Baked Chicken and Rice Recipe – a classic, easy weeknight dinner option made all in one pan! Simple, real ingredients and kid-friendly!
The BEST Oven Baked Chicken And Rice
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!! A one pot meal results in minimal clean-up which is always ideal 🙂 This meal is also great for easy meal prep. Just separate out the chicken and rice into easy lunch-size containers and enjoy this meal all week long!
As always, you choose to make slight adjustments to the ingredients listed below to keep it dairy-free or gluten-free, if that’s your thing. Just follow the notes and enjoy!
See Also: Baked Salsa Chicken and Rice
What You Will Need
- bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs – we have found that using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs provide the most flavor but you can also use boneless and/or skinless chicken thighs.
- kosher salt & pepper – necessary seasoning when cooking any meat.
- ghee or olive oil – just a little in the pan to give the chicken a nice sear.
- garlic – provides lots of great flavor!
- yellow onion & red onion – this onion combo really helps to bring out all the great flavors!
- carrots, celery, mushrooms, & frozen peas – a delicious combo of vegetables to compliment the chicken, but feel free to switch these up with any of your favorite veggies or what you have on hand.
- chicken bone broth – any chicken broth will do but the flavor of chicken bone broth really takes it to the next level.
- lemon zest & lemon juice – a bit of acidity to help enhance the flavors.
- soy sauce & worcestershire sauce – if you want this to be gluten-free you can simply use tamari instead of soy sauce and omit the worcestershire sauce.
- long-grain white rice – you could try substituting a different rice here but it will really affect your cooking times so we highly suggest sticking with long-grain white rice!
- italian seasoning – a yummy seasoning that is perfection in this dish!
Do You Bake This Chicken Covered Or Uncovered?
Once you are ready to put the dutch oven 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 meal 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!!
How Long Can I Keep The Leftovers?
Once it has cooled you can keep the leftover baked chicken and rice in airtight containers in the fridge for about 3-4 days.
How To Make Baked Chicken And Rice
Season your chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
Put some ghee or olive oil in a dutch oven and then sear the chicken thighs for about 1-2 minutes on each side.
Remove the chicken and add the garlic and all the veggies!
Pour in the rice & seasonings and bring to a simmer. Then place the chicken back on top, cover, and bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes.
Enjoy!!
It makes wonderful leftovers!
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Other Recipes You Might Like
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The BEST Whole Roasted Chicken
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
- Cuisine: American
Description
Baked Chicken and Rice Recipe – a classic, easy weeknight dinner option made all in one pan! Simple, real ingredients and kid-friendly!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil
- 5–6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 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 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 cup mushrooms, diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 1/4 cup chicken bone broth
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari)
- 1/2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce (omit for gluten-free)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/3 cup long grain white rice
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place chicken on a plate and season generously with kosher salt and ground black pepper.
- Place Dutch Oven on stove and bring to medium-hight heat.
- Add ghee or olive 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.
- Using the same Dutch Oven, turn heat to medium-high again (add a little more ghee or olive oil, if needed) and add in garlic. Move around pan constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add in yellow onion, red onion, carrots and celery. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in mushrooms, peas, broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, soy sauce, worstershire and kosher salt. Stir to combine.
- Pour in rice and Italian seasoning; stir to combine.
- 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 Dutch Oven and put in the 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.
- Remove and let cook slightly, serve immediately.
Notes
- Cook Time: if you are using white rice that, per package instructions, only take 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!
- Broth: while you don’t have to use chicken bone broth (any kind of chicken broth will do), it will really add to the flavor of the dish.
- 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 up the broth.
- Leftovers: this recipe makes great leftovers!
- Dairy-Free: to keep this dairy-free simply opt for olive oil instead of ghee.
- Gluten-Free: to keep this gluten-free use tamari instead of soy sauce and omit the worstershire sauce.
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
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!