One Pot Greek Chicken and Rice is a quick weeknight meal with garlic, lemon, and super flavorful seasoned rice pilaf.
One Pot Greek Chicken and Rice is an easy dish you can make for an easy weeknight meal or guests coming over for dinner.
This One Pot Greek Chicken and Rice dish was the product of a mix of two recipes I love.
I’d been craving the dish and meant to pull out my rice cooker but I had literally no idea where my husband put it away (that drives me nuts by the way).
Want to make with Greek Chicken with white meat?
From a reader, Bryce, who made the recipe with boneless chicken breasts:
Just FYI for anyone in the future who was wondering if you could make this with boneless Chicken Breast–You absolutely can and it is deeeelicious! I followed the pan searing directions for the chicken but after removing them, I set them aside until 25 minutes into cooking the rice portion in the oven. After 25 minutes I added the chicken breast on top and continued cooking it for another 25 minutes. I made it for my neighbors in need, but also made it for us. We loved it and they did too! Thank you!
So I figured I would make a hybrid of the recipe with my Baked Chicken Brown Rice Vegetable Casserole, kind of like my Spanish Olives Chicken and Rice (One Pan!). So a quick series of adjustments and dinner was on the table in no time. Absolutely LOVED it.
With such an easy method, I plan on making a few different flavor variations of this recipe as we go into the fall season:
- One Pot Italian Chicken and Rice with tomato wedges, garlic, parmesan and basil.
- One Pot Teriyaki Chicken and Rice with snow peas and carrots.
- One Pot Jerk Chicken with Dirty Beans and Rice
Tools Used in the making of this One Pot Greek Chicken and Rice Recipe:
Better Than Bouillon: I almost never buy boxes of broth because I keep the beef, chicken and vegetable version of this Better Than Bouillon.
Cast Iron Skillet: This is my most used pan in my kitchen, heavy, keeps heat well and gives the BEST sear ever.
Chef’s Knife: This knife is one of the three most used tools in my kitchen (tongs and my pig tail flipper are the other two). I love it, I’ve had it for almost 10 years and it is as sharp today as the day I got it. (left column, second from the top). Mind you I love it this much even though I have a ridiculously expense knife set as well.
Ingredients
- 4-6 chicken thighs , bone in and skin on
- Kosher salt and pepper , to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion , diced
- 1 cups white rice , uncooked
- 1 tablespoon garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 lemons , zested and juiced
- 2 cups chicken stock
- parsley , minced for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat the cast iron skillet on high heat.
- Season your chicken to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper.
- Add the chicken, skin side down and cook until browned, 4-5 minutes.
- Flip and cook an additional 3-4 minutes.
- Push the chicken to the side (or onto a plate).
- Add the olive oil to your cast iron skillet and heat on medium-high.
- Add in the onions and start to cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Once the onions are mostly melted add in the lemon zest and garlic cloves. Cook for 30 seconds while stirring.
- Add in the uncooked rice and cook for a minute.
- Pour in the chicken stock and lemon juice, add in the oregano and put the chicken back in skin side up.
- Bake covered with foil for 45-50 minutes.
- Serve with additional lemons on the side in case people want more lemon flavor.
Nutrition
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For the rice, should it be long grain?
This recipe calls for white rice. If you prefer long grain rice, the rice will cook up light, fluffy and separate when cooked rather than clumping together. Medium grain rice tends to cook up moist and tender while short grain rice tends to clump together when cooked and forms what is called glutinous rice.
My rice seems still wet. Can I leave in oven uncovered to dry the rice out?
My rice seems still wet. Can I leave in over und covers for awhile?
Can I use cauliflower rice for this recipe? How would cook it.cauliflower rice doesn’t take long to cook.
A family favorite. I use either breast or thighs. If using breasts, take them a bit before the rice is fully cooked, otherwise they become too dry and overcooked. We are liberal with lemon juice so it permeates the dish. Using fresh oregano makes a big difference, as does sprinkling in chopped fresh parsley at the end. I suggest making the dish a couple times, so you can gauge the proper amount of liquid to achieve your preferred texture for the rice.
Hi – I am wondering if I used wild rice instead of white or brown rice if it would still turn out the same?
Tried the one pot Greek rice and chicken dish.my family loved it.
Hi Sabrina,
I can already tell this will be a great recipe. With the cast iron, what size have you got?
If I don’t have a cast iron, can I do it with dutch oven?
Thank you very much!
Sure!!
This recipe was AMAZING!!!! I doubled all the spices including the garlic. I will definitely make this again. So flavorful.
Thanks, Talisa.
Made this dish this evening it was a hit
It was really tasty
Thanks for sharing
You’re welcome, Sharon.
