One-Skillet Baked Chicken and Rice

A skillet with seasoned chicken thighs on a bed of cooked rice, garnished with herbs.

4.50 from 4 votes

One-Skillet Baked Chicken and Rice

🍗🍚👏🏻 An EASY one pan dinner featuring juicy chicken and fluffy rice that's ready in 1 hour and perfect for busy weeknights! A combination of spices, onions, garlic, lemon juice, and fresh parsley all add great flavor to this family favorite chicken recipe! Leftovers keep very well and this a great meal prep recipe.

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Course: Chicken, Dinner

Cuisine: Chicken

Keyword: baked chicken and rice recipes, best chicken and rice recipe

Servings:

Calories: 465cal

Equipment

high-sided 3-quart oven-safe skillet or similar skillet
digital thermometer

Ingredients

Rice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or 2 tablespoons olive oil)
1 medium white onion or yellow onion diced small
3-4 garlic cloves finely minced
3 ½ cups reduced sodium chicken broth
2 cups uncooked long grain white rice (I use basic white rice, jasmine or basmati rice are ok, do not use 'quick cooking' or minute rice; see the FAQs for more rice info)
⅓ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley finely minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice or to taste (if you want it more noticeably lemony, use 3-4 tbsp)
1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste

Chicken

2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs (about 5 to 6 pieces, I remove the skin but it's up to you; you can use boneless thighs, or boneless skinless chicken breast; see FAQs for more info)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F.
Rice - To a large, high-sided skillet (preferably with a lid), add the butter or oil, onion, and saute over medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes, or until onion is soft and translucent. Stir frequently.
Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Stir nearly constantly.
Add the broth, rice, parsley, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and stir to combine.
Chicken - Evenly place the chicken pieces into the skillet, evenly drizzle them with olive oil, and evenly season them with the various seasonings, salt, and pepper. Seasoning Tips - All amounts are approximate. If you want things bolder flavored, add more. If you don't have all the seasonings, it's fine. Poultry seasoning is a good sub for the individual seasonings if you have it on hand instead.
Place the lid on the skillet, place it in the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Tip - If your skillet doesn't have a lid, aluminum foil tightly placed over the top of it is fine.
After 30 minutes, fluff and stir the rice, cover the skillet, and bake again for about 15 minutes, or until the chicken is done and the rice is soft and cooked through, and the liquid has absorbed.
Chicken Baking Tips - Chicken is done at 165F as measured by a digital thermometer inserted into the thickest part; use one and don't guess. If your chicken is not done after 45 minutes of total baking time, put it back in the oven and bake it until it is done, however long that is. Maybe 10 minutes, maybe 20; it depends on your oven, skillet, the size and thickness of each piece of chicken, climate, etc.
Rice Tips - If the rice isn't quite done after 45 minutes, and/or the mixture is a bit soupy, that's a sign you should return the skillet to the oven. At this point, you can leave it uncovered to encourage some of the liquid to burn off more quickly. If for some reason there's a lot of excess liquid OR your rice is hard (means you should add more liquid), read the FAQs for troubleshooting tips. This is unlikely, but anything is possible, especially in one skillet recipes.
Rest the chicken for about 5-10 minutes in the skillet before slicing and serving it and fluff the rice. Optionally, you can garnish it with extra parsley or other fresh herbs.

Notes

Storage: This recipe will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3-4 months. Reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or as desired. Leftovers keep very well and this is a good meal prep recipe.

Nutrition