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!
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! Iโve recently cut out red meat and so Iโve been looking for chicken or turkey ย recipes and I stumbled upon this one. Iโve never been a huge fan of chicken, but this Iโll make an exception for! Itโs so easy to make and came out perfect. Iโll definitely be making this one again.ย
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 sautรฉ 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. Itโs too spicy, I guess. Or maybe I donโt like paprika, and there was a lot of that. I may try this again using a bought spice blend since I donโt trust myself to come up with my own. ย 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. ๐ฌ
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.