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…..
This came out perfect! Didn’t change a thing except for seasoning.
Made this last night, didn´t change a thing, when I took the tin foil off the chicken I thought I must have done something wrong, there was so much liquid in it, silly me for panicking, I have made 21 of your recepis so far, the next one will be on Sunday,.. anyway, after about 20 min it looked perfect and tasted even better than it looked, best rice we have had since I don´t know when, will defo make this again 🙂 x
This has become a regular in our home. Another quick and easy recipe – one pan (love it!!). Very flavoursome. Also made the gravy which is now my go to gravy recipe.
Hello, I’d like to add cheese, at which stage should I include it?
Hi Michelle, you could add it for the last 20 minutes of the cook – N x
I made this last night and it was delicious. Really easy to make. I spent about 3 X 10mins, preparing putting it together and plating. The oven did the rest. That’s the way I like cooking!
I really like this recipe. I doubled the ingredients, using 10 chicken legs with skin, and green peppers instead of garlic. Total cook time about 1hr and 30min. (50 mins covered, 40mins uncovered) No, the rice did not dry out. I did have to use the broiler to crisp the chicken to my liking for 5mins at the end. However, everything came out great! Thank you, I look forward to seeing more of your recipes.
Made this tonight. Amazingly delicious and so easy too. Thankyou!!
Hi would cauliflower rice work in this recipe?
Hi Wendy, not as written sorry – the timing and liquid ratios would all be out. N x
Could this be done in a slow cooker
If your slow cooker has a metal insert like a rice cooker it should!
I tried this recipe exactly as written with brown rice and the rice never cooked in the oven. I had to remove the chicken and co time to cook the rice on the stove top for another 30 minutes.
Same for me. I did everything right
Hi Lorri – are you following the recipe notes for how to cook with brown rice? N x
Hi Nagi.
This is the absolute best chicken and rice dish I’ve ever had! Can you double the recipe? I’m actually getting ready to make it for our Sunday lunch, as requested by my daughter, so if you see this now, please let me know.
Hi Jerri, love to know how you went! N x
Thank you for this recipe. My son has multiple food allergies and this is one of the best recipes I’ve made that accommodates his allergies (milk, egg and wheat). Thank you again
So do I need to rinse the rice beforehand or not ? Pls explain bc I always rinse it b4 cooking. Tia
Hi Valeria, no need to