One Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Rice made with chicken thighs and turmeric seasoned rice baked in the oven until crispy and tender.
Like our favorite Baked Chicken Brown Rice Vegetable Casserole this dish is full of incredible tender chicken with an easy baked rice side in one pan.
One Pot Baked Mediterranean Chicken and Rice is so flavorful and EASY!
A couple of years ago, I made a copycat version of the Halal Cart Chicken and Rice (Copycat) with all the flavors of this dish but 3 times the prep work. Instead of standing at the stovetop cooking the chicken all the way through, we brown the seasoned chicken thighs and let this oven do the rest of the hard work.
The best part of the recipe is the slightly crispy but still fluffy and creamy turmeric rice. Full of chicken flavor, butter, onions, and garlic, the rice is so flavorful you’ll find yourself going back for seconds and thirds.
Want to change things up in the dish?
- Use chicken breast in place of the thighs (bone in and skin on)
- Use boneless/skinless thighs (cook for ten fewer minutes)
- Add pieces of bell peppers and red onion to the rice to cook it along with the chicken.
- To make a meal closer to Halal Cart, cut the chicken off the bone, add it to a pan with canola oil, and brown it in small chunks.
Want to make the Chicken with white meat?
From a reader, Bryce, who made the One Pot Greek Chicken and Rice recipe with boneless chicken breasts:
Just FYI for anyone in the future wondering if you could make this with boneless Chicken Breast–You absolutely can, and it is delicious! 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 I also made it for us. We loved it, and they did too! Thank you!
Other versions of this chicken and rice casserole:
- One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice
- Spanish Olives Chicken and Rice (One Pan!)
- One Pot Greek Chicken and Rice
- Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Kitchen Tools:
Better Than Bouillon: I rarely buy boxes of broth because I keep the beef, chicken, and vegetable versions 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.


Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 6 chicken thighs
FOR THE RICE:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 cups white rice uncooked
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 cups chicken stock
- Parsley, feta cheese and kalamata olives for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat the cast iron skillet on high heat with the olive oil.
- Season your chicken with the oregano, coriander, 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 butter 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 garlic cloves and cook for 30 seconds while stirring.
- Add in the uncooked rice and cook for a minute.
- Pour in the chicken stock, add in the turmeric and cumin and put the chicken back in skin side up.
- Bake covered with foil for 45-50 minutes.
As a Greek man, this warms my heart to see this dish.
I am making it tonight!
excellent recette merci
This was simple and delicious. Will be making repeatedly.Thanks!
Great! Thank you for the 5 stars!
I love this dish! I’ve been using this recipe for a few years now.
I love this dish, we make it often. My husband and I do not like olives. We put in sundried tomatoes and marinated artichoke instead.Tastes so good!
Thank you Emily for the 5 star rating. Sundried tomatoes and marinated artichoke sounds amazing for the Mediterranean Chicken and Rice.
I make this frequently for my five kids and my wife. It is healthy and feeds plenty. I double the recipe and it always gets eaten. Bell peppers are a good addition and pairs so well with sriracha
I made this tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it as did my student. I added quartered cherry tomatoes along with the olives abs feta. Will definitely make it again!
Loved this!! I am trying to eat Mediterranean, and this was just awesome. I used Orzo instead of rice and it was perfect. I should have used a mesh screen over the pot that I used because there was some ‘popping’, but other than that – the chicken was juicy, I loved the flavors – and I think next time I may introduce some cinnamon. Thank you!!
Awesome recipe! I tried to make sure that the foil stayed put on top so that the steam from the chicken stock could stay inside of the pot + cook the rice through — it came out super fluffy and flavorful.
I’ll personally add a bit more salt for my tastes, but this is a definite go-to from now on.
Made this today and it’s perfect! I just added 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and cardamom. Love Mediterranean food. I will definitely make this again.
How much is one serving size?
About 1 cup
This has been a huge hit with my family. So much so that I am making it for my mother in law’s birthday!
Thanks for coming back to let me know how much you enjoy it!
I don’t have a cast iron skillet (I know, I know) I need to get one. Is there another way to do this without one?!
You can also use a dutch oven. You just need to use something that you can use on the stovetop and in the oven.
Thank you for answering this question! I was reading through the comments before asking the same question, as I so don’t own a cast iron skillet (too heavy). Looking forward to making this recipe…looks delicious!
I have made this several times for my family and they absolutely love it.
I think I made it 2-3 times before we switched out the turmeric for a Lebanese seven spice blend to avoid the yellow stains on my two-year-old. We use brown rice (which requires a slightly longer cook time) and added toasted pine nuts and garbanzo beans. I also use our dutch oven with lid rather than covering our cast iron skillet with foil.
The only part of the dish my wife thinks could use improvement is the chicken skin. Do you think the recipe would work with a reverse braise? Cook the chicken and rice in the oven then pat the chicken skin dry and sear in a second pan before serving? I am going to try that when next I make it. Not sure if it will sear well after being in the dutch oven.
Yes, that would work. So glad to know how much you enjoy the dish.
