One Pot Chicken and Rice

A close up photo of chicken with rice, cooked in white pan.

5 from 10 votes

Let’s make the whole dinner in ONE POT! This delicious chicken thighs, marinated with lime and garlic, pan seared, and then baked together with rice, is so aromatic and full of flavor! And only one pan to wash!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time55 mins

Total Time1 hr 10 mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 464kcal

Author: Veronika's Kitchen

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs skin on, bone in
2 limes zest and juice
2 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup white rice
1 ¾ cup chicken stock I prefer to use Homemade Chicken Stock
½ cup water
parsley to garnish

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients (lime zest, lime juice from 2 limes, 2 cloves minced garlic, salt, and pepper).
Wash and pat dry chicken thighs.
Put the meat and marinade in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 30 min- 12 hours.
When the ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Take the meat out of the Ziploc, but reserve the marinade.
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium/high heat. Brown the chicken from both sides, starting with the skin down. Then remove to a plate and set aside.
Add rice, the reserved marinade, chicken broth, and water to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper and stir.
Place the chicken on top of the rice and cover with foil or a lid.
Bake it covered with foil or lid for 35 minutes, then take the lid off and cook uncovered for another 10 minutes (total of 45 minutes) until the rice is fully cooked and the liquid is absorbed.
Take out of the oven, garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

Notes

I like to use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs because they provide the most flavor. Sear it first, so it will have beautiful crispy skin.
For this recipe, I like to use shallow enameled cast iron casserole. You also can use a cast iron skillet or any oven proof pan.
White long grain rice will work the best for this recipe (like Jasmin and Basmati). I would not recommend to use brown rice as it takes longer to cook.
Bone-in skin-on chicken thighs works best for this recipe. The second choice would be to use drumsticks. Just sear them on 4 sides, and the rest will be according to the instructions.
I would not recommend to use boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe because they are too thing and will be overcooked by the time the rice is done.
You also can use boneless skinless chicken breasts, but it won’t have as much flavor as bone-in skin-on chicken thighs.
If you don’t like lime, you can use lemon zest and juices instead. It will have a different flavor but still a refreshing and zesty tang.
If you have any leftovers left (which I doubt), you can put it in an air tight container and refrigerate. It will stay fresh for up to 5 days. I wouldn’t recommend to freeze it because the rice doesn’t freeze well.

Nutrition