You guys know how much I love my one pot meals. They’re easy, cozy, and always satisfying. This Chicken and Rice one pot meal is kind of a mash-up of two of my other favorite recipes, Cajun Sausage and Rice and Mushroom Rice, and it’s definitely moving to the top of my list of favorites. The rice is rich and flavorful, the chicken is super tender, and the whole dish comes together almost effortlessly.
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What’s in Chicken and Rice?
This super simple dish includes juicy chicken thighs coated in herbs and spices (not spicy!), sautéed onions, and long grain white rice cooked in vegetable broth. Because you cook everything in one pot from start to finish, no flavors are lost. Every bite is packed with rich and delicious flavor.
Can I Use Chicken Breasts?
I highly suggest sticking to chicken thighs for this recipe because chicken breasts can tend to dry out a bit with the double cook (sear first, steam with rice second), and the fattier chicken thighs make the dish nice and rich. It can be done, but it definitely won’t be as juicy or tender as chicken thighs. And whichever you use, make sure it’s boneless because bone-in chicken needs more time to cook and may not cook through by the time the rice is finished.
What Else Can I Add to Chicken and Rice?
If you want to add some vegetables to the pot, I would try adding a ½ cup frozen peas when you add the broth, or sautéing some mushrooms after the chicken and before the onions.
What to Serve with Chicken and Rice?
Since I didn’t add any vegetables in the pot with my chicken and rice, I added some roasted broccoli on the side. I think roasted broccoli is the perfect side because the roasted flavor matches the coziness of the chicken and rice, plus the simple flavor doesn’t compete, leaving the chicken and rice to shine. You could also do some steamed green beans, sautéed zucchini, or a simple side salad.
One Pot Chicken and Rice
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 tsp paprika ($0.20)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 1 tsp dried thyme ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp pepper ($0.02)
- 1.25 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4-5 thighs) ($4.23)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil, divided ($0.08)
- 1 yellow onion, diced ($0.32)
- 1 cup long-grain white rice (uncooked) ($0.32)
- 1.75 cups vegetable broth ($0.23)
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley (optional garnish) ($0.10)
Instructions
- Combine the paprika, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Coat both sides of the chicken thighs in the seasoning mix.
- Add 1 Tbsp cooking oil to a deep skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, swirl to coat the surface of the skillet, then add the chicken thighs. Cook the thighs for a few minutes on each side, or until well browned. The chicken does not need to be cooked through at this point.
- Remove the browned chicken to a clean plate. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add an additional 1 Tbsp cooking oil to the skillet, then add the diced onion. Sauté the onion for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Allow the moisture from the onion to dissolve the browned bits from the skillet as you stir.
- Add the uncooked rice to the skillet and continue to sauté for 1-2 minutes more to toast the rice.
- Add the vegetable broth to the skillet and briefly stir to dissolve any remaining brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Return the chicken to the skillet, setting it on top of the rice. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the broth to come up to a full boil.
- Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and let the chicken and rice continue to simmer over low, without lifting the lid or stirring, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let it rest, without lifting the lid, for an additional 5 minutes.
- Finally, remove the lid and fluff the rice around the chicken. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired, then serve and enjoy!
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Nutrition
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How to Make Chicken and Rice – Step by Step Photos
Combine 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in a bowl. Coat both sides of four or five boneless, skinless chicken thighs with the seasoning mix.
Heat 1 Tbsp cooking oil in a deep skillet over medium. Once hot, swirl to coat the surface, then add the seasoned chicken thighs. Cook for about five minutes on each side, or until well browned. The chicken does not need to be fully cooked at this point, just well browned on the surface. While the chicken cooks, dice a yellow onion.
Remove the browned chicken to a clean plate. Reduce the heat to medium-low, then add another 1 Tbsp cooking oil and the diced onion to the skillet. Sauté the onion until soft, allowing the moisture from the onion to dissolve the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
Add one cup of uncooked long-grain white rice to the skillet. Continue to sauté with the onion for 1-2 minutes to slightly toast the rice. You should hear it crackling and popping.
Add 1.75 cups vegetable broth to the skillet with the rice and onions. Briefly stir to dissolve any browned bits that might remain stuck to the bottom of the skillet.
Return the chicken thighs to the skillet, placing them on top of the rice. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the broth to come up to a boil. When it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and let it continue to simmer on low, without lifting the lid or stirring, for 20 minutes.
After simmering on low for 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let it rest for five minutes without lifting the lid. After resting, it should look like the above photo.
