It’s been a while since I’ve posted a “one pot” recipe, but I’m really excited about this one. This One Pot Teriyaki Chicken and Rice is incredibly easy, requires very little chopping, and is one of those super satisfying meals that I look forward to every time I make it. Oh, and did I mention that it meal preps really well, too? I mean, what doesn’t this Teriyaki Chicken and Rice do? (Answer: the dishes. But since it’s one pot there aren’t many to do anyway!)
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Can I Make This in a Rice Cooker?
This recipe is essentially a chicken version of my Rice Cooker Teriyaki Shrimp and Rice, but cooked in a skillet instead of a rice cooker. Could you cook this recipe in a rice cooker as well? Probably so! But I haven’t tested it yet myself. If cooking this in a rice cooker, I would sauté the chicken, garlic, and ginger first, then add the rice and water, and cook until the rice is finished. Add the frozen vegetables, cook five minutes more, then pour on the sauce and fold until combined.
Do I Have to Use Jasmine Rice?
No, but jasmine rice does give it a LOT more flavor. Luckily, jasmine rice is becoming more and more common in the U.S. and I’ve been able to find 5lb. bags of jasmine rice for very good prices at most grocery stores. They’re usually hiding on the bottom shelf in the rice aisle. If you can’t find jasmine rice, use long grain white rice instead. I don’t suggest short or medium grained rice for this recipe.
Tips for One Pot Rice Recipes:
One pot recipes can be tricky because every stove top and every piece of cookware transmits heat a little differently. I suggest mastering the skill of cooking rice in a pot on the stove top before attempting a one pot rice recipe. Here are a few other tips that will help you get perfectly cooked rice without burning and scorching:
- Use heavy or thick bottomed cookware. This will evenly cook the rice instead of scorching the bottom or leaving pockets of rice partially cooked.
- Make sure the pot/skillet comes up to a FULL boil before turning it down to low. This will help make sure it stays at a simmer when it continues to cook on low.
- Don’t skip the last step of letting the rice rest with the lid on and heat turned off for at least five minutes. This allows the steam to redistribute throughout and loosen any rice that may be stuck to the bottom.
But other than that, it’s super easy. I swear. ;)
What Kind of Skillet Should I Use?
You want something that is thick, heavy, has a wide bottom, and is about 3 quarts in volume. I am using a 3 quart deep sauté pan made by OXO. A good Dutch oven would also work well.
You might also like my One Pot Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Rice!
One Pot Teriyaki Chicken and Rice
Servings 4 about 2 cups eachIngredients
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2/3 lb.) ($2.81)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.10)
- 1.5 cups uncooked jasmine rice ($0.99)
- 2.5 cups water ($0.00)
- 12 oz. frozen stir fry vegetables ($1.59)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ($0.24)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.08)
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil ($0.10)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.15)
Instructions
- Cut the chicken breast into very small pieces, about 1/2 to 3/4-inch in size.
- Add the cooking oil, garlic, and ginger to a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium heat for about 1 minute, then add the chicken pieces and continue to sauté just until the outside of the chicken is no longer pink. Do not over cook the chicken here, it will finish cooking with the rice.
- Add the uncooked rice to the skillet and continue to sauté for 1-2 minutes more. You should hear the rice popping. Finally, add the water and give everything a brief stir to make sure there is no rice stuck to the bottom of the skillet.
- Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the water to come to a full boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
- While the skillet is simmering over low, prepare the teriyaki sauce. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, brown sugar, and toasted sesame oil. The brown sugar may not fully dissolve, but that’s okay. Set the sauce aside.
- After the rice has simmered for 10 minutes, lift the lid briefly to sprinkle the frozen vegetables on top, then replace the lid immediately. Make sure the vegetables are spread evenly over the surface. Let the skillet continue to heat over low for an additional five minute.
- After steaming the rice and vegetables together for 5 minutes, turn the heat off and let the skillet rest with the lid in place for an additional five minutes.
- Give the teriyaki sauce another brief stir, lift the lid on the skillet, and drizzle the sauce over the vegetables. Make sure to scrape out all the sugar from the bottom of the bowl. Using a spatula or large spoon, gently fold the rice and vegetables together until everything is mostly coated in the sauce. Make sure to scoop all the way to the bottom of the skillet when folding, as the sauce will sink to the bottom.
- Place the lid back on top and let the skillet rest for a final 5 minutes to let the flavor soak in (heat turned off). Sprinkle sliced green onions over top just before serving.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Color Cutting Boards
- Chef’s Knife
- Deep Stainless Steel Skillet
- Liquid Measuring Cup
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Teriyaki Chicken and Rice – Step by Step Photos
Start by cutting one boneless, skinless chicken breast into small pieces, about 1/2 to 3/4-inch in size. This one chicken breast weighed about 2/3 lb.
