A simple and flavorful one pot meal that the whole family will love is our idea of a great dinner for any night of the week!! Being able to cook everything in one pot results in minimal clean-up which is always ideal 🙂 And if your vibe is more broccoli cheese, you have to try our Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice. Also a great option for meal prep. Just separate out the chicken and rice into easy lunch-size containers and enjoy this meal all week long!
Looking for More Easy Dinner Recipes?
Table of Contents
If you love an easy dinner as much as we do, you definitely need to try our Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole or Baked Salsa Chicken & Rice!
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- bone in chicken thighs – feel free to swap them out for boneless skinless chicken thighs or even chicken breasts. Just make sure their internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F when it comes out of the oven.
- chicken broth – option to use chicken stock or chicken bone broth for even more flavor!
- soy sauce + worcestershire sauce – to make this chicken and rice bake gluten-free omit the worcestershire sauce and use tamari in place of soy sauce.
- rice – we tested this recipe with long grain white rice. Other options like brown rice or quinoa could possibly be used but we have not tested cook times or the amount of broth needed.
How To Make Baked Chicken And Rice
Do You Bake This Chicken Covered or Uncovered?
Once the dutch oven is ready to go in the oven, you will want to keep it covered. This will keep all the delicious flavors and moisture in the pot to help with cooking the rice.
Meal Prep
You could easily make this chicken dinner on a Sunday and then separate it into lunch-size containers to enjoy all week long! Some of the flavors might even be a bit better (if that’s even possible) after they hangout for a while and then get reheated. So good!
Store, Freeze, & Reheat
Once it has cooled, keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3-4 days. Or place them in a freezer safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Simply thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or oven until warmed through.
Made this recipe and loved it?!
We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
Follow Us on Social
Baked Chicken and Rice Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner/Entree
- Method: Oven + Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our Baked Chicken and Rice Recipe is a classic, easy weeknight dinner option made all in one pan! Simple, real ingredients and kid-friendly!
Ingredients
- 5–6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or ghee)
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1 cup carrot, diced (about 1 large carrot)
- 2–3 celery stalks, sliced
- 1 cup mushrooms, diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 1/4 cup chicken broth (more, if needed)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari)
- 1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, minced
- 1/2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce (omit for gluten-free)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/3 cup long grain white rice
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Sear Chicken: Place chicken on a plate and season generously with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Bring an oven-safe dutch oven to medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sear chicken skin-side down for 1-2 minutes, flip and let cook another 1-2 minutes (turning down heat, as-needed). Remove chicken from dutch oven, place on a plate and set aside.
- Combine: Using the same Dutch Oven, return to medium high heat (add a little more ghee or olive oil, if needed) and add in 1 tablespoon minced garlic. Move around pan constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in yellow onion, red onion, carrots and celery. Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add in mushrooms, peas, 2 1/4 cups broth, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1/2 tablespoon worcestershire and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Stir to combine. Add the 1 1/3 cups rice and 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning; mix again.
- Simmer + Bake: Bring to a simmer and then place chicken thighs back on top (skin side up) along with any juices that have settled on the plate under them. Place lid on the large pot and put in the preheated oven, middle rack. Bake 30-40 minutes or until rice is soft (or cooked to your liking). If you check the rice and you feel like all of the broth is gone but the rice isn’t fully cooked, add an additional 1/4 cup broth.
- Serve: Remove the cover, let sit for a few minutes, and then serve immediately!
Notes
- Cook Time: if using a white rice that on the package instructions it says it only takes 15 minutes to cook, normally, I would recommend reducing the cook time to 25 minutes.
- Rice: while I wish we could make this with brown rice, the cooking time would be way off. Make sure you are using long grain white rice, otherwise I can’t guarantee cooking time!
- Excess Broth: it’s okay if there is a little excess broth at the bottom of the pan after cooking. Once you remove the chicken, give the rice a stir and let it sit a few minutes with the cover off. The rice will continue to soak it up.
- Dairy-Free: simply opt for olive oil instead of ghee.
- Gluten-Free: use tamari instead of soy sauce and omit the worcestershire sauce.
- Storage: leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 chicken thigh + 1/6 rice mixture
- Calories: 253
- Sugar: 4.3 g
- Sodium: 678.5 mg
- Fat: 3.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 43.1 g
- Protein: 11.5 g
- Cholesterol: 19.1 mg
Vicki says
Has anyone tried this in the pressure cooker?
Christina Davidson says
This looks awesome and I’m looking forward to making it. What might be the cooking time adjustments for using skinless, boneless thighs?
Bridget Montag says
We have not tested this recipe with skinless, boneless chicken thighs but we have cooked with them a lot and don’t think you would need to change the cook time. Just use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken thighs when you take the pot out of the oven and check to see if the rice is done. They should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Jessica W says
This recipe is easy to follow and extremely delicious! Flavors were amazing. This will be a great winter warming dish.
Erin says
So happy to hear that, Jessica!
Manya says
I really want to try this recipe, but my husband doesn’t like peas. Can you recommend a substitution?
Erin says
You can just omit them!
Kristin Farris says
My husband asked for “chicken and rice and veggies” which I scoffed at as plain but tried this out and it was nothing short of wonderful! I actually thought I had rice but only had the quick packets so I prepped the chicken and veggies as instructed and then stirred in the rice with a little bit of the liquid at the end (and then made a gravy with the rest of it). Flavor was absolutely amazing. My husband and I agreed this would be in the rotation now!
Stacy says
Wish I could send you a pick and smellavision!! So good! I actually bought a dutch oven just for this recipe!
Meagan says
I loved this meal! Delicious rice and love all the vegetables mixed in
Hattie says
This is in our regular rotation at our house! So flavorful, filling, and easy to make!
Madalyn says
Loved this recipe, can’t wait to make it a staple!
Erin says
Thanks, Madalyn!
Bret says
My family loved this!! The rice is so flavourful and the chicken is tender and delicious!
Cameron says
Hi, would this recipe work with chicken breasts? Just not a fan of thighs. Thanks!
Erin says
Hi Cameron – I think it would, but I haven’t test it yet. Let me know if you try!
Mollie says
One of my favorite’s because my whole house will eat it up! Easy to put together and then pop in the oven at dinner time for a warm, comforting, filling meal.
Brette says
My husband and I loved this recipe. The rice reminded us of the rice stuffing his mom makes, there’s so much flavour!
Erin says
That’s awesome to hear, Brette!