Green Chili Beans and Rice

Inspired by one of our favorite Tex Mex dishes, Green Chili Beans and Rice is a simple and filling dinner, perfect for Fall’s cooler days.

My husband is dramatically hit or miss when it comes to holidays. There was the Christmas he gave me a kitchen knife (that he had wanted) and a white board. I had a 4 month old and was deep in new mama exhaustion so cooking and organization were the last things on my mind. In the last couple of years, he’s finally started to plan ahead a little so his holiday game has improved. He’s learned he can contact the wonderful people at Smartpak by email, give them my email and they will give him suggestions based on my previous purchases and wish list. He nailed my birthday this year with a simple, gorgeous and perfect for me watch.

He also completely forgot about Mother’s Day.

It’s not normally a big deal for us, but this time he straight forgot. Including having made appointments for haircuts at his favorite barber shop, an hour away, for himself and our son. He also had plans for us to go to Costco.

To rescue the day, he decided we’d hit up a TexMex restaurant that was on our list to try. Being Mother’s Day, and not having reservations, the wait was long even after we sat at our table. Thankfully, the management was generous with extra dips for our basket of tortilla chips. One of them was a remarkably delicious combination of beans, ham, green chilies and cilantro. I might have more of that appetizer than I did my meal.

Since then, I’ve experimented with different ways of combining these flavors in our own kitchen. This remake of beans and rice has become a solid family favorite. While we can eat it year round, it is exactly what I want on a cool Fall day. Bonus? It’s also inexpensive and takes just minutes to throw together.

Green Chili Beans & Rice

Ingredients

3 cans Great Northern Beans

2 cans diced green chilies

1 cup diced cooked ham

1 red onion, diced

1 tsp cumin

3 cups chicken broth

2 tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil)

salt & pepper to taste

cooked rice, to serve

cilantro, handful chopped (optional)

green onions, chopped (optional)

Method

In a large pot (I use my Dutch Oven), heat avocado oil over medium high heat, adding diced red onion and cooking for 2 minutes or so until softened.
Add remaining ingredients, stirring to combine.
Bring just to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for at least 45 minutes or until broth has cooked off to a texture you like.
Serve over rice topped with cilantro and green onions, with chips or any other way you want.

Yes, it’s really that simple. And incredibly versatile. Best part? It just gets better as leftovers. You can also freeze it (which makes for the best I-totally-forgot-this-was-in-there surprise when you’re desperate for a lunch that doesn’t require real cooking).

For dinner, we usual make this dish as basically a stew and serve over rice. For football days, we serve it with less broth as a delicious dip topped with avocado slices along with salsa and tortilla chips. I also love it as a side dish along side pulled pork instead of traditional baked beans.

So many ways to eat it, embarrassingly easy to throw together and incredibly satisfying – that’s a recipe win in my book.

**Side note – I typically use canned beans for this because it’s a dish I want when I don’t want to expend effort. I have used dried beans in my Instant Pot (and it comes out great). For me, the cilantro and green onions are a must, and a little lime is delicious, but they aren’t necessary if not to your taste. I usually use leftover ham, but you can also buy small packages of sliced ham at the store that work perfectly.