I’m declaring chimichurri the sauce of the summer. It’s so bright and vibrant, and as I’ve mentioned before it’s good on pretty much everything! This week I made this scrumptious one-pot Chimichurri Chicken and Rice, which was based loosely on Trader Joe’s frozen chimichurri rice and vegetables (a product that many of you suggested I try). I added chicken just to make it more of a full, one-pot style meal, but making this vegan would be super easy, too. Just swap out the diced chicken for a can of chickpeas and you’re good to go!
Hand Chop Your Chimichurri
I made a smaller batch of chimichurri this time and because of that I decided to just chop everything by hand instead of using my food processor. Surprise, surprise, I liked it a lot better than my super processed chimichurri!! So, I’ll be making it by hand from now on. And honestly, it was easier to finely chop all that stuff than it is to clean the food processor. :P
Tips for Cooking One Pot Recipes
As will all one-pot rice dishes, it’s absolutely critical to use a good quality pot with a thick bottom. If you use a thin pot or skillet you’ll get hot spots and cold spots leaving the rice uncooked in some areas and dry or burned in others. Even heat is critical. If you have a rice cooker, you could totally do this in the rice cooker, too. Just do all the sauté steps in a skillet, then transfer everything (chicken, vegetables, rice, water) to the rice cooker, cook per the machine’s instructions, then fold in the chimichurri at the end. 👍
Goes great with: Super Fresh Cucumber Salad, Vinaigrette Slaw with Feta, Lemon Butter Green Beans
Chimichurri Chicken and Rice
Servings 4 1.25 cups eachIngredients
CHIMICHURRI
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil ($0.52)
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar ($0.20)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cumin ($0.03)
- Pinch red pepper flakes ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped ($0.30)
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped ($0.25)
CHICKEN AND RICE
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (3/4 lb.) ($1.42)
- Pinch salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.41)
- 2 Roma Tomatoes ($1.00)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas ($0.21)
- 1 cup long grain white rice* ($0.66)
- 1.5 cups water ($0.00)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
Instructions
- Prepare the chimichurri first to allow time for the flavors to blend. Combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, and salt in a bowl.
- Pull the parsley and cilantro leaves from the stem and finely chop them. Mince the garlic. Stir the parsley, cilantro, and garlic into the bowl with the oil, vinegar, and spices. Set the chimichurri aside.
- Cut the chicken breast into very small pieces, then season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken pieces and sauté until golden brown.
- While the chicken is browning, dice the onion. Remove the chicken pieces from the skillet once golden brown, and add the diced onion in their place. Sauté the onion until soft (about 5 minutes).
- While the onion is sautéing, dice the tomatoes. Once the onions are soft, add the diced tomatoes and sauté for about two minutes more, or until they begin to break down.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet along with the frozen peas, uncooked rice, water, and 1/4 tsp salt. Briefly stir to combine all the ingredients.
- Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and let it come to a boil. As soon as it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low or medium-low, and let it simmer gently for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- After letting the rice rest for 10 minutes, remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Pour the prepared chimichurri over the rice and fold it in to combine. Be careful not to vigorously stir the chimichurri into the rice because this will cause it to become sticky and mushy.
- Taste the chimichurri chicken and rice and season with extra salt if needed. Top with an extra pinch of fresh parsley or cilantro for garnish, then serve.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Chimichurri Chicken and Rice – Step by Step Photos
Make the chimichurri first so the flavors have a little time to blend. In a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp cumin, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and 1/4 tsp salt.
You’ll want about 1/2 cup loosely packed each chopped parsley and cilantro, so I just grabbed about 1/4 of each of my bunches. This recipe is super flexible so you don’t have to stress over getting the amount of parsley and cilantro right. But, if in doubt, more is better. Oh, you’ll also need a large clove of garlic.
Chop the parsley and cilantro very finely. Mince the garlic.
Stir the parsley, cilantro, and garlic into the oil and vinegar mixture. Set the chimichurri aside.
Cut one boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 3/4 lb.) into small pieces. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken pieces and cook them until they’re golden brown, then remove them from the skillet.
While the chicken is cooking, dice an onion. After removing the chicken from the skillet, add the onion and sauté until they’re soft.
While the onions are sautéing, dice two Roma tomatoes. Add the diced tomatoes to the skillet and sauté for just a couple minutes more, or until they start to lose their shape.
Add the cooked chicken back to the skillet along with 1/2 cup frozen peas and 1 cup long grain white rice (I used jasmine).
Add 1.5 cups water and 1/4 tsp salt. Give everything a brief stir, then place a lid on top, turn the heat up to medium-high, and let it come to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low or medium-low and let it simmer gently for 15 minutes.
After simmering for 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest for 10 minutes, undisturbed (lid in place). Finally, remove the lid and fluff it with a fork.