This came out OK. Because of all of the comments about too much liquid, I added more rice but I have to agree that the rice does kind of come out greasy and gummy. I had no idea how much salt to put in it so I under-salted and even with the extra lemon and oregano, it was bland. I didn’t put olive oil because of all of the chicken fat that melted, there was plenty for sautéing the onions. I’m not sure what I’d do different other than more salt a lot more seasoning.
I wash my rice til clear before use.. That may help your texture?? I make this often just a different variation and love it..
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I followed the recommendations for chicken breasts and also did 1 & 3/4 cups chicken stock instead and the rice was perfect. Will make this again!
Made this last night. Did not care for it. Too lemony. Rice was mush.
I don’t get it, you’re cooking the rice for one minute, then what?
The rice cooks for one minute to help prevent it from sticking and getting gluey in the oven. It’s going to have plenty of broth and time in the oven to cook through. Congrats on the paternity leave and happy Thanksgiving!
Made this for dinner tonight. It was delicious. I used brown rice & added 1/2 cup more broth. The rice was very creamy & done just right. Will definitely make again.
can I make this in a Dutch oven?
Yes 🙂
I’ve been making this for nearly a year and husband and I love it! Only difference is I use one lemon instead of two and use basmati rice.
My daughter is vegetarian, so she uses veggie stock and uses vegetarian chicken pieces (puts them in the last 15 minutes of cooking) and both she and her boyfriend enjoy it very much!
Great recipe!
Thanks, Debbie.
Really good flavor, but the rice came out very soupy, despite following directions.
Definitely one of the most delicious dinner recipes I’ve ever made! I didn’t have any white rice on hand (I know, right?) so I used Basmati and it was SO amazing- such a great texture. I didn’t change the liquid volumes at all to accommodate the basmati, I made it exactly as written otherwise. Served with a Greek salad on the side and made for a fantastic Sunday dinner!
Made this recipe with no deviations. The flavor was fantastic. Like others commented, the rice was very creamy, which my fiancé enjoyed. I will try to make the rice a little more fluffy the next time I make this by doing the following- rinsing rice thoroughly to remove starches and decrease chicken stock by 1/2 cup.
Hi Sabrina,
I was wondering, can you use a regular pan for this dish, or does it have to be a cast iron skillet???
It sounds delicious and all your recipes I’ve tried to make have turned out amazing!
Thank you
You just need to use something that can be used on both the stovetop and in the oven if you want to only use one pot. Enjoy!
I WANT TO MAKE THIS WITH A HALF UNCOOKED CHICKEN
Great flavor and easy to make. I have made this for my family first then for a few guests we had for dinner. It was a major hit
This recipe for chicken is my all-time favorite!
I love the flavor in this recipe but my rice is gooey every time! Should I add less liquid or just add the rice to the chicken closer to end of cooking time?
Either would work.
Thanks for this awesome recipe, my husband and I really enjoyed it!! I’ve printed the recipe and I will be making it often…easy always on hand ingredients, simple technique with the bonus of only using one pot. I made a change by using the zest and juice of only one lemon and a heaping teaspoon of oregano. Used 4 chicken thighs and cooked it in my 10 inch cast iron skillet (I agree, they are the best). Thanks for the info about making it with chicken breast. Cheers, I’ll be trying your other one pot recipes very soon.
So glad you guys enjoyed it so much!
Each time I’ve made this recipe the skin on the chicken doesnt stay crispy after I cover it with foil and put it in the oven, and also my rice comes out a little soupy or sticky, it doesnt turn out fluffy and separated like it looks in the picture for this recipe.. I follow all the directions in the recipe I was wondering if you had any additional tips or could maybe tell me what I could be doing wrong?
Thank you!!
So sorry I missed this question! It sounds like you have too much liquid going on. This is usually from using frozen chicken or chicken pumped with a lot of saline.
My kids LOVE this!!!!! My youngest would eat this every night of the week if she could. We are making this right now (it literally just went into the oven) and she is standing at the oven door waiting for it to come out.
I love it when the kids are excited about a meal too!
Hey something is missing in these directions, there is nothing about the roasted lemon halves, even though the title/intro implies that this is part of the recipe. The actual recipe just calls for zest and juice. Please fix!
I should edit the intro, when I roasted the lemons it made the juice a bit bitter so I took the step out of the directions. Sorry for the confusion.
Thanks for the quick reply, Sabrina! That was helpful. Making the recipe now…
You’re welcome!
I made with brown rice. I made rice on stove with half chicken broth and water ratio for 40 min. Then added with chicken and put in oven for 30 min with rest of the chicken broth. Family loved it. My daughter asked me to send the link to her so she could do calorie. I used all skinless chicken boneless breast and one thigh and a leg piece.
Made this several times but used coarse bulger wheat (#4) instead of rice. Ok, I also added broccoli during the cooking and kalamata and green olives at the end. I just can’t leave a good thing alone.
