Southwest Chicken Skillet Dinner Recipe
Reading Time: 3 minutes
My family and I find this Southwest chicken skillet dinner to be a year-round winner, with summer’s fresh produce making the dish top-notch.
I grew up in California with a large portion of my family, who we visited often, in Arkansas. While southern cooking is not strictly what I grew up on, it’s something I learned from my granny and had a lot while growing up.
To this day, I’m not sure whether southern cooking at Granny’s made me picky or if I was picky to begin with, and her cooking is what I remember most from the nostalgia of my childhood. Either way, as an adult, Granny has inspired much of my cooking and baking style. I remember her once telling me: Any woman who cooks in cast iron daily will never be anemic. She told me that while I was expecting one of my three boys. Between that comment, the love of a good southern dish, and a palate for seasoning, this southwest chicken skillet dinner was born.
My family and I find this Southwest chicken skillet dinner to be a year-round winner with summer’s fresh produce making the dish top-notch. If you love flavorful foods and cooking in cast iron, then this one’s for you! No worries, if you aren’t into cooking with cast iron, you can still make this delicious meal in a skillet of your choice. Seasoning may be adjusted for personal preference as well.
Southwest Chicken Skillet Dinner Recipe
Ingredients
– 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast and thighs (if you prefer one over the other you may use only one) thin sliced
-2½ tablespoons bacon grease, melted
– 1½ tablespoons southwest spice blend, divided (see below for recipe)
– ½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
– 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
– 1 small green bell pepper, thinly sliced
– 2 cups fresh sweet corn, off the cob
– 3 cloves minced garlic
– 1 large Yukon gold potato, diced or round, thinly sliced (about 1/8” thick)
– 3 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
– ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
– 1 cup shredded Gouda cheese
– Fresh Pico de Gallo, optional
– Juice of 2 limes
Southwest Spice blend:
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1½ tablespoons cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
½ tablespoon dried rosemary
Instructions
In a medium bowl, drizzle the chicken with ½ tablespoon of melted bacon grease and season with 1 tablespoon of Southwest spice blend.
In a large cast iron skillet (or skillet of preference), melt 1 tablespoon of bacon grease on medium high heat.
Cook seasoned chicken until browned and cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate. Cover with foil to keep hot.
In the now-empty cast-iron skillet, melt the remaining bacon grease. Cook potatoes till cooked through. If needed, add additional bacon grease to prevent sticking. With a well-seasoned cast-iron pan, you shouldn’t experience any sticking.
Add bell pepper, corn, garlic, and onion, and season with ½ tablespoon southwest spice blend. Cook on medium-high heat. Stir frequently until the peppers are softened. About 6 to 8 minutes
Return the chicken to the skillet. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the chicken and veggie mixture. Stir until everything is well mixed.
Remove from heat and top with cilantro and cheese.
Serve alone or paired with cilantro lime rice or brown rice and Pico de Gallo on the side.
HANNAH MCCLURE is an old soul, a homemaker, and a mother of four from Ohio. Gardening, keeping bees, sewing, raising chickens/seasonal hogs, and baking/cooking from scratch are a few things she enjoys as part of her homemaking. Always learning and always chasing her littles. Find Hannah on Instagram @muddyoakhennhouse
Originally published in the August/September 2025 issue.
