The only chicken and rice recipe you’ll need
This one-pot chicken and rice recipe is crowd-pleasing and delicious. Yes, everyone loves chicken, and it’s easy to see why — when cooked right, it’s juicy, flavorful, and overall healthy. As they say, winner-winner, chicken dinner!
Of course, there are endless ways of cooking chicken, and some are more challenging than others. A few recipes, though, check all the right boxes — you get a tasty, easy-to-make, nutritious, and wholesome meal. That’s where one-pot recipes come in. Here’s our one-pot chicken and rice recipe, a meal you’ll want to make often whether you’re a foodie or taking care of yourself, or both!
What Goes into the Perfect One-Pot Chicken and Rice Recipe?
Chicken. For a great chicken meal, you need the proper chicken, of course. Get the good stuff, organic, free-range chicken; you’re not only being fair with chickens, but you’re also getting more flavor and nutrition. I use chicken thighs instead of breasts for their taste, but you do you. You can also use bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe as well!
Veggies. For this one-pot recipe, I’m going all-in with red, orange, and yellow bell peppers. Keep it varied for more colorful and tasty meals. Besides, different-colored peppers do taste different.
Rice. This is not only a one-pot dish but a complete meal, so we must consider our carbs. Rice is chicken’s most versatile companion, as it absorbs the flavor in chicken broth nicely while making the meal more filling and satisfying. Brown rice has more dietary fiber than regular rice, and it takes high heat better. There’s an alternative, though, wild rice, and we’ll talk about it in a second.
Seasonings. With your chicken, veggies, and rice in hand, you only need a few herbs, spices, and aromatics to put your own one-pot chicken and rice together. I love the combination of Creole spices and thyme over a garlicky aromatic base. Parsley is a lovely garnish to give color and extra freshness to the dish.
Brown Rice Vs. Wild Rice
Since we’re using rice in his recipe, it’s worth talking about two types of rice that can give variety to your chicken dinner. Brown rice vs. wild rice, what’s the difference?
These two types of rice are better alternatives to regular white rice for a simple reason; they are more nutritious. Still, brown and wild rice are different. In terms of flavor, brown rice is milder and somewhat creamier than the wild rice, known for being chewy and quite grainy.
As for nutrition, 1 cup of wild rice offers fewer calories (166) than brown rice (248) and more protein (6.5gr vs. 5.5gr). Dietary fiber is roughly the same in the two types of rice, but ounce for ounce, brown rice has a bit more vitamins and minerals than the wild variety.
How to choose? For nutrition, both options are excellent additions to your diet, so it all comes to your preference. Do you like your rice chewy or fluffy?
Let’s Cook Some Chicken!
Now we’re ready to check out today’s recipe. One-pot meals are not only convenient but relatively quick to put together while making little mess. This chicken meal is the perfect weeknight dinner idea, but it’s nice enough to make when having guests coming over for dinner.
And get creative here; add your favorite veggies and experiment with different seasonings. The sky’s the limit! That’s the beauty of it. How not to love one-pot recipes? Let’s get started!
One-Pot Chicken and Rice Recipe
Ingredients:
- Boneless chicken thighs
- Red bell pepper
- Orange bell pepper
- Yellow bell pepper
- Brown rice
- Creole seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper
- Thyme
- Minced garlic
- Organic chicken broth
- Olive oil
- Parsley for garnish
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Chop the vegetables and set them aside.
- In a bowl, combine your seasonings.
- Toss the chicken in the seasonings and coat evenly.
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet on medium-high.
- Once hot, sear the chicken thighs on all sides until browned. Set them aside.
- Now add in your bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Add the brown rice to the skillet and occasionally stir for 5 minutes.
- Add your chicken broth and stir.
- Place the chicken over the rice with enough space between the pieces.
- Cover with foil or lid.
- Cook in the oven for 35 minutes, remove the lid, and cook for 10 more minutes or until the rice is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed.
- Remove from the oven, serve and garnish with parsley. Enjoy!!
One-Pot Chicken and rice
Ingredients
- 4 Boneless chicken thighs
- 1/2 Red bell pepper Chopped
- 1/2 Orange bell pepper Chopped
- 1/2 Yellow bell pepper Chopped
- 1 Cup Brown rice
- 1 Tsp Tony Chachere Creole seasoning To your liking
- 1 Tsp Garlic powder
- 1/2 Tsp Black pepper
- 1/2 Tsp Thyme
- 1 Tsp Minced garlic
- 2 Cups Organic chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- Parsley for garnish To your liking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Chop the vegetables and set them aside.
- In a bowl, combine your seasonings.
- Toss the chicken in the seasonings and coat evenly.
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet on medium-high.
- Once hot, sear the chicken thighs on all sides until browned. Set them aside.
- Add in your bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Add the brown rice to the skillet and occasionally stir for 5 minutes.
- Add your chicken broth and stir.
- Place the chicken over the rice with enough space between the pieces.
- Cover with foil or lid.
- Cook in the oven for 35 minutes, remove the lid and cook for 10 more minutes or until the rice is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed.
- Remove from the oven, serve and garnish with parsley. Enjoy!!