Fluff the rice with a fork and stir the onions back into the rice (it tends to float to the top while simmering). Garnish with chopped parsley and serve!
i made this for the first meal in a new place for a person i’d met for the first time! very happy critic. great first impression/ice breaker and i never usually go for meals made by chefs i’d never seen before. saw the 5 star rating and just went with it because i was in a rush. did not disappoint.
Turned out PERFECT. Really yummy! Best chicken and rice dish I’ve made.
Can you do this with Brown rice instead? Thanks!
Brown rice requires more water and a longer cooking time so you’d want to adjust those things a bit for sure. As we haven’t made the recipe with brown rice I can’t give you concrete instructions, but if you do those two things it should work out.
Made this for the first time and it was yum. Had some crunchy rice, but not too bad and that was on me for not using a different lid for the pan. Reheated well, and per some comments here, added lemon juice and a bit of hot sauce and it made it even better.
Just made again. Some would think mine was bland since can’t eat salt. But, just use pepper garlic and onion . We really like it. Added frozen peas.
I made this. Excellent!!! Just be careful with the Oregano and Thyme.
Wonderful! Thank You! 💕
1) You don’t wash your rice?! Beth, cmon now.
2) Kinda bland, but that’s alright. It has good flavor but nothing really pops is what I mean.
3) A ton of rice stuck to the bottom of my skillet. Not sure why because I did everything the correct way.
Overall it’s an okay dish but I’ll be looking for a better recipe elsewhere. Cheap doesn’t mean no flavor.
Did you wash your rice, Kyle? If so, you didn’t follow the recipe exactly. And please get some manners, Kyle.
Be sure to watch your chicken, and take it out before it’s overdone. In my experience, the chicken is always done before the rice, so I take it out at around the 30 minutes mark and let the rice cook for another 20 minutes.
I also find that this recipe leaves the rice a little bland, so I add salt and a bit of chicken stock powder. The chicken seasoning is really tasty though.
Why are you cooking chicken so long? Read the instructions again, no wonder you chicken is overdone. It’s user error, not bad recipe.
I added bourbon barbeque sauce and used chicken broth instead 👌🏼
Very good! Added marinated artichoke hearts and castelvetrano olives and used chicken buillon to elevate the flavors. Definitely needed to cook for 30 min after adding rice.
How could I make this using brown rice?
Hi, I’ve made this for couple of times, I like it but it tends to be slightly dry, how can I make it more “saucy” or creamy? rice soaks up all the liquid :) feels like something is missing, any ideas?
If it were me, I would just add a touch more broth and a pat of butter at the end!
I thought this was fantastic. I was weary of the flavor profile being basic but I was pleasantly surprised! I used better than bullion vegetable broth which complimented everything wonderfully. I also served with a side of green beans! Will definitely make again!
This looks great but it looks like you are using a pan and not a skillet. I have a 12.5 inch skillet, is that going to be deep enough for the volume of this or should I use a pan like in the images?
You might just be able to get away with that size, but if you have one, I’d recommend using something deeper. The skillet we’re using here is a 4 quart. You could even use a small dutch oven if you prefer.
My teenager loves this recipe so much, in fact he asked for it for his birthday even though we offered to go out to dinner or get DoorDash. I always have to cook the rice an extra 5 minutes but other then that it’s perfect.
This recipe is so good. I have to say I doubled the seasoning and used bouillon cubes for my broth.
I made this before and really liked it but changed it up this time. I made it with a Cajun twist. I added some Cajun seasoning to the spice mix. After sautéing the chicken I sautéed 12 ounces of sliced Andouille sausage. I added green pepper and celery to the onions and used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth. My fiancé loved it! Great leftovers too.
I love this recipe!!! Unfortunately my life is usually so busy this takes too long to make. Is there anyway this can made in the slow cooker that wouldn’t make the rice totally stoggy.
I’m sure it could be done, but we’d have to test it out first which we haven’t done in a slow cooker. You’d definitely still want to sear the chicken though I think before adding it to a slow cooker!
I’ve read elsewhere that using Minute Rice will solve that.
How would I double this? If I don’t have a huge pot?
I think the only way you’d be able to do that is if you used two skillets.
It was good and easy, but very basic, and not enough spices/flavor. I think next time I’ll add some chipotle in adobo sauce, or diced green chilies, and possibly some diced bell peppers at the onion stage. And maybe a splash of some kind of vinegar or lemon juice at the end, for bit of a bright acidity.
It’s a good recipe. Next time I might reduce the spices a bit. It definitely needs more salt. Otherwise it was quite good.