Mine is still in the oven and smells great. I can already tell I’m going to love this. HOWEVER. How the heck did you put the foil on? I know that sounds like a dumb question. But you must understand, I spent several frustrating minutes using oven gloves to put it on that hot skillet. Are you just one of those chefs that has transcended beyond getting burned when touching hot pans? I hope to one day attain such a level.
Haha, I just use oven gloves too. Next time, try pre-fitting the foil to the dish before making and crimping it down a bit to make it easier to grab and place once it’s hot. Hope this helps and that you enjoyed the dish.
I’ve made this several times and it’s delicious! Definitely one of my favorites.
Easy and delicious to prepare, Thanks for another amazing recipe!
You’re welcome! Glad you liked it!
Very good recipe, my wife really enjoyed it as did I!!
Happy to hear it’s a hit in your home!
Butter is listed twice in the ingredients but referred to only once in the directions. I’m confused. Do we add al 4T at once at the beginning of making the onion/rice? Please clarify. Thank you.
Thanks for catching that! I’ve edited it to only read once.
A family favorite!! Thank you!!
Just wondering If I can use Greek seasoning, instead of turmeric & cumin. If so, how much? I’m on a Greek food kick lately, so this dish seriously appeals to me. Thanks for all of your lovely recipes, which I look forward to receiving every day 🙂
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes! You can use a greek seasoning blend in place of the turmeric and cumin. I would use 1/2 teaspoon to 3/4 teaspoon to taste. Hope this helps!
Delicious! It takes a bit for my wife to say something like “really good” when I make something new but this rated a “this is REALLY good” and “save this one”. So I guess I’ll be making it again!
I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Omg I made this for my girlfriend last night and it was wonderful. It was so flavorful. I used Chicken breast in mine. I wished I wish I would have used the thigh due to the extra flavor that the rice woulda have gotten.
Thighs really do add a bit more flavor, but I’m happy to hear you both enjoyed it!
I made this tonight, and we enjoyed it. Necessity is the mother of invention, so I had to make several substitutions: instead of chicken, i used 3 different cuts of random leftover steaks from our last bulk cow order. I treated them just like the chicken in this recipe, and they got nice and tasty and tender. Instead of white rice, I used long-grain brown and had to cook it for about 2 hours, which I expected; but it still got soft and flavorful without getting mushy or crunchy. Before transferring to the oven, I also added chopped bell pepper, jalapeño, and cauliflower to bulk it up. I also doubled all spices and added a hefty amount of salt, as we like our meals powerfully spiced. It came out great! We ate it in pita bread with tabbouleh, hummus, and lettuce. I’ll definitely make again and will try chicken when I have it!
I love how you were able to customize it! So glad you enjoyed it!
Can I use stovetop entirely rather than baking for 45 minutes?
No, unfortunately it needs heat from all sides otherwise your rice will burn on the bottom if just cooked on the stovetop.
Great recipe! I added capers, kalamata olives, and spanish olives before sticking the pan in the oven and used half the recommended amount of butter. I also used boneless chicken thighs instead. It came out delicious!!
Love your additions! So glad you enjoyed it!
I just made the rice today. I Stove cooked it just the rice though. I had to make a quick side dish. I added all the ingredients that went on the rice and the chicken. It smelled so good!! So much flavor.. It was delicious. Kids loved it every one wanted seconds. Definitely a keeper recipe.
I had no time to chop garlic so I used power garlic. Tasted just as good 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Can the rice be substituted with quinoa?
I haven’t tested it but I would think that would be a fine substitute to eliminate the starch. Let me know how it turns out.
Step #2 said to heat a cast iron pan on ‘high’ with olive oil, and to brown the chicken. Since olive oil has a very low smoking point, it will most likely burn. I would also add some butter into the pan, in order to give the olive oil a higher smoking point. This dish sounds very tasty, so I’ll definitely try it on our next ‘chicken night’.
This link should put your mind at ease. https://jonbarron.org/diet-and-nutrition/healthiest-cooking-oil-chart-smoke-points
I hope you enjoy the meal!
What kind of white rice do you use for this? Jasmine white rice or basmati rice? Thank you, this looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it!
So sorry for the delay, your question got snagged in my spam filter 🙁 I used white basmati rice for this recipe. I think Jasmine would be too crunchy to use.
Has anyone tried this in the crockpot?
I’m still testing this to try and get it to work. Unfortunately, the rice tends to get hard in the slow cooker. Keep an eye out in the future.
Forgive me if I read this recipe wrong, but it calls for garlic cloves roughly chopped plus minced garlic; however nowhere in the directions does it say when to use the minced garlic. I’m in the middle of making this. Help!
So sorry for that. I’m not sure how the chopped amount got added it. I prefer using minced for this recipe. I updated it to show correctly….hopefully it sticks this time.
Why does one need 3 garlic cloves roughly chopped and 1 tablespoon of minced garlic?
I edited it to show correctly. So sorry about that. It should just read 1 tablespoon minced garlic.
This looks really flavorful! I can’t wait to give this a try!
Thanks Erin!
I am loving this dish! What great flavors.
Thank you!
I love that you did this in one pot! YUM!
Easier clean up for sure!
This looks delicious! Loving the olives in this. 🙂
Thank you Carrie!
I want to eat some of this right now!
I love anything made in one pot, and these flavors are perfect!
Thanks Amanda!