That sounds delicious! Thanks for the suggestions.
what can I do to reduce the fat in this recipe? Acid reflux doesn’t appreciate high fat meals. Maybe cook the rice separately in a rice cooker with low fat broth? And roast the thighs on a rack to reduce the fat??
I think both of those ideas are great alterations to helping to reduce the fat.
Made this with skinless boneless chicken and little less lemon. Very good!
This was fantastic. Oh, my goodness we loved it.
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it!
I must be missing something. My recipe says 2 lemons, juiced and zested. I see from some of the comments that they used 3 lemons and sliced one and put in the rice?
The recipe calls for 2 lemons, but you can customize it to your liking.
I’m making this for the first time tomorrow. Do you think I could use a baking tray with foil or best to use a deeper casserole dish? Mine isn’t very big and means the chicken will be stacked on top of each other verses useing the baking tray where they’ll be spread out. Also if I add more rice should I double herbs, lemon and stock? Thank you can’t wait to taste it!
I’m sorry but I don’t think it’ll work on a baking try. You really need a deeper casserole dish. As far as the doubling the rice, I wouldn’t recommend it. If you’d like more, just make a batch of rice on the side. I hope you enjoy it!!
I made this once and doubled the broth and the rice (2 cups of rice and 4 cups of broth) We loved it. In fact it is in the oven now again but using bone in chicken breast. Just not sure how well it will work yet. I am hoping the chicken does not over cook. I use extra lemon juice because I love lemon. I am not much of a rice eater but love this rice.
Can this be made ahead of time and put in the fridge???
Yes, but not before cooking otherwise the rice will absorb all the water and it won’t cook correctly.
Just wondering what other options are to cook it in if you don’t have a cast iron skillet?
The reason I use a cast iron skillet is because it can go directly in the oven, so it’s easier clean up only using one pan. Since you don’t have one, I would suggest using a regular cooking pan for the stovetop portion and then once you get to step 11, put everything into a casserole dish to finish it off in the oven. Hope this was helpful!
Looks delicious. My husband doesn’t eat rice. Can you use orzo instead of rice?
It might but orzo doesn’t hold up as well as the rice would so you might want to watch the timing and not cook it as long.
This looks delicious. I’d like to take this to a buffet pot luck party to serve a crowd. If I used the bs thighs, could I cut them up after cooking to facilitate eating and feeding a crowd? I was thinking that if I cut the thighs up in small pieces prior to cooking they would dry out too much. Another possibility would be to add them in later, but I was afraid the shortened cooking time would result in less flavor.
What are your thoughts?
The easiest way would be to just cut them up after cooking and then you won’t have to worry about losing any of the flavors during the cooking process. Enjoy!
Does it have to be chicken thighs? Could I use chicken breast instead of the thighs?
I usually don’t recommend breasts because they tend to dry out but a reader used them and if you follow his recommendation which I added above in the post (highlighted in green), it should be no problem. I hope you enjoy!
This sounds delicious and easy! Was wondering if I use brown or basmati rice if it would cook the same as white. Thank you!
Thank you so much! You can substitute with any rice to your tasting. If using brown rice, you’ll want to follow the instructions on the box of rice as to the liquid and timing as it will need to be increased. Basmati rice should be an even swap for this recipe. Enjoy!
If I want use bone-in chicken breast, do I still follow the directions for boneless skinless breasts?
I’d be careful as bone in breasts can be HUGE. I mean I’ve seen some close to 3/4 of a pound for each piece. If you find it is a big piece, perhaps cut them in half so it is more the size of thighs. Then I’d say do it following those instructions.
Great recipe! I made it last night and my family loved it. I now can play with the recipe and get creative in the kitchen. Really yummy .. thanks for sharing it!
You’re welcome Stacy! So glad you enjoyed it!
Just FYI for anyone in the future who was wondering if you could make this with boneless Chicken Breast–You absolutely can and it is deeeelicious! I followed the pan searing directions for the chicken but after removing them, I set them aside until 25 minutes into cooking the rice portion in the oven. After 25 minutes I added the chicken breast on top and continued cooking it for another 25 minutes. I made it for my neighbors in need, but also made it for us. We loved it and they did too! Thank you!
Yay! Thanks so much, I’ll add the info into the post too so people can see it.
I am going to make this today for my neighbors. Would I be able to make this with Bone-in Chicken breast instead of thighs? My neighbor doesn’t eat dark meat. Thank you so much!!
This meal was absolutely delicious. I have been bombing all my meals this past week so this was a refresher. My husband and our boys ranging from ages 12-45 ate every grain off the plate. The lemon and oregano create a party and flavor full taste in your mouth. I followed every instruction. Thank you for this recipe.
Yay, so happy you got to put one in the win column!
Is the white rice long grain or instant?
Long grain.
would there be a way to cook it in the crock pot?