The ratio of rice to chicken is off. If I were to make this recipe again I’d use 1/2 as much rice.
It went exactly as planned and turned out just like the picture! Savory and filling (and good for leftovers). We will be making this a regular meal
How would you reheat the leftovers?
Honestly, we just reheat most things in the microwave for 1-2 minutes!
I just made this for my family and my daughter, who hardly ever likes what we have for dinner and who generally eats like a bird, had 4 helpings! Amazing! The only thing I did differently is I doubled the spices that I coated the chicken with.
I made this last night and really enjoyed it. It seems like it’d be a good template to tweak and make other one-pot chicken rice dishes. Maybe next time I’ll use cumin, cardamom and garam masala with golden raisins for a more Indian flair. I did sub celery and oyster mushrooms for the onion to make it low-FODMAP and I think it turned out pretty well. Heads up, though: I think the recipe assumes you’re using a bouillon cube for stock, so if you don’t you’ll need to add more salt.
We subbed boneless skinless chicken breasts and chicken broth as well as doubled the seasoning mix and added broccoli. Big hit with our family of 4 and so flavorful!
Overall, this is a great recipe. I had no issues with the amount of flavoring; I measured out each one according to the recipe instructions and it was delish. I’ve finished the dish with a final sprinkle of salt and some lemon juice and that was great too.
One thing to note: I’ve made the dish twice on my gas stove in my preheated cast iron skillet. The first time I had fairly uncooked rice at the top. The second time, I stirred it halfway, added more broth, and let it go for longer and I still had undercooked rice. I don’t see this issue in the comments, so I’m thinking it’s something to with my setup. I’ve seen similar recipes where you bake the combined chicken and rice in the oven rather than the stove, so I may try that in the future.
Just chiming in to say that I had the exact same issue – preheated, cast-iron pan on a gas stove and rice was under cooked. Such a bummer. Maybe we can’t use cast iron?
So good! Made exactly as described and added spinach at the very end. Thank you! Added to our rotation.
The family absolutely loves this recipe!!! Only change is, I just sprinkle a little more salt on the thighs before I cook them!!!! Have made this recipe plenty of times!!!
Great recipe, I love the flavor profile!
My daughter and I made this tonight, as written and thought it was delicious! I can see us making this again. It’s just as good as the chicken and orzo recipe that is similar.
Super yummy and since it’s one pot, the rice gets all the flavors from browning the chicken. Very easy and just what I was looking for.
We liked this recipe. Quick and easy. I used chicken stock and added 1 cup of frozen peas. I will make it again and add a little more salt.
This dish was very delicious, we really loved it…after reading reviews and deciding to make some adjustments.
I knew just by looking at it that the seasonings wouldn’t be enough to also flavor the rice which is always very bland by itself.
I at least tripled all the spices (until it “looked good”) and used the salt & pepper to taste. This was really helpful in giving more flavor, especially since I increased the rice to 1.5c & chicken broth to 2.5c.
This was a really big hit, it came out great! And super easy to make.
Word to the wise, even for just my husband and I, it did not make 4 servings. We had very little left over, even after making extra rice and having a couple of sides with it. Just depends on your portion sizes I suppose.
One Pot CHICKEN AND RICE was super delicious. Chicken thighs were tender. I threw in some chopped baby carrots when I sautéed the onions and they softened right up when the rice was cooking. New family favorite,
I’ve been a budgetbytes fan for years. Back in the day when I was a single gal, meal prepping in my own tiny apartment, your recipes were perfectly thrifty and practical for me. Now, I’m a stay at home mom still looking for smart ways to save and serve a nice meal – albeit for a larger audience (home economics indeed!). I made this last night and it was great, my two year old helped me chop the mushrooms, and then asked for a second helping. It reminds me of the “low country chicken bog” recipe I make when I have time to do a whole chicken. But perfectly suited for a weeknight. Keep up the good work, I’ll be using your recipes forever. Thank you!
New favorite in my household! This and the Lemon Pepper Chicken with Orzo are in the regular rotation. I usually use chicken stock for more of a savory flavor, and add some additional go-to spices (aleppo pepper, smoked paprika, TJ’s mushroom powder for some umami kick). I also dump out some of the chicken fat if there’s too much in the pan. All around great recipe!
It’s like magic. It has become a family favorite. I’m like a kid when I see the rice expand and surround the chicken. I increase the rice to 1 1/2 cups and the chicken broth to 3 cups, because my wife and kids are Filipino (rice lovers). I’m not usually so big on rice, but I can eat the rice all by itself. Many kudos!
