I want to say the star of this dish is the chicken. But that would be lying. Because this, my friends, is all about the RICE! People have said this One Pot Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice is the best chicken and rice recipe they’ve ever had (their words not mine!). I hope you feel the same when you try it!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Chicken and rice – elevated!
What makes this lemon rice so special, you might ask? Well, it’s like cooking the rice in triple strength chicken stock because the chicken is cooked ON TOP of the rice. So it gets the full benefit of all the juices from the chicken seeping into it while it cooks. Add the fresh flavours of lemon and boom! You will knock the socks off anyone you serve this too!
Big promises I know….but I have third party validation of this. Someone who always tells me the truth about my dishes. Especially “inventions” which I often pass on because I know I’ll get truthful feedback. I do love my friends dearly, but honestly, not everything I make them can be “OMG, this is so delicious!!” (Seriously, I love my friends, love them to bits!)
So in this particular case, her family raved about the rice so I’m just passing on that message. 🙂 (PS She was quick to point out that the chicken was lovely too, she just said that the STAR of the dish was the rice! I’m totally cool with that! 🙂 )
This is not an authentic Greek Chicken recipe (as far as I know!) but it is made using classic Greek ingredients. It uses the same technique I use for my One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice. There’s nothing tricky or ground breaking, it’s just about getting the liquid to rice ratio right. Rice baked in the oven requires a lot more water than when it’s cooked on the stove. And when you plop chicken on top of the rice, it drops liquid so you need to take that into account.
To make this Greek Chicken recipe in one pot (well, pan – why do I keep writing “pot”??!), the chicken is seared in the pan first, then the rice is added, the chicken placed back on top then it’s popped in the oven. The magic happens while it’s baking. As the chicken cooks, all the juices seep into the rice which are soaked up by the rice and add incredible flavour. INCREDIBLE flavour. It honestly is like triple strength chicken stock.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I can’t hold back any longer. I need some lunch! – Nagi
More dinner in one pot!
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Asian Beef and Ramen Noodles – made in one skillet in 15 minutes!
Browse all One Pot recipes
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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One Pot Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 5 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in (about 1 kg / 2 lb) (Note 1)
- 1 – 2 lemons, use the zest + 4 tbsp lemon juice (Note 7)
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
Rice
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, separated
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 cup (180g) long grain rice , uncooked (Note 6)
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) chicken broth / stock
- 3/4 cup (185 ml) water
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Garnish
- Finely chopped parsley or oregano (optional)
- Fresh lemon zest (highly recommended)
Instructions
- Combine the Chicken and Marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag and set aside for at least 20 minutes but preferably overnight.
To Cook
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Remove chicken from marinade, but reserve the Marinade.
- Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a deep, heavy based skillet (Note 2) over medium high heat.
- Place the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, and cook until golden brown, then turn and cook the other side until golden brown. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Pour off fat and wipe the pan with a scrunched up ball of paper towel (to remove black bits), then return to the stove.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté for a few minutes until translucent. Then add the remaining Rice ingredients and reserved Marinade.
- Let the liquid come to a simmer and let it simmer for 30 seconds. Place the chicken on top then place a lid on the skillet (Note 3). Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender (so 45 minutes in total).
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving, garnished with parsley or oregano and fresh lemon zest, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
If you like this one pot Greek Chicken recipe, you may also enjoy my ONE POT BAKED GREEK CHICKEN ORZO (RISONI)!
And if you’re after another Greek Chicken recipe (because let’s face it, the Greeks know how to make GOOD CHICKEN!), I think you’ll enjoy my GREEK CHICKEN GYROS.
The yoghurt lemon marinade for this chicken is incredible!
LIFE OF DOZER
His chest hair bursting out of his sweater…. SO CUTE!!!
Hi Nagi.
I’m sorry that this is going to be a bit long winded, but I need help.
On Saturday night, I wanted to make your pork shoulder with crispy crackling for my brothers and their families.
I also thought that I would make your Parmesan roasted potatoes and cauliflower to go with it.
After reading everything, I know that the pork has to rest for 20 minutes, but the sides take 40 minutes to bake.
How can I bring this meal altogether? I just want it to be so nice as I am cooking for my mother’s 99th birthday. She still lives at home with us, so it is pretty special.
I just want it to be amazing without stressing about it at the last minute.
I am also cooking your apple crumble for dessert. That I can do.
I would love to know your comments and also if you think that the two Parmesan dishes might be too much together.
I am at your mercy.
I have just finished making mum your one pot Greek and lemon rice which she loved.
I also made her your apple cake today. She thought it was beautiful.
Any help for next Saturday would be amazing.
I know you are so busy and I really appreciate any comment.
Very kind regards.