I haven’t tested it that way yet, so I couldn’t tell you the right timing on it, but I do have it on my short list of things to do.
I made this, and liked it. It’s a good one pan main dish. I’ll make it again sometime. I’m going to pin it.
Thanks for the pin! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Delicious. Do you know how many calories we serving and servings this recipe yields?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Sorry I don’t have the nutritional facts/calorie count for recipes on the site but I know there are a lot of free resources on the internet from when I’ve cooked for clients with low calorie diets.
I love one pot meals and chicken and rice is one of my favorite comfort foods!
It’s so good, right?!?
If you want to use brown rice instead would you need to adjust the liquid amount?
You’re going to want to add about a 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup extra chicken stock when using brown rice.
August 24, 2017. I followed this recipe with no changes, using a 12″ frying pan. I really liked it. The chicken was super moist, and the rice was of risotto consistency and scrumptious. Well I did add 2 TBSP of dry white wine (Oak Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon, $2.95 for a 750ml bottle at Walmart) to the 2 cups of chicken stock.
Next time I’ll modify this recipe a tad: stay with the five chicken thighs, but triple the rice amount to 3 cups, and double the stock to 4 cups. Also instead of halving 3 each lemons, I’ll slice one lemon into 6 each 1/2″ thick slices and place them on top of the rice, next to the chicken thighs, for the 45 minute bake.
Thanks you for posting this great recipe!
You’re welcome Harry! So glad you enjoyed it!
I made this last night and my husband and I both enjoyed it. I didn’t see in the recipe when to add the oregano so I mixed it with the stock. When do you add it? I used boneless skinless thighs since that is what I had and they were very good. Next time I might try with brown rice since we love your oven baked brow rice recipe.
My apologies, it can certainly go in with the stock. I’ll update the recipe to reflect it. I’m glad you enjoyed it! It would be delicious with brown rice too, the chicken brown rice casserole is a favorite in our house too!
This looks delicious, and I can’t wait to try it! What changes to liquids or cooking time would you recommend if I were using wild rice instead of white rice?
I would follow the instructions on the wild rice box as to the liquid and timing because it will be quite different from white rice.
I need more one pot dinner ideas! They are such time savers! This Greek chicken and rice sounds perfect!
Thank you Anna!
I love lemon and chicken flavor combination! And I need to try this one pot chicken and rice!
Just found you about 30 minutes ago. I was looking for a slow cooker pork recipe and found your recipe and it is cooking right now. Your recipes look so delicious and I can’t wait to try more of them.
Yay! Thank you so much Sylvia! I look forward to seeing you around the site!
One pot meals are the best, and I can’t wait to try this one. Sounds delicious!
Enjoy!
This looks so delicious! I love skillet/one-pot dishes, too! I don’t cook with chicken thighs much, but really need to start!
That looks and sounds terrific!
Chicken is always my go-to protein. Never had a Greek version of this before. Looks delish!
It’s so good Michelle!
how much garlic all together 2 T minced and/or 1 T? Is it added only with
the onion? Thanks, this looks sooo good.
connie
I used 1 Tablespoon of garlic, minced for this recipe and added it in after the onion. You could definitely add more if it’s to your liking. I hope you enjoy!
Sounds wonderful! How much chicken stock do you use?
Thank you so much for catching that! I was up late and it looks like I accidentally deleted a line. I just edited it 🙂
How much chicken broth?
You guys are so awesome for catching this! I just edited it but you want to use 2 cups of broth for this recipe.
The chicken broth is missing from this recipe.
How much stock?
So sorry about that, but thank you for catching this. I did edit but you’ll want to use 2 cups of stock. Thank you so much!
I am planning to make this recipe for dinner but I can’t find any mention of the lemons in the directions, wondering when you add them in? Thank you, sounds delicious! Can’t wait to make it?
Haha, I guess getting this post ready late at night didn’t really pay off….need more coffee! Thank you so much for catching this and wanting to try this dish. I did edit the instructions but you’ll want to add them in with the chicken.
Mine came out pretty bitter with the 3 lemons! Maybe just the lemons I used, or perhaps cutting it down to 2 would have helped. Will have to experiment. Otherwise great!
It definitely can be adjusted to personal taste. Glad you were still able to enjoy it!
This looks delicious! I’m always looking for new quick and easy chicken recipes. When you say pour in the chicken stock do you mean some chicken broth made from bouillon? And if so how much? Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much!! I’m so sorry about that part getting originally deleted. You’ll want to use 2 cups chicken stock for this recipe. Enjoy!
This is a great recipe. Made it for dinner tonight. Hubby loved it! It was a bit sour for me, and I love lemon. Next time I might use a bit less. Will absolutely make this again! Will become part of our repertoire!
Thanks for sharing it.
Next time you can add some sugar to balance out the sour. Just don’t add too much and give it a sweet taste.