This was delish! I seasoned the chicken thighs all over with salt and pepper before adding the other seasonings. I used jasmine rice and regular sodium chicken broth. Very flavorful and lasted all week! Added frozen peas and carrots. It’s going in the regular rotation!!
Can I use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth?
Yes :) It will change the color of the dish (more yellow than brown), but it will still taste good.
Awful no flavor bland and gross
It was good overall; however, I would have liked a little more flavoring. It was simple and I had all the spices on hand. I will try adding a little more of the spices and changing up the broth as suggested.
I bavented tasted this yet, but it sure was easy and smells delicious. The only thing I didn’t do was remove the skin 😩, but I’m sure I’ll make it again.
Was looking for recipe to use 2 chicken thighs so halved the recipe.
The end result was flavorful but seemed oily…
How do I tweak this recipe to cook in a rice cooker?
Unfortunately, as we have not made it in a rice cooker, we cannot give you any specific guidance. I would try it as is, maybe use 1/4 cup less liquid, and go from there.
My college age daughter and I loved it! Smelled amazing while cooking. Great use of spices. Tender chicken. She thought it was perfect as is. I would have added a little heavier dose of seasonings for my “old” palate.
I’ve made this 3 times now and it’s delicious. I do make sure there is extra seasoning (that fell off the chicken) when I mix in the rice, and I add a smidge of cayenne just because I find cayenne gives some depth. But even when I first made it exactly as written it was delicious, it’s actually my 14 year olds favorite meal.
Honestly not great. Rice has almost no flavor. Honestly it tasted like a bland boiled peanut because the rice was also undercooked. 1/4tsp of salt really hurts this dish. After adding more much needed salt (but not so much as to be overpowering) I couldn’t taste any other seasoning. Also rice needed an additional 20 minutes on low. Though I do understand not all stoves are the same so cooking may be different, but the flavor is just not there.
The amount of flavor in this dish is really going to be affected by the broth you use, so it might be that your broth was less flavorful or had less salt than the broth we used.
This recipe turned out great. I think if it didn’t for you, you must have done it wrong. The directions were easy to follow, 20 minutes was the perfect amount of time to cook the chicken and the rice perfectly. I would think if you do not have the proper pot and lid then this is where things could go wrong. I left out the oregano but I added a few teaspoons of Tony’s Cajun seasoning.
It’s not fair to say they did it wrong, especially when you didn’t follow the recipe to the letter yourself by ADDING seasoning. And a fairly salty seasoning at that. Nic is right about the flavor lacking. 1/4 teaspoon of salt is not enough to season over a pound of chicken and 1 cup of rice. Even if there isn’t a measurement, seasoning with salt to taste should be included in the step to saute the onions and adding the broth to the rice. Especially since not everyone is using store bought, salted broth. I think I’d make this again with those edits.
Can I use instant Minute Rice instead?
That may change the cook time and amount of liquid you need to use. I’d need to do some experimenting before offering concrete instructions.
Made this a couple times and it’s great, just wondering if this recipe can be doubled?
Yes, but I’d use something like a Dutch oven to cook it in so you get really nice even heat. Otherwise, the rice might not cook as evenly.
This was delicious, but my rice didn’t cook all the way. Instead of white long grain rice, I used brown long grain (also says whole grian on package) rice. Does white rice cook that much faster? I’d modify if I knew how. Any suggestions?
Brown rice requires more water and a longer cooking time. I’m unsure how to guide you, as we haven’t made the recipe with brown rice.
Another easy and tasty dinner added to the rotation. Thanks!
I’ve made this recipe twice and it’s coming out awesome each time. My kids love it.
Fantastic, easy dinner. Leftovers for lunches were claimed quickly. Thank you!
Easy love it!
Reminded me of ramen noodles. Or some gym bro who lifts and only eats chicken and rice. So many others o. Here have been sooo tasty. But this one will not be in rotation
REGARDING NUMBER OF SERVINGS:
4 opr 5 chicken thighs and a cup of rice plus side dish of vegetables (roasted broccoli, steamed green beans, side salad) sounds like more than 1 serving (as listed in the nutritional values shown). Can’t wait to try it out.
I make this recipe all the time now and it’s perfect ❤️ thank you!!
Easy to make in the Instant Pot. Completely delicious.
Please share how you converted to instant pot
Yum!!! Super easy and super flavorful!!