99th birthday! Oh my! That’s so wonderful 🙂 It IS special! Can I make a suggestion please? If you make the pork with crackling, then I think it might be easier for you to do different sides that can simply be reheated while the pork is resting 🙂 My suggestion would be: either potato dauphinoise (make ahead, reheat mostly in microwave then just pop in oven while pork is resting to get golden cheesy top) or easy creamy potato bake (same thing for make ahead). The recipe notes have make ahead options! Here are the recipes: https://promotown.info/julia-childs-potato-dauphinois-gratin-potato-bake/%3C/a%3E and https://promotown.info/easy-creamy-cheesy-potato-bake/%3C/a%3E. As for a cauliflower replacement, what about a roasted pumpkin spinach salad? It can be made ahead: https://promotown.info/roast-pumpkin-spinach-and-feta-salad/%3C/a%3E. Or a sweet potato salad? Hope that helps! N xx
Hi Nagi.
It’s me again.
What do you think of making your creamy corn casserole to go with the roast pork and easy cheesy potatoes?
Do you think that it might be too rich with all the other food.
I know Australians are not really familiar with cornbread, but I have made your cornbread muffins and everyone loved them.
So sorry to bother you again.
Hi Nagi.
Thank you so much for your kind wishes and of course your suggestions.
I have decided to make your easy cheesy potatoes with the roast pork.
It will be so much easier for me to prepare things and will definitely keep my stress levels down, so I can also enjoy mum’s birthday.
Thank you for the suggestion of the salad, but my brothers like hot sides with their roast pork.
I’m sure that I can put together some veggies to make them happy.
As far as mum is concerned, she would eat all the apple crumble if you let her. She just loves anything sweet. I suppose when you reach her age, she can have whatever she darn well wants.
Thank you again for taking so much time to reply to my email.
I just love cooking anything Nagi.
Great recipe! The depth of flavors with little effort makes for a very nice meal.
That’s great SRomero! So pleased you enjoyed this, thanks for letting me know! N x
Can I substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts? Would the cooking time pr anything else need to be adjusted?
You sure can Erin! Directions in the notes! 🙂 N xx
Quick and easy to make. Turned out delicious. Definitely a new go to in my house. Thanks!
Hi!
i made this several times and i LOVE it! It’s so easy to make, and tastes so good!
When i don’t have fresh lemon, i use store bought lemon juice (less of it though) and preserved lemons… it’s not the same, but it does the trick!
I have a quick question. I’m going to try it with skin on, bone in TURKEY next time, and i was wondering if the cooking time will change?
Cheers!
Hi Guylaine! So glad you love this as much as I do! As for turkey, the cook time will change because it depends on the turkey size, they range so much! How big are you thinking? 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi .. Made this fabulous recipe for the family last night and it was a HUGE HIT … everything .. and I mean everything eaten … I had to make an alteration as I did not have a fry pan available that could be put into the over (too many pans with heat resistant rubber on the handle) so I fried the chicken in the pan and then layered the rice, onion, and rice ingredients ina pyrex baking pan with the chicken on top and then covered it with foil. Only suggestions I have might be to: (1) Suggest the approximate cooking time when browning the chicken and (2) Suggest the equipment you will need upfront (A Fry pan with a lid that can do can do double duty in the oven) for those of us who are stressed working people with no time to put this together …or alternate method to make this such as the two step method if you don’t have a fry pan that can do double duty in the oven) .. One new section in your terrific blog WHICH I USE EVERYDAY might be a section entitled “Cooking equipment I can’t live without”– which would feature ..your non-stick fry pan that can also go into the over ..etc. One last question …The rice was great but I would like to intensify the flavor … do you suggest not adding the extra water or substituting more chicken broth instead of water? Thank you for your answers in advance ..
Hi Brooke! Thanks so much for the suggestions! I have cookware on the list of posts to do, and I will update the recipe with your suggestions soon as I plan to republish this recipe shortly with fresh new photos!! N xx
Could you make this with cauliflower rice? Trying to watch my carbs!
I’m sure it could but I haven’t tried so don’t know the liquid ratios, sorry!
I’m speechless! This was amazing and you’ve got a new devoted follower! This recipe was beyond good! Company good. Potluck good…. And yet easy enough for a weeknight! I couldn’t stop saying mmmmmm after each bite (and I’m not even kidding!)! I can’t wait to explore your site more!
I’m so pleased to hear that Tara!! Thank you so much for letting me know! N xx
Nagi,
Tried this last night, the first recipe from your site. It was really good. I added a bit of olive oil to the marinade–juat a tablespoon or so–as I was worried there wouldn’t be enough liquid. Also used only 1 teaspoon of oregano as the amount called for seemed like a lot for such a small amount of liquid. Cooked it in an iron skillet. The rice was an interesting texture for me as I used all chicken broth as called for and no water and the rice was a nice drier texture similar to fried rice–fully cooked and very flavorful. This is such an easy recipe! Hubby loved it! Looking forward to trying more. Thanks!