Add 1 Tbsp cooking oil, 2 cloves of garlic (minced), and about 1 tsp minced fresh ginger in a large deep skillet. Sauté over medium for about one minute, then add the chicken and continue to sauté just until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside. Don’t over cook the chicken at this point because it will continue to cook with the rice.
Add 1.5 cups jasmine rice to the skillet and continue to sauté for a minute more. You’ll hear the rice popping. Then add 2.5 cups water and stir briefly to make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Place a lid on top, turn the heat up to medium-high, and let it come to a full boil. As soon as it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer over low for 10 minutes (lid on).
While the rice is simmering over low, prepare the teriyaki sauce. Stir together 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil in a small bowl. The brown sugar won’t fully dissolve, but that’s okay. Set the sauce aside. It will be added at the end.
After the rice has simmered over low for 10 minutes, lift the lid only long enough to pour on one 12 oz. bag of frozen stir fry vegetables (not thawed). Make sure the vegetables are spread fairly evenly across the rice, and replace the lid immediately. Let them continue to steam with the rice over low heat for another 5 minutes. Then, turn the heat off and let everything rest with the lid on, no heat, for another five minutes.
After the vegetables have been in the skillet with the rice (five minutes over low, five minutes no heat), remove the lid and drizzle the teriyaki sauce over top. Make sure to scrape out any sugar that is left in the bowl.
Use a spatula or a large spoon to gently fold the rice and vegetables together until everything is mostly coated in the sauce. Make sure you’re scooping all the way down to the bottom of the skillet because that’s where all the sauce will pool. Don’t vigorously stir or your rice will get gummy. Put the lid back on the skillet and let it rest for about 5 minutes more to let all the flavors soak in.
Top it off with sliced green onions just before serving!
Recipe was okay. The sauce was pretty bland and overall recipe needed salt. (Yeah I should have salted my chicken when cooking.) My vegetables were very frozen and I think part of it was my fault due to the extra water added when they cooked so the end of the recipe got weird for me. I think it’s worth trying again though with some adjustments! Anyway, thank you for this recipe it cost me $1.25 and I was able to use stuff from my freezer. I really appreciate how straight forward the recipes are.
This is a simple, easy recipe. It came out well for me. I added more garlic and ginger than called for which helped give it extra flavor. I love the suggestions to add teriyaki sauce from jar rather than making it. It made me think of substituting it with other delicious sauces to change it up from time to time.
I have a picky toddler, and when we had this for dinner, it was a huge hit. We mixed in some wild rice, and my little one has historically hated rice. I was astonished to see him clear his whole plate, rice, veggies, chicken and all. Then he wanted more.
My dog was so disappointed he didn’t throw any of it on the floor. That’s why this recipe gets 5 stars from me. Great for picky kids. Disappointing for dogs.
I normally love budget bytes and I’m not sure what went wrong here but this recipe just did not work at all.
It was great! I personally liked the sauce amount as written. I added a little Sriracha on mine. We will definitely make again!
Love this recipe! We have come back to make this one so many times now. We just double the sauce for our own personal taste, it’s great!
Better than expected! Don’t forget to season the chicken with salt and pepper in the pan for the first step, and throughout depending on your tastes. It made more than four servings. I could easily get 6 lunches out of this. My favorite part of this recipe is how easy it would be to size up or down and personalize with different veggies.
This sounds like a yummy recipe but I’m wondering why it’s called Teriyaki when it uses soy sauce and not teriyaki sauce. I’ll be trying it with real teriyaki sauce as it is gluten free and gluten free soy sauce is often hard to find.
“Real teriyaki sauce” is made from soy sauce and sugar mixed with other ingredients depending on the recipe and region the cook is from. If you are buying bottled sauce that is gluten free it probably uses coconut aminos or tamari as a base, but those are definitely substitutes for the traditional soy sauce base.
Very meh. Even with more chicken and more sauce than it called for, it had way, way too much rice. Vegetables need to be partially thawed first, otherwise they won’t cook fully.
Really yummy! It worked great!
Love your recipes
Unfortunately this didn’t turn out well for us. The veggies and rice didn’t get cooked all the way through and the flavor was a little off.
This recipe just did not work out for us. The rice didn’t cook well enough and it was seriously lacking in flavor. We ended up having to toss it. This is our first as we usually love your recipes.
Easy to cook (Instead of chicken, I used shrimp that had to be eaten since the package in the freezer was getting old), but agree with the other comment that said it was flavorless. Luckily that was fixed with a little more teriyaki sauce. Next time, I’ll use chicken broth instead of just water.
Still, a pretty decent recipe, all in all.
I used a jar of teriyaki sauce as I’ve recently moved house and haven’t fully stocked the pantry, I found the meal to be delicious, I added more chicken and it was delicious!! I’m currently cooking again right now using beef but the same concepts with the rice, veggies etc. It smells amazing already. Love easy meals in one pan that are filling and tasty.