This has become one of our very favorite meals! We have been eating it every week! We make the recipe with bone-in chicken thighs and they cook well. I love how tender the chicken turns out.
I have tried to adapt tons of 1-pot rice recipes to use brown rice instead of white and they’ve never worked well. It takes hours of simmering, extra water, and even there are still some crunchy rice pieces.
But I tried this recipe with instant (read: parboiled) brown rice today and it worked! I probably could have reduced the liquid a bit because there was extra liquid left in the pan and the rice was a bit saucy, maybe reduce to 1.25-1.5 cups. But overall it worked so much better than expectedand tasted great. Can’t wait to apply this trick to other 1-pot protein+rice meal preps!
Hi
I have also been trying to adapt my white rice recipes to use brown rice…and have the same problems. Brown rice is so much healthier, but it takes forever to cook.
When you mention ‘instant’ brown rice what are you refering to?
The flavor is amazing! Such a great meal. I doubled the recipe and used a very wide skillet, so not all the rice cooked evenly. Luckily, the center part of the skillet was cooked to perfection, so we dished dinner out of the middle, and cooked the outside ring of the rice after dinner. We are all set for leftovers!
This was an easy and delicious dinner! It had a lot of flavor for the amount of effort needed. I didn’t make any modifications and served it with steamed broccoli on the side.
If I used boneless chicken breast how much longer does it cook? I’m thinking it doesn’t change Thanks
They may take a few extra minutes to cook than boneless thighs. I would suggest using a kitchen thermometer to check the internal temperature and make sure it reaches between 165-185*F in the thickest part of each piece. Otherwise, cut into the largest one and make sure the center is totally white and no pink spots remain. ~ Marion :)
Flavors were good, but the rice was hard in the end. Dinner came so close to being good. I cried. 9 months pregnant, and didn’t want to make dinner in the first place. Stood on my feet for all of that time for it to turn out like crap.
Hi Sarah, I’m sorry this recipe didn’t turn out well for you! Rice can definitely be tricky sometimes. If the rice is still crunchy, that’s usually a good indicator that the heat may have been a bit too low and broth stopped simmering at some point, which means the rice will also stop cooking. I hope you get the chance to try it again some day because I think you’ll really love it!
I’ve made this at least 5 times, I like to change up the seasonings, but it always comes out great. My family loves it. IF YOU FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS, it will come out perfectly!
Hi Beth, my family and I love this recipe! I was meal prepping this morning and accidentally cut the chicken thighs into pieces instead of leaving them whole. I forgot you weren’t supposed to cut them. Can I still use them for this recipe or do I need to get some whole thighs? Thank you!
Yep, you can definitely still use them! :) Just make sure the skillet is hot enough to brown them because the smaller pieces will release more water as they cook, so you’ll need the heat to be a bit higher to get that browning action. They’ll also cook very quickly.
Same here, Sarah.
I haven’t had much luck when it comes to rice…let alone one pot meals with rice. I should’ve just listened to Beth—because she always nails it. Dinner turned out perfectly and the rice didn’t stick and was fluffy. I’ve come to associate Budget Bytes with not having to do test runs. Again, Beth was right! Follow the directions and recipe and you’re guaranteed a 💯 meal. Thank you again!
This is a new favorite in our house! It’s extremely easy to cook and flavorful, but none of the spices were overwhelming in any way. I soaked the rice in cold water for about twenty minutes and then rinsed it before adding it to the pot as instructed in this recipe. I found that this was a great added step to this recipe and the only thing I changed. We served with peas as a side, which also added great flavor as they inevitably worked themselves into the dish. I highly recommend adding hot sauce, such as Tapatio, before eating as that really elevates the flavor.
This is a 10/10 in our house as of today. My husband was effusive in his compliments for the dish and my seven year old cleaned her entire plate, which can be a rarity. I can’t wait to cook it again!
love this recipe, feeds all 3 of us for less than 20 dollars with leftovers
This is one of my favorite go-to dinners!! Absolutely love it! Great flavors. Add some roasted veggies on the side. Yum!
This is a great dish. I made it tonight. I used the whole package of thighs, and scaled the rub accordingly. Kept the rice at 1cup. Turned out delicious! I will make this again.