Norma
Yesssss! So glad you enjoyed it Norma! N xx
I’m new to this site. So, this may not be new to y’all:
In Step 5 you say to wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. A scrunched up piece of aluminum foil also makes a great improvised scrub pad to loosen cooked on bits without leaving a paper residue. It works great on grill grates, as well as pots and pans.
Oh that’s a great tip George! Thanks! N x
You’re welcome. Thank you for all the great recipes.
Quick question.. could I use parboiled rice? Thanks!! 😉
I thought that the marinade was a bit dry, so I added a couple of tablespoons of olive oil (absolutely a Greek thing).
It turned out just fabulous, thank you!
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Mac! Thanks for letting me know! N x
I have made this recipe about 10 times now, everyone loves it! I put 1 liter of chicken stock instead of any water, and I always make double rice! Always yum! Thankyou
HI Nagi ! Any suggestions for preparing for a large group … I need to quadruple the recipe for a birthday dinner! I was going to get a large jumbo aluminum pan and cover with foil any thoughts on adjusting cooking times etc? This was me very first Nagi recipe I tried almost 2yrs ago and it has become a staple in our home … We just love it!
I love hearing that!!! When I make multiple batches, I make them in separate pans. I find that yields the best results for baked rice dishes 🙂 Hope that helps! N x
Is this a freezable dish?
Yes it freezes just fine! Then thaw and reheat in microwave 🙂 N x
Not sure about quadrupling, but I doubled the rice last time (1 cup rice makes about 2 servings around here!) and doubled the marinade and rice liquid/seasoning. I thought it would need to cook longer, but it didn’t seem to (which makes sense, now that I think about it, because my rice cooker takes the same time to make 1 cup rice as it does to make 3 cups.) The rice was a little overly moist and lemony, but that was probably because I doubled the marinade without doubling the chicken- I’m guessing it would have been fine otherwise. So you’ll probably be fine increasing the recipe like you said, maybe just leave 10 minutes buffer so if you take it out and the rice is still watery, you can put it back in for a few more minutes!
Also, Nagi, I agree that the rice is totally the best! I don’t even need the chicken, just give me the rice! 🙂
I hear you AJ! 🙂
Thanks AJ ! I appreciate your input! Making it tomorrow so I got everything marinating now! Fingers crossed!
The calorie count seems a bit high for an individual serving of one thigh but low for the entire dish? Can you please clarify? Thank you.
Has any one made with Skinless boneless breasts? How much time will they need to cook?
Hi Suzi – directions are in the notes! 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi
If you prepare this ahead of time and then reheat does the rice soak up all the moisture and make for a dry dish? I wish to make ahead and take away for the weekend so it may not be eaten until the next night.
Hi Vicky! Next day rice is always a bit drier than freshly made, but what I do is sprinkle the rice with water then cover in cling wrap to microwave. This helps get moisture back into the rice! N xx
Yup. This is all about the rice!! I made it last night, and it is terrific. Going to add it to my kitchen files forthwith. Thank you. ♥️
Love hearing that Bobbie! 🙂 N x
Yes agree Ina simple and flavorful and that rice is fantastic. I love the the one pot wonders I’ve done 10 now, some i won’t try but all the ones i have tried have been so easy and tasted amazing. Nagi you’re a champ simple everyday cupboard ingredients in one pot i love you. And i really like the speedy videos at the bottom really helps me know I’m doing the steps right without having to watch a long boring video pause play pause.:)
That’s wonderful to hear Dee! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
I made this tonight and the flavours were amazing, the rice and chicken were perfectly cooked! Thank you for sharing your quick and delicious recipes, as a mom of a toddler and a newborn this is exactly what I need! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
I love hearing that Ina! So pleased you enjoyed it, thanks for taking the time to let me know – N x
Hi Nagi,
I made this recipe last night and it came out really well. The rice was perfectly cooked. The chicken was very tender and the skin tasty. Next time I make it I will use less oregano. Two tablespoons of dried oregano is a lot! 🙂
I’m sorry but I don’t know what I’m missing here…I don’t see any liquid listed for the marinade. Please help.
Hi Janet – the lemon juice is the liquid 🙂 N x
Thank you, Nagi
Sorry Nagi, one more question. Do you think this could be made up ahead of time and frozen?
Thanks again, Nagi! This is great news!! Will definitely be making and freezing!!
Hi Janet! Actually it works pretty well, I tried it and was surprised! 🙂