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!
Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper)
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!!!
Also you NEVER wipe off the “black bits”!!!!!! Flavortown right there. Saute onions etc right ontop of those puppies and it deglazes itself
This is one of my favorite meals to make! Any ideas about how I could do some of the steps ahead of time? I’d love to make it for an event & be able to just pop it in the oven.
We love anything lemon! I made this for my picky eater daughter exactly as written the first time. She licked her plate clean. The second time, I added a can of drained artichoke hearts and sliced olives to the rice. This is such a good recipe that can adapt very easily to personal tastes. Thank you for yet another wonderful recipe, Nagi!
What brand cast iron did you use with the top? I am need of a cast iron with a top.
I use Lodge cast iron, Le Creuset and Chausseur – all are excellent brands! N x
So delicious! Wondering best way to reheat please?
Hi Anna – you can reheat this in the microwave or covered with foil in the oven! N x
Delicious recipe! Pretty much followed it to a “T” except added mushrooms, more garlic and lemon juice to the rice. Thank you for sharing
Fabulous, no surprise there! Followed the steps exactly, but used breasts, against your recommendations, but that’s what we had on hand. They turned out just as you suggested they might. Still delicious, but thighs next time for sure. Plus a side of Greek salad. (Have you tried barrel-aged feta? We just found it. Game-changer!)
Great tips Christopher! Thanks!! N x
Hi Nagi! Do you think I can use Ninja instant pot but using roast function?
I made this tonight for my family working from home this dish was a simple add all ingredients into one pot and time (because I seem to get carried away when I’m working). Family loved it and that was that. Thank you so much your a gem
I am happy that you enjoyed it Anna! N x
Made this last night and it was great. Will definitely make it again. My rice wasn’t as fluffy as it looks in the picture but still tasted great!
Nagi, this recipe is the bomb. I popped the chicken on the barbecue for that charring flavour and then popped it on top of the rice mix. Into to the Staub cocette for 30mins in a fan forced oven and boom 💥! Incredible flavour and so easy to do.
This recipe is so fantastic! In case anyone marinates their thighs for more than 24h, they should be ok!! This happened accidentally in my kitchen, marinating for about 44h and they were just as delicious. I was worried the acid from the lemon juice might break them down too much- just fine. A quick active time recipe that’s just so so good!!
Thanks for that tip Mia! N x
Thank you so much for this beautiful recipe Nagi. I am not a very confident cook and I don’t try new recipes very often for fear of stuffing them up! I really appreciate the thoughtful accompanying notes – I didn’t panic when I only had boneless chicken thighs and no lid for the skillet. I used foil and it worked well! My family loved this meal and I was so proud of myself :p
Hi Nagi
Is the oven temperature listed referring to fan forced or convection oven? And in general, are the oven temperatures listed on your recipe assuming one or the other?
Thanks for your recipes, I love them all :~)
Hi Olivia – if there is only a Celsius and Fahrenheit temp listed then its fine for either convection or non convection ovens. If there is a third (usually lower) temperature listed marked (Fan) then you use that for convection (fan) ovens and the other temps for normal ovens. N x
Yum! I made this with quinoa and it turned out amazing! I replaced the rice with the same amount of multi-coloured quinoa and omitted the 3/4 cup water. Noom-approved! It easily fits into my Noom food limit.
Thanks for that tip, Rose! N x
Hi Nagi, I would like to make this but i don’t have a pot that i can put on gas and in the oven so can i transfer it to a glass bowl and then put in oven
You can transfer to an oven safe ceramic dish but I would not use glass unless it is oven proof like Pyrex. N x
This dish was amazing! The whole family loved it.
Would the cook time stay the same if using bone in chicken breasts? By the way – love this recipe using thighs, just looking to change it up!
Thankyou Nagi! Another brilliant recipe! Made this one tonight and we all loved it. The flavour of the rice was exceptional, as was the chicken (I used chic thighs) which I only marinated for the 20 minutes, but that still was enough to get the flavours in.
We loved the combination of the lemon rind, juice, oregano and garlic, a gorgeous combination, and very Greek! Thankyou! Putting on my high rotation list now! Along with many more of your recipes!!
Love your site Nagi, your recipes are amazing. This one didn’t work out that well for me though unfortunately. I doubled the quantity and used a large cast iron crock pot, and by the time the first 35 minutes was up the chicken was done and the rice had turned completely to mush! Could this have been the combination of the quantity and the pot? I have an oven thermometer so the temperature definitely correct, unless I should have taken off 20° for fan forced? The flavours were great so I’m keen to try this again, I’m just not sure why it went wrong?
Hi Kat – generally one pot rice meals do not double well. They depend on the surface area and evaporation rates as tested so in future if you need to make double then I would do 2 x batches using the size pan as recommended in the recipe! N x
Thanks so much for replying Nagi, that totally makes sense. I’ll try again 🙂