Well, after reading all the comments, I tried this out and I don’t know where I went wrong. Followed the recipe precisely (except my batch was double). It turned out okay in flavor, but the rice was total mush except some of it was still hard around the edges of my dutch oven. Not even fluffable. I’m finding out I can’t cook rice to save my life. Anything without rice is always a success, but my dishes with rice only turn out good half of the time. 😭
Hi, Anthony! I totally get this — I have made many, many bad batches of rice along the way! (Everyone does now and then!) First, I would advise looking at the cooking instructions on your package of rice for both a cook time and the suggested ratio of liquid per cup of uncooked rice. Yours could differ slightly from what we suggest. It can also vary between different brands of the same type of rice. Rice needs a certain ratio of liquid in order to cook properly, so if there’s not enough liquid (or if the heat is too high, and it evaporates too fast) the rice touching the edges of the pot will tend to harden/scorch.
Mushy rice also suggests to me that it was too starchy. A few ways to keep that from happening are…
1) Rinse the rice thoroughly before cooking it.
2) Resist the urge to over-stir the rice once the broth is added. Like pasta, stirring the rice in liquid activates the starches in it. (In some cases, like risotto, you want the rice to break down in this way…but not in this case!)
3) Also, as Beth mentions, once you cover the pot, leave it until the cooking time is over. It’s tough because you want to check & make sure it’s cooking properly — but it actually causes the opposite to happen! Each time the lid is removed, it releases all the built-up steam that’s working to soften & cook the rice (as well as over-reduce the liquid in the pot). This essentially stalls the cooking process, meaning it will take longer to cook through, resulting in unevenly-cooked or overcooked rice.
I hope that helps! ~Marion :)
This was delicious! The seasoning mix was so good on the chicken. We added the peas and had roasted broccoli too. Both yummy. So easy to make, too.
I accidentally did use breasts instead of thighs here (didn’t notice I’d grabbed the wrong cut until it was too late, oops), and it still wound up delicious! It’s quick and easy, it’s well-balanced both flavor-wise and nutrition-wise, and it packs a heck of a flavor punch! The chicken did end up a little dry, though, as Beth warned, so next time double-check to make sure I’ve got the right cut of meat. Although, it should be noted: when I was done searing the chicken, because the breasts were so much thinner, they cooked *really* fast and I was just tempted to eat them right then & there. I’m glad I didn’t, though, because the whole dish comes together so well!
Love your One Pot Chicken and Rice.. I use Brown Rice which requires a little longer to cook than white rice.. great meal!
Fast favorite at our house! We do double the seasonings.
Thanks for Sharing this Awesome recipe. great and good recipe you have shared.
This is great and simple! I only had brown rice on hand, so I let the rice cook a little bit before adding the chicken thighs so they didn’t overcook. If you don’t have the long grain white rice, I’d recommend looking at how long your rice says it takes to cook and then adjusting. Worked well! It’s a great recipe for when you don’t really feel like cooking. Will likely add to my rotation.
I made this tonight. My husband loves it. I used smoked paprika instead of plain paprika, and chicken broth instead of vegetable broth. It was delicious!
Super easy to cook and so delicious. Can’t go wrong with this one.
Budget Bytes does it again! Discovered this recipe a week ago and have already made it a few times. I’ve been playing around with it and like to add finely chopped carrots after the chicken and before the onions. I highly suggest the pea add-on suggested in the preface. Timed perfectly and added a little extra burst of flavor. This may have just passed the sheet pan fajita recipe and Cajun sausage skillet for my favorite BB recipe!
Nice Recipe! I will definitely try this but I like veg biryani most and nowadays I have ordered from Hungry House.
If making with mushrooms as suggested in the preamble, do you leave the mushrooms in with the onions and rice, or take it out with the chicken?
Leave them in. XOXO -Monti
This recipe was really good. I always tweak mine due to what I have on hand. Boneless, skinless thighs is a must! I deglazed with some white wine-gives flavor some depth. I used basmatti rice, which takes a little longer and mushrooms. I suggest if you use any rice that needs more cook time, par cook it while cooking chicken and such, then add rice and liquid to finish it off.
The richness the chicken gave the dishe was really good. I would definitely make this again!
Easy and flavorful!
I made this for supper, and it was fantastic! I didn’t have any oregano so I used a little Italian seasoning and my paprika was smoked. Left off the parsley. Even the 11 year old happily ate it! Thanks for any other winner!
If you subbed in brown rice for white, how would that change timing do you think?
You would need to change the amount of liquid and it would also change the timing. Since we haven’t tested it with brown rice, I couldn’t say for sure. But it usually needs at least 50% more cooking time and at least 25% more liquid. XOXO -Monti
I subbed with Quorn veggie chicken and added chopped broccoli stalks and florets before covering and it came out superb!
