This savory, one pot chicken and rice recipe is an easy weeknight dinner everyone will love! Juicy chicken, toasted rice and spices to tingle your taste buds.
Chicken and rice is one of those classic dishes that never goes out of style. Especially because there are so many variations… it’s hard to go wrong with such a blank canvas. And because of that, googling chicken and rice will garner recipes ranging from creamy to spicy.
I started with the idea of making a Puerto Rican arroz con pollo similar to the one in Carmen Aboy Valldejuli’s Puerto Rican Cookery. If you want to learn how to make authentic Puerto Rican dishes this is THE BOOK to learn all the things!
But here’s the rub…. Puerto Rican food is complex. It’s old fashioned, slow food that takes patience and a whole lot of ingredients. I mean you can’t easily find culantro on the mainland and no joke, her recipe calls for 23 ingredients including salt pork, ham, capers, and pimentos. I wish I had time for recipes like that everyday, but right now, I just don’t have the time.
I needed a weeknight, one-pot chicken and rice bake with lots of flavor but made with ingredients found in the average kitchen. So I looked for inspiration from a spice packet I purchased from Spicy Caribbee in Old San Juan.
It contained parsley, garlic, paprika, celery seed…. this I could manage! So I guessed the spice proportions and pulled out a bell pepper, an onion, chicken stock and some white wine.
And ya’ know what? It was fantastic! The bake is flavorful thanks to the simple veggies and toasted rice.
We’ve eaten this dish five times since, making modest adjustments to get the right proportion of rice to chicken and curb the fat and calories to a reasonable portion.
How to make chicken and rice
Many recipes call for removing the skin, but we like how the skin gets crispy in the oven and the flavor it imparts. It’s also important to include if you don’t use salt pork, ham or bacon.
Mostly I love that this is a one pot dinner with lots of hands off time. I chop the veggies while the chicken is browning on the stove to save time and then once the casserole goes in the oven, I can clean up before dinner.
If you want to truly make this chicken and rice in one pot, you need a skillet or pot that can go from stove to oven. At first we used our le Creuset dutch oven which works great. However this four person serving did not fill the pan, so I switched to using a cowboy skillet.
I love this old pan because it’s made of steel and light, but like cast iron, can be seasoned. I found mine at a flea market but it’s unmarked so I can’t tell you the maker It measures 11.5 inches across and 2.25 inches deep. If you’re like me and can’t lift a heavy skillet with one hand, this is a great style of pan for you. This Never Break #9 on Etsy is the same size, but if you’re interested in purchasing a new steel pan, this article from Foodal is an excellent resource.
One Pot Chicken and Rice Recipe
Ingredients
Spice mix
- ½ teaspoon ground celery seed
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons salt
Chicken and Rice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 chicken thighs (skin on, bone in)
- 1 onion , finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper , finely diced
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice
- 1½ cups chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- In a small bowl combine spices.
- In a large skillet or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat
- Pat dry chicken thighs with a paper towel and season the skin with one quarter of the spice mix
- Once the butter is hot, brown the chicken with the skin side down until it's golden brown
- Remove the chicken and set aside
- Pour off all but one tablespoon of the fat in the pan
- Add the onions and peppers with half of the remaining spices and saute until the onions are translucent
- Add dry rice and saute for a couple minutes, stirring constantly
- Deglaze pan with white wine and then add the chicken broth.
- Let the rice absorb the liquid for a couple of minutes, then turn off the heat.
- Place the chicken thighs skin up on top of the rice and sprinkle with the remaining spices.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil or a lid and bake 20 minutes
- Remove cover and continue to bake until chicken reaches 160F, about 20-25 more minutes. Let the dish rest uncovered for about 5 minutes and then serve.
Notes
- Chop the veggies while the chicken is browning to save time
- To make this chicken and rice in one pot, you need a pan that can go from stove to oven, like a dutch oven or cast iron skillet.
Nutrition
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Erin says
I know for sure this would be a huge hit in my house!
Vintage Kitty says
It would be…my husband couldn’t get enough of it!
Kimberly says
Such an easy dish and I love the flavors in it, so good!
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks Kimberly!
Liz says
This looks incredible! I love having easy weeknight meals!
Vintage Kitty says
I know right? Easy dinners make all the difference
Jenni LeBaron says
I love that this can all be make in one pan. The wine and bell peppers are a nice addition to the rice to kick things up a notch. This also looks like it works beautifully for lunch the following day!
Vintage Kitty says
It’s great for lunch! Working from home I appreciate the leftovers so much!
Alli says
Holy cow does this look good. This is going on my menus stat!!
Vintage Kitty says
That’s awesome! Enjoy Alli!
shobelyn says
Love this dish and it looks really easy to make too. Can I just cook this stove top?
Vintage Kitty says
That’s a great question. My instinct would be to say no because I think the rice would burn. I’m guessing that the easiest way to keep this one pot and not use an oven would be to use an instant pot… but then the chicken wouldn’t brown. If you do try it on the stovepot, please report back with the results. Thanks!
Anne Lawton says
I love recipes that are made in one pan! this looks so good, going to give it a try real soon.
Vintage Kitty says
Me too! I really hate doing dishes!
Vanessa Price says
That chicken looks so crispy, and I love the colors. I will definitely be trying this!
Vintage Kitty says
The crispy skin is the best part! You’re going to love it Vanessa.
Michelle says
One pot meals are so perfect for weeknight dinners. I love the combination of spices you’ve used here, I bet it tastes delicious.
Vintage Kitty says
This spice mix is the perfect savory complement to chicken.
Andrea says
This chicken and rice makes such a great weeknight meal! Love all the spices you used, I’m sure it’s loaded with flavour!
Vintage Kitty says
So much flavor! It’s a comforting, cold weather type of meal.
Jagruti Dhanecha says
Like those recipes which can be made in one pot, such a rustic and homey looking dish.
Vintage Kitty says
It’s a very fall/winter type of dish, so it does tick all those comforting boxes!
Michele says
Love chicken and rice. This is one of my favorite dishes for sure! I wish I had a big plate of this right now. Can’t wait to try your version. It looks amazing!
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks Michele. Hope you love it!
Jessica says
One pot meals are my jam. I love how quickly it comes together and I have everything on hand to make this tomorrow!
Vintage Kitty says
So glad you have the ingredients! This dish is literally made from my kitchen staples, so I was hoping that would be true for many families.
Ashley says
I love using my cast iron skillet for one pot dishes like this. Chicken and rice is always a good call for weeknight comfort food. Yours looks absolutely delicious!
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks Ashley!
lauren says
Killing it with this one! Those chicken thighs look like the perfect blend of crispy skin and tender meat – and that rice! All those spices sounds so good.
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks Lauren! Chicken thighs are impossible to mess up, so they made my work easy!
Eileen Kelly says
My favorite meals are one pot meals! True comfort food for my family.
Vintage Kitty says
Perfect for this time of year, right?
Brynn says
wow this looks good enough to dig right on into! gives me all the fall feels too.
Vintage Kitty says
Me too! Now if the weather would cool off it would be perfect!
Emily Leary says
Gotta love a one pot meal! I love how jewelled and pretty it looks with the pepper. Totally perfect for a family meal.
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks Emily!
Kellie Hemmerly says
This is just the perfect weeknight dinner!
Vintage Kitty says
Glad you liked it Kellie!