids found something to love. My oldest was into the chicken and my youngest devoured the cheesy beans. We take the protein wins where we can find them. My husband and I loved it all, and gave it bonus points for being so easy to make.

You can customize this in a million different ways. Sometimes we slice the chicken and serve the mixture in tacos or over tortilla chips. Sometimes we have it with Mexican rice. And sometimes we just pile on some extra toppings—avocado, sour cream, diced tomatoes, jalapeno slices—and call it good. I hope you’ll add this one to your weeknight rotation!