Super easy dish with good flavor! I used smoked paprika because I didn’t have any on hand, and doubled the amount of oregano due to a lack of thyme. It was at a full boil before I realized so I think that’s why my rice turned out a bit crunchy.
So easy and delicious. I would re-use this spice mix for any kind of chicken. I did double the salt in the spices, but still needed to add more at the end as well.
Could you finish cooking this in the oven? At what stage , temp and time.
Oven-finishing is unnecessary. It adds the extra step of warming up an oven, which wastes time and energy. It’s also important to finish this recipe at a low heat. It is definitely a stove top recipe. But if you want to add the extra step, pre-heat your oven to 200, and finish in the oven. XOXO -Monti
Thank you….great recipe, loved by all, will definitely be a regular! Made a few tweaks just to suit what we eat etc. I used chicken breast cut into small chunks, coated it in the herb mix, then cooked in the pan with the onion at the same time. Then once lightly cooked, I added the rice, mixed it all together & poured the liquid (stock) over it – didn’t worry about the chicken being on the top. Also skipped the stock as we don’t use it (food intolerances), but instead used water mixed with Herbamare for extra flavour. Turned out beautifully 😊
I used this recipe to help my 10 yr old daughter make dinner. It was very easy to prep with BIG results in flavor! we loved it, especially our one year old! thanks for a great recipe that is now on repeat here.
I love that you’re cooking with your kiddo! Thanks for being here! XOXO
Thank you so much for your recipes that are not only delicious but budget friendly. I have, for good reason, had to work on a much tighter budget and I just made this tonight and it was fantastic. I served some green beans alongside of it and it was all gobbled up. I honestly can’t wait to make more of your recipes and also remember to rate them. Thank you!
This dish is ah-mazing!!! I cut the chicken thighs into bite sized pieces, and cooked it in 2 batches. My sister would like to make this dish for her lunch sometime. It was very easy to make, and I like the fact that everything is cooked in one pot. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe, Miss Beth!!! 😋
Lovely and comforting. Minimal hands on prep with big flavour. Thank you!
Lovely and tasty meal! The only thing I would change is adding a little bit of salt with the vegetable broth for the rice.
This is so delicious! I’ve recently cut out red meat and so I’ve been looking for chicken or turkey recipes and I stumbled upon this one. I’ve never been a huge fan of chicken, but this I’ll make an exception for! It’s so easy to make and came out perfect. I’ll definitely be making this one again.
Delicious!!! My rice came out really wet, even though I followed the instructions/measurements. I might have had a little extra liquid in there (I used frozen diced onion; thought I cooked it down enough….). Will absolutely be making again to troubleshoot!
Next time, try simmering it a little longer. I bet reducing the liquid through the simmering will do the trick!
I was looking for a chicken and rice dish that I could cook to break in my new dutch oven, and this is exactly what I was looking for and it came out perfect! I almost took a picture before removing it from the pan. It’s not often I get a result that looks as good as the pictures, but this one did. The house smells wonderful while this is cooking. I used basmati rice, and it was perfect. Even at high altitude, where rice can take longer, the timing was spot on.
Awesome! I’m so glad it turned out so well for you. :)
This turned out perfectly! Next time I’ll try to make sure and have a lemon on hand, and add some lemon or lime juice at the end. I think a little bit of acidity would really finish it out. I’m learning how to cook through your recipes! Thank you.
Delicious! I doubled the spices and added half a tablespoon of tomato paste. So quick, definitely going into our dinner rotation.
I made this last night, and it turned out great! It was a big hit with my family. Chicken had a nice flavor and was perfectly cooked. I made it exactly as directed except when it was time to sauté the onions, I also added in about 1/2-3/4 cup each of diced carrots and celery. It was a nice way to add in some veg, and I think the added moisture from fresh vegetables made the rice texture better as I used basmati which I’ve noticed tends to dry out. Anyway, great recipe! Love how adaptable it is!
I love one-pot meals for busy nights and this was delicious and easy. My kids both asked for seconds. The spices give it a very Cajun flavor, but not too spicy.
This recipe came together so easily and my whole family really enjoyed it. Will definitely make it again!
Everything cooked perfectly, but the spice profile was not my favorite nor enjoyed by my husband and daughter. It’s too spicy, I guess. Or maybe I don’t like paprika, and there was a lot of that. I may try this again using a bought spice blend since I don’t trust myself to come up with my own. I did enjoy the one pot aspect!
Tried this out tonight and it was amazing. It is very easy to make and I LOVED having so few dishes to do by the end of it. The only change I made was adding about 5 cloves of fresh garlic right before I added the rice (I’m a garlic girl) and it was delicious. This will definitely be in my regular rotation!
This is absolutely delicious! I did not have rice, so I just substituted 4 servings of fettuccine noodles and no other changes were necessary. Such delicious flavors. And goes great with broccoli.
This looks delicious and easy to make! Can’t wait to try it out. Thanks for the recipe!
Any reccomendations for trying this but with briwn rice instead? I really like the idea of everything in one pot but important worried the increased cooking time for the brown rice would overcook/dry out the chicken.
Brown rice requires more liquid and needs to simmer about three times longer, so it’s a little tricky to sub brown rice for white rice in one pot dishes like this. The longer cook time often ends up over cooking the other ingredients. 😬
This was so flavorful and easy! The chicken came out so juicy and the rice was cooked perfectly. I think this would be really good with some diced celery or water chestnuts to add some crunch… definitely going to try adding one of those next time.
This was great – flavorful and fast. It was a good weeknight supper and everyone from adults to kids cleaned their plates. I served with asparagus. Also, husband bought thighs with skin, and bone-in, and I tried it anyway – started the heat a little lower at first and then upped it during the initial browning stage. It cooked through but I was prepared to finish it separately if it hadn’t.
THIS WAS AMAZING. ESP THE RICE!!! I want to make this again and again and double the rice… haha. I think I will also try with vegan fake chicken.. or even just make the rice.
THIS WAS AMAZING. ESP THE RICE!!! I want to make this again and again and double the rice… haha. I think I will also try with vegan fake chicken.. or even just make the rice. YUMM. THANK YOU!
This is the most flavorless waste of premium small farm organic chicken ever. Don’t waste your food. Find something else.
Definitely thinking of doing this. However, I’m planning to use an Instant Pot since my stainless steel pan is too small. Would you recommend cooking the chicken through, or adding the chicken at the end to cook with the rice (which will only be for about five minutes).
Fantastic recipe! The thumbnail had been taunting me for days, and I went and got chicken thighs just to try it. I used basmati rice since that was what was on hand, and everything cooked up perfectly. I worry sometimes when making rice skillets that things will turn out bland, but everything was wonderfully flavorful!
Very quick and easy recipe that turned out delicious. I cheated and used a premade seasoning blend and used chicken broth instead. I’m very pleased with the results. Will be making again
Tasty but my chicken came out really dry
If I made it again, I would fully cook chicken before starting the rice or just adding the chicken at the end for a few minutes while the rice is finishing
This is great! I used smoked paprika and added more salt. Thanks for your consistently excellent, simple recipes. You are a gem.
Wow. We’ve been long time fans of BudgetBytes and this is a new all time favorite and classic. It was so quick and easy, and the rice was one of the most delicious things I have cooked in a LONG time. The chicken was also great – tender and flavorful. But the rice…i was ready to lick the sides of the pan. As I was shoveling leftovers into a tupperware, I couldn’t stop myself from eating every other spoonful.
One note – we only had jasmine rice, so we used that instead of long grain white. Not sure that would have made a difference though. The flavor was all from the chicken and spices and broth.
Thank you, Beth!!!
Haha, that is the exact experience I had with the rice as I was trying to photograph it and pack it up for the fridge! 😅 I’m definitely going to have to see if I can do the rice on its own because it’s just so good that I want it all the time.
OMG PLEASE do a rice only version. Since making this, I’ve tracked down a few “Seasoned Rice” recipes for when I want a side of rice similar to this, but so far it’s just not been the same as when I used the browned chicken bits from the pan. I still can’t believe how good this was!
Could you substitute brown rice and adjust the broth amount accordingly?
It’s possible, but don’t forget to increase the cooking time as well. The thighs will then end up cooking about 3x as long, so hopefully, they don’t overcook.
This turned out great, as i knew it would! I had made the orzo skillet dinner last week and this reminded me of it. Simple and delicious. I did however use a full two cups of broth with the rice and it turned out just fine.
Do you have any steadfast rules for converting a one pot meal with white rice to brown rice?
No, unfortunately, I don’t. It can be tricky because not only do you need more liquid, but it needs to simmer for about 3x as long, which can often end up over cooking the other ingredients.
I’m thinking that if I use brown rice, I might be able to use bone-in thighs. Any thoughts?
Yes, that will probably work since the cooking time for both are longer. :)
Could I pop this in the crockpot after browning all the ingredients?
In my experience, rice doesn’t turn out that great in slow cookers.