Southwest Chicken Bowls
Low Sodium · Low Fat · Pantry Staples
This Southwest Chicken Bowl was the featured entrée during our first Food Is Medicine lesson last Thursday. Crafted with homemade seasoning blends and thoughtfully selected ingredients, the recipe is designed to be low in sodium and fat—without sacrificing flavor.
To keep things simple and accessible, I used pantry staples like canned vegetables and beans. This helps reduce prep time, lowers cost, and makes it easier to keep ingredients on hand without worrying about spoilage.
Below, you’ll find recipes for:
- Taco Chicken
- Taco Seasoning
- Chipotle Ranch
- Roasted Red Salsa
- Corn & Bean Salsa
- Mexican Rice
- Baked Tortilla Chips
Each recipe includes its own nutrition label, and you’ll find nutrition facts per meal at the end of the post.
We welcome your feedback! Let us know if you try any substitutions or variations that work well for you. If you have questions, feel free to reach out.
Happy Food, Happy Health.
— Hailey Dornbusch
Posted on October 27, 2025
Taco Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 12 oz canned chicken
Directions
- Open the can of chicken and remove the layer of fat that has floated to the top.
- Drain and thoroughly rinse the chicken. Be sure not to crumble it while doing so.
- Lay the chicken out on a flat surface and gentle pat dry.
- Coat with olive oil.
- Add seasoning.
- Once seasoned, in a medium-high heat pan, add the chicken in a single layer on the bottom of the pan.
- Leave the chicken to sear. If it begins to brown too quickly, turn the pan down versus stirring the chicken.
- After the first side has browned, now you can flip the pieces over.
- Once it’s seared on all sides, remove from heat and serve.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 4.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 86 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 4 g | 6 % |
| Saturated Fat 1 g | 5 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 2 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 48 mg | 16 % |
| Sodium 144 mg | 6 % |
| Potassium 168 mg | 5 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 0 g | 0 % |
| Dietary Fiber 0 g | 0 % |
| Sugars 0 g | |
| Protein 14 g | 28 % |
| Vitamin A | 0 % |
| Vitamin C | 0 % |
| Calcium | 0 % |
| Iron | 0 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA | |
Baked Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 spray oil
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Lightly spray or brush oil onto each tortilla.
- Cut the tortilla into fourths.
- Place them onto a baking sheet. Make sure they are in a single layer and not overlapping.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Stir. Bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
- Serve fresh.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 6.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 109 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 2 g | 4 % |
| Saturated Fat 0 g | 0 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 2 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | 0 % |
| Sodium 398 mg | 17 % |
| Potassium 1 mg | 0 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 20 g | 7 % |
| Dietary Fiber 3 g | 12 % |
| Sugars 2 g | |
| Protein 2 g | 4 % |
| Vitamin A | 0 % |
| Vitamin C | 0 % |
| Calcium | 2 % |
| Iron | 4 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 1T olive oil
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 C broth (or water)
- 1 C uncooked brown rice
- 1/2 C tomato sauce, no salt added
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Directions
- In a medium-high heat pan, add your oil and rice. Toast the rice until crispy golden brown.
- Next, add your onions and cook until they become translucent.
- Add your spices and toast until they become fragrant.
- Next, add your tomato sauce and broth.
- Let the pot come to a rolling boil for about two minutes. Then, with the lid on, drop the heat down to a simmer for about 45-50 minutes.
- After the 45-50 minutes, turn off the heat and let the rice sit for another 10 minutes.
- Fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 4.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 234 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 5 g | 8 % |
| Saturated Fat 1 g | 4 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 3 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 1 mg | 0 % |
| Sodium 147 mg | 6 % |
| Potassium 280 mg | 8 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 42 g | 14 % |
| Dietary Fiber 2 g | 10 % |
| Sugars 3 g | |
| Protein 5 g | 10 % |
| Vitamin A | 0 % |
| Vitamin C | 2 % |
| Calcium | 3 % |
| Iron | 7 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA | |
Roasted Red Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 (8oz) can Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Diced Chiles
- 1/8 tsp Accent
- 1T lime juice
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
Directions
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Serve as is or heat it up.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 8.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 3 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 0 g | 0 % |
| Saturated Fat 0 g | 0 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | 0 % |
| Sodium 16 mg | 1 % |
| Potassium 9 mg | 0 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 1 g | 0 % |
| Dietary Fiber 0 g | 0 % |
| Sugars 0 g | |
| Protein 0 g | 0 % |
| Vitamin A | 0 % |
| Vitamin C | 1 % |
| Calcium | 0 % |
| Iron | 0 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA | |
Corn Bean Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp diced jalapenos
- 1 (15oz) can corn
- 1/2 C onion, diced
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 (15oz) can black beans
- 2 tsp dried cilantro
Directions
- Drain, rinse, and dry the black beans.
- Drain and dry the corn.
- Chop up the onion.
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and serve.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 10.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 64 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 0 g | 1 % |
| Saturated Fat 0 g | 0 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | 0 % |
| Sodium 290 mg | 12 % |
| Potassium 204 mg | 6 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 12 g | 4 % |
| Dietary Fiber 4 g | 17 % |
| Sugars 3 g | |
| Protein 3 g | 7 % |
| Vitamin A | 0 % |
| Vitamin C | 7 % |
| Calcium | 2 % |
| Iron | 5 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Taco Seasoning
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/8 tsp accent
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 4.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 15 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 0 g | 0 % |
| Saturated Fat 0 g | 0 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | 0 % |
| Sodium 30 mg | 1 % |
| Potassium 47 mg | 1 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 3 g | 1 % |
| Dietary Fiber 1 g | 3 % |
| Sugars 0 g | |
| Protein 0 g | 1 % |
| Vitamin A | 22 % |
| Vitamin C | 1 % |
| Calcium | 2 % |
| Iron | 4 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Meal Nutrition Facts
Southwest Chicken Bowls
Southwest Chicken Bowls With Chips