Finally, pour the chimichurri over the skillet and gently fold it to incorporate it into the chicken, rice, and vegetables. Make sure not to stir vigorously, or your rice will get sticky and mushy. Taste the dish and add more salt, if needed.
You can garnish the Chimichurri Chicken and Rice with a little extra parsley or cilantro, if you’d like
Can i use brown rice?
No, unfortunately brown rice requires more liquid and a longer cooking time, so you won’t be able to simply swap it for the white rice. It would require a lot of other changes in the recipe.
This doubles easily and our gluten free friend really enjoyed it. Highly recommend. A crowd pleaser.
I love this recipe! I use a 15oz can of petite diced tomatoes (drained as best i can) instead of roma tomatoes. I also add a can of chick peas after the 10 minute rest to give it a little more substance. And top with feta because feta cheese is amazing.
I love this recipe, and make it ALL. THE. TIME. As others have said, i generally throw in what i have around the house. After thanksgiving i substituted chicken for left over turkey and it came out wonderfully. I also use a food processor to make it a little easier to make the sauce. Lastly, I use whatever type of rice I have on hand. Generally, I follow the rice cooking instructions for the liquid to 1c rice ratio and adjust the cooking time to match the rice. I love budgetbytes and appreciate the ease at which your recipes have.
THIS RECIPE!!
We health’d it up a smidge by using black japonica rice and just added an extra half cup of water. It is SO good!!
We will definitely be making it again!!
This is literally one of the best recipes I have ever made!!! So fresh and delicious, my 15 month old loved it too! Thank you for this amazing recipe!! I’d give 10 stars if that was an option :)
Hi, I’m planning on making this recipe, and was wondering if for the chimichurri, would it be possible to substitute cilantro and parsley flakes for fresh parsley and cilantro?
No, unfortunately you really need the fresh parsley and cilantro for this one.
Very tasty! Even my 2-year-old loved it. I did not make any changes.
Can you freeze the leftovers of this recipe?
This one will freeze just so-so. You will probably notice a dampening of flavors of the chimichurri.
Hi! This recipe looks so yummy! Just had a question if I wanted to do it for a meal prep; would I wait to stir in the chimichurri until each day after warming? Or would it be better to mix in now and have the chimichurri in the mix when I warm it? Can’t wait to try it!
I would just mix it in the entire batch and not worry about it. The flavor will change some in the fridge and when you reheat, but I’m sure it will still be delicious. My leftovers were. :)
I followed the recipe exactly and it was wonderful! Next time I’ll definitely use a food processor to cut the cilantro & parsley because it took forever.
I think 99% of what we cook is from your site, and nothing has ever disappointed. When I need dinner ideas, this is the first place I go to. I’ve spread the love of Budget Bytes to friends, family, co-workers, random people I meet in the grocery line, graduate students that I’m supposed to be talking to about how to survive after grad school, everyone.
When my husband asks what’s for dinner, he’s always happy and excited, and we always make sure to have enough leftovers to eat another meal the next night. Except for this one. Every single time I make this one, my husband simply MUST go back and get another half bowl, or “a few more bites” or “just a bit more” or “well, I had a really stressful day and need more calories” or some other kind of excuse. By the time he’s had his “just a few more bites” there’s…. enough for a kind of decent lunch for one person left? Ah well! It just means I need to make it MORE OFTEN! Thank you so much!
Hahaha, I love it! Thanks!
Made this in my Instant Pot, delicious! I was going to use a can of petite diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil, but had a mix of small multicolor fresh ones and used those instead. So good with the fresh, but I feel like the canned will be great too. I used chicken stock (1 and 3/4 cup) and stirred in the frozen peas at the end along with the chimichurri. I cooked this for 6 minutes on HP, turned it off and NPR for 10 and used basmati.
I was looking to see if anyone converted to the instant pot! I just got an instant pot, so I am new to using, but a question for you– when/how did you cook the chicken? did you add it to everything in the first step at 6 min HP? then you just added the uncooked rice, without additional broth?
Great recipe! I did change a few things: I had low sodium chicken broth needing to be used, so I replaced the 1.5 c. water with it and omitted the 1/4 t. salt. I added an extra clove of garlic (yeah, we love garlic), and per another suggestion, I added the peas before the 10 min rest (just tossed in on top of rice and added lid back quickly). Delicious and now added to our favorites. Love your blog.
Very straight forward recipe and easy to follow. Like many others, I did substitutions based on what I had on hand. The sauce was truly delicious. I doubled the parsley, left out the cilantro, included some ground coriander, and tripled the chilli flakes. With the rest of the recipe, I used sad-looking cherry tomatoes that weren’t salad-worthy, sweet corn instead of peas, and brown rice. Overall, very tasty, but the brown rice did give me some trouble! Definitely adjust the cooking time, not just the amount of water. Me and my family of myself and I will have this again soon :)