This oven baked Chicken and Rice recipe has captured the hearts of people all around the world! Buttery garlic rice AND juicy seasoned baked chicken thighs, baked together in the same pan with less than 10 minutes of prep.
The rice absorbs the chicken juices as it cooks, adding loads of flavour. It’s like cooking the rice with a homemade stock!
Chicken and rice recipe
This chicken and rice recipe has been a reader favourite for so long, I thought it was about time I updated it with a much improved video and photos!
Readers tell me they love it because:
it’s a one pan dinner – the raw rice and chicken are cooked together at the same time;
completely hands off – unlike cooking rice on the stove which requires more attention, you just put the pan in the oven, set the timer and walk away;
quick to prepare – active prep time is under 10 minutes; and
it’s very, very delicious!
The chicken is ultra tasty….but the star of this recipe is the garlic butter rice!
So here’s what you get in this chicken and rice recipe – juicy seasoned chicken….
…. AND fluffy rice. GARLIC BUTTER rice, at that!
(And PS, to all the fellow rice snobs out there – this rice is fluffy and perfectly cooked, not soggy and mushy like you’d expect. The trick is to pour HOT liquids over the uncooked rice – gives it a big head start in the oven!)
What you need for this baked Chicken and Rice
Here’s what you need:
Skin on, bone in chicken thighs is best for this recipe because they take the same length of time to cook in the oven as the rice – 50 minutes in total. However, we remove the skin because otherwise the fat drips down into the rice as it cooks which makes it overly greasy. It’s easy – it’s effortless and takes 5 seconds flat per chicken.
Uncooked white rice – any “normal” white rice will work just fine here (plain, long grain, short grain, Jasmin, basmati). Steer clear of speciality rices like paella or risotto rice – they cook differently in the oven. Brown rice just needs more liquid and to be cooked a bit longer – directions are in the recipe;
Chicken seasoning – feel free to use any seasoning you’ve got on hand, pre mixed, or switch up the spices I’ve used;
Butter, garlic & onion flavour base – this forms the flavour base for the rice and because this recipe is all about convenience, we “oven saute” them – fancy word for just throw it all in a pan and bake instead of sautéing on the stove! See photos below and the quick recipe video.
How to make chicken and rice in the oven
And here’s how to make it. The first 2 steps shown below is the “oven sautéing” of the onion and garlic referred to above. This is what gives the rice the amazing buttery garlic flavour!
The rice is outrageously good. It’s buttery and garlicky, it’s tender but not mushy (I’m of Japanese background, all Asians are snobs when it comes to rice). It’s got all the flavour from the juices of the chicken and you get crispy bits on the edges that I just want to pick off and have all to myself!
What to serve with chicken and rice
Add a big leafy salad on the side with a salad dressing of choice (Balsamic Dressing and Honey Mustard Dressing are on heavy rotation in my life these days). Or add some steamed vegetables and toss with a salad dressing while hot – they’ll suck up the dressing and make otherwise rather dull steamed vegetables infinitely more interesting!
Oh – and in the video, you’ll see this 4 Minute Gravy as a suggested extra. You don’t need a sauce for this because the rice is so well flavoured and the chicken is juicy. But if you have the time, gravy will take it over the top!
Dinner just got real easy. Enjoy! – Nagi xx
Watch how to make it
Oven Baked Chicken and Rice recipe video!
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Oven Baked Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 5 bone in chicken thigh fillets, peel skin OFF , (Note 1)
- 1 onion , chopped (brown, white or yellow)
- 2 cloves garlic (large) , minced
- 2 tbsp (30g) butter (or olive oil)
- 1 1/2 cups (270g) uncooked white rice (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) chicken broth/stock , hot (I microwave)
- 1 1/4 cups (315 ml) water , hot (tap is fine)
Chicken Rub (Note 2):
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Optional garnish:
- Oil spray
- Fresh thyme leaves or finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Scatter onion and garlic in a baking dish (about 10 x 15″ / 25 x 35 cm), then place butter in the centre. Bake for 15 minutes (check at 12 minutes, mix if some bits are browning too much).
- Meanwhile, mix together Chicken Rub. Sprinkle on both sides of the chicken.
- Remove baking dish from the oven. Add rice then mix.
- Place chicken on rice. Then pour chicken broth and water around the chicken.
- Cover with foil, then bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, spray chicken with oil (optional, gives chicken nicer finish), then bake for a further 20 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
- Stand for 5 minutes, then remove chicken and fluff up rice. Garnish with parsley or thyme if desired, serve and enjoy!
Optional gravy
- Dish is flavoured enough to serve without sauce, but if you want to take it over the top, make this quick Gravy in 4 minutes flat (pictured in video).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Oven Baked Chicken and Rice originally published March 2019, updated April 2020 with improved photos, videos and step photos added. No change to recipe – I wouldn’t dare, readers love it as is!
More popular Chicken and Rice recipes
Life of Dozer
He was squinting, so I lent him my sunglasses 😂
And flashback to the original publication date of this recipe, back when Dozer was recovering from a knee operation:
Caved and splurged on a ramp – got tired of heaving a 40kg/80lb dog in and out of the car multiple times a day…..
Nagi! Just discovered your blog today and made this chicken and rice for dinner…….OMG…… thank you!!! It’s delicious! My two fussy eaters went back for seconds as did my hubby. I couldn’t cause there was none left!!!
Love your work! x
HIGH FIVE! So pleased to hear that! N xx
I have this in the oven right now and it smells yummy! I thought I had all the ingredients necessary to make this until I reached for the chicken broth. I had two small chicken thighs left over from my large package of thighs, so I covered them with water, added approximately a third of a can of cream of chicken with herbs soup, S & P, and simmered it while the onion mixture was browning in the oven. I also decided, instead of water, I would add pinot grigio! I mixed my “broth” and wine to arrive at the 2 3/4 cups of liguid required. I also had baby portabellas on hand, so I added those to the dish. Can’t wait to try!
Well saved! 🙂 Hope you love it Jan! N xx
Ooookay….This is my favorite new recipe. We just finished cooking this for dinner and it is great. Couple of things; we have a gas stove and so for us we had to cook the onion, garlic, and butter mix on 400 degrees before it started browning and getting any color. We started cooking them at suggested temp, but after 20 minutes i decided to change it and after I upped the temp it took maybe another 15 minutes to get them to the golden caramelized color that I expected. The next thing is that I’m southern and *in my opinion* chicken is very hard to season to where you taste it all the way to the bone like my mama makes it. So we seasoned our meat 2 days before (total overkill but we were tired and waited an extra day) and we over seasoned. We used our own mixture of seasonings because we are very particular about how much flavor there is from the 1st bite to the last. Before adding the chicken I added additional salt to the rice because of a comment from another reviewer. I also agree with the reviews that mentioned that they cooked their chicken longer. Again for me it was an appearance thing. I set the timer for the suggested time and kept adding an additional 15 minutes until I felt it was golden and crispy looking, maybe 3 times. Finally we used bone-in thighs and kept the skin on. It cooked great and it probably wasn’t greasy because I cooked it so long. This recipe is great, I know it may seem like I deviated a lot but honestly I always change recipes to my liking and all things considered, I didn’t change as much as I normally do. Thanks for the great recipe!
I never mind when people deviate and I always love hearing how people change my recipes! So glad you enjoyed it! N xx
Wow!! Amazing and no mush! I did mushrooms instead of onions. We love mushrooms!! Thx for the recipe!!!
WHOOT! So pleased you enjoyed it Julia, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Can you use a whole cut up chicken
Yes! As long as you cut it up into thigh, drumsticks etc – don’t use, for example, maryland 🙂
This was awesome! I used a whole chicken, upping the times to 65 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered. So tender and tasty. Since we love garlic, I used garlic infused olive oil and extra garlic cloves with the rice – perfect. Definitely adding this to our rotation. Thx
Oh wow! I’m so happy to hear that Catherine, thanks so much for letting me know! N xx
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this Hilary! Thanks so much for letting me know – N x
This is my second time making this recipe.
I use Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice and it took over an hour to cook….but it was incredible
Tonight my autistic son is cooking and together we chose this recipe again!
We are allowing extra time if needed!
THANK you!!!
I’m so happy to hear that you and your son enjoyed this Timothy! Thanks so much for letting me know – N x
Would this work with brown rice?
Hi Kayla! Please see note 3 🙂
Do you cook the Rice separately and then add it to the dish or do you put raw rice in the pan and then add the chicken?
Nope! All goes in raw! N x
Nagi, this dish is incredible! I’ve cooked it about 6 times and it has always been perfect. And it’s so easy with a newborn bub. We particularly love it with a Mexican style spice mix, a couple of chillies added to the rice and served with sour cream and guacamole. I joked to my husband I could cook it for a week using different spices and sides each night, and he looked at me excitedly before realising I was kidding…maybe I should! Thank you for this, and so many other delicious dishes!!!
That’s so fantastic Jess! Thanks for letting me know! N x
I added broccoli florets and cheddar cheese it was delicious
High praise!!! So pleased you enjoyed this Peggy, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Is this with frozen or thawed chicken? I’m excited to make it for dinner tonight 🙂
Thawed! Never cook frozen chicken! 🙂 N xx
It was yummy, but next time I will add a little more zest to it. A little bland for our taste. I also had to cook it longer than stated, my rice was a little too crunchy! But I will definitely make it again. Thanks!
I’m sorry to hear it wasn’t seasoned enough for your taste! Did you use all the seasonings per the recipe for the chicken and broth for the rice?? 🙂 N xx
fabulous recipe, I tried it today, however, I like my chicken well done. I baked it for a full hour and it turned out just incredible.
So fantastic to hear that Carlos, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Mine is in the oven right now. I love the pictures and video, very well done on both. I am a visual person so it makes it very nice. Thank you
I hope you love it Linda! N xx
This was delicious and very easy to make. Made with Jasmine Brown rice, cook time covered for about 45-50 mins.
I’m so pleased to hear that Chelly! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N xx PS I love your name!
Would this work with orzo pasta?
Sorry, it won’t, different cook time and liquid ratio, have’t tried it yet!
If I use drumsticks, how many do you recommend? Also, am I reading correctly that if I do use drumsticks I don’t have to take the skin off? Thank you very much!
Hi Amy! I’d use 8 normal or 10 small 🙂 And yes, keep the skin on for drumsticks, they aren’t as fatty and also it’s more of a pain to peel off. You could peel off if you wanted to though. 🙂
I just noticed that the broth needed to be warmed up. I did use hot water but because my broth was not hot how much longer do I need to cool it for? And do I need to take the chicken out to not overcook it?
Hi Ines! Just an extra 5 min should be sufficient so don’t worry, Chicken will be fine 👍🏻
Can I use 5 minute cooking white rice? If so, how does that affect the cooking time?
Sorry Erin, this doesn’t work with instant microwave rice! N x