If you’re looking for a delicious one-pot meal, my one-pot chicken and rice is just what you’re looking for! Your whole family is going to love these tender, juicy chicken thighs perfectly seasoned and pan-seared golden brown, served with fluffy rice.
This is a variation of classic chicken and rice and it’s not to be confused with arroz con pollo. But my one-pot chicken and rice is delicious and perfect for a busy weeknight. It’s one of my favorite easy dinner recipes and can be on your dinner table in about 35 minutes
Chicken and rice is comfort food in my household, and the best part is you only use one pot, which means, clean-up is easy-peasy. I promise even the picky eaters in your household will love this easy weeknight meal.
If you love delicious one-pot meals make sure to check out my Chicken Chasseur and Skillet Chicken Gumbo.
Ingredients to make One Pot Chicken and Rice
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my one-pot chicken and rice recipe. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place,” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”
Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Made with Simple Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Long-grain white rice
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Sweet onion (or white onion)
- Garlic
- Chicken broth
- Seasonings
I used boneless skinless chicken thighs to make my one-pot chicken and rice recipe, but you can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts and bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or breasts. You can also use a cut-up whole chicken or the parts of your choice to make this easy meal.
I used individual seasonings to make my seasoning blend, but you can use your favorite Italian seasoning blend, cajun seasoning blend, or your favorite combination of spices.
When it comes to rice I prefer white rice and long grain rice is my first choice. You can also use jasmine rice or brown rice, but check the instructions for cooking times. Jasmine rice cooks faster and brown rice takes almost twice as long to cook. It’s important to use good quality rice and the only rice I would not use is minute rice.
I don’t use cheese to make this easy chicken dish but feel free to add grated parmesan cheese or top it with cheddar cheese and let it melt to make a cheesy chicken rice dish.
How to make One Pot Chicken and Rice
- Add the paprika, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to a small bowl. Mix to combine.
- Season both sides of the boneless chicken thighs with the seasoning blend.
- Add one tablespoon of olive oil to a deep skillet over medium heat, then add the seasoned chicken thighs to the hot pan and cook the thighs for 2-3 minutes.
- Flip the thighs over and continue to cook them for another 2-3 minutes until well browned.
- Remove the browned chicken from the pan and place it on a plate covered with foil until needed.
*The chicken will not be fully cooked at this point, it will finish cooking later in the recipe. - Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add another tablespoon of olive oil to the large skillet, then add the diced onion to the pan.
- Cook the onions for 4-5 minutes, until soft and fragrant. Then add the chopped garlic and continue to cook for one minute.
- Add the uncooked rice to the skillet.
- Stir the rice and onions together and cook the rice for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
*Toasting the rice adds a nutty flavor to the rice. - Add the chicken stock to the skillet, stirring to get all the tasty brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Place the seared chicken thighs on top of the rice in the skillet. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the broth/rice mixture to come up to a full boil.
- Cover the skillet with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes.
When the 20 minutes have passed, remove the pan from the heat and let the chicken and rice sit off the heat with the lid still in place for five minutes.
Remove the chicken from the pan, and fluff the rice. Place the rice on a serving platter and top with the cooked chicken. Sprinkle Italian parsley over the top of the dish and serve.
Serve my one-pot chicken and rice with broccoli, green beans or your favorite green vegetable.
Store any leftover chicken and rice refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-4 days. To reheat, place the leftovers in a skillet and add water or chicken broth to the pan. Cover and heat until an internal temperature of 165 degrees has been reached in the thickest part of the chicken.
Recipe FAQ’s
I used boneless skinless chicken thighs to make my one-pot chicken and rice recipe, but you can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts and bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or breasts. You can also use a cut-up whole chicken or the parts of your choice to make this easy meal.
Yes, you can. Just be aware that brown rice requires a longer cooking time and more liquid than white rice. Adjust the recipe accordingly and follow the instructions on your brown rice package.
To prevent mushy rice, make sure to use the right amount of liquid. It’s also best to avoid stirring too much during the cooking process as that will release more starch making the rice softer and mushy.
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Chicken and Rice (One-Pot)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thighs boneless skinless (6-8 thighs)
- 2 teaspoon paprika sweet or smoked
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 1 cup sweet onion fine diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic fine dice
- 1 ½ cup long-grain white rice uncooked
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley garnish
Instructions
- Add the paprika, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to a small bowl. Mix to combine.
- Season both sides of the thighs with the seasoning blend.
- Add one tablespoon of olive oil to a deep skillet over medium heat.
- Add the seasoned chicken thighs to the hot pan and cook the thighs for 2-3 minutes on each side or until well browned. The chicken will not be fully cooked at this point, it will finish cooking later in the recipe.
- Remove the browned chicken from the pan and place it on a plate covered with foil until needed.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add another tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet, then add the diced onion to the pan.
- Cook the onions for 4-5 minutes, until soft and fragrant.
- Add the chopped garlic to the pan and continue to cook for one minute.
- Add the uncooked rice to the skillet and cook the rice for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. *Toasting the rice adds a nutty flavor to the rice.
- Add the chicken broth to the skillet, stirring to get all the tasty brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Place the seared chicken thighs on top of the rice in the skillet. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the broth/rice mixture to come up to a full boil.
- Cover the skillet with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes.
- When the 20 minutes have passed, turn off the heat off and let the chicken and rice sit off the heat with the lid still in place for five minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pan, and fluff the rice. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired, then serve and enjoy!
- Place the rice on a serving platter and place the cooked chicken thighs on top of the rice.
- Garnish with chopped Italian parsley and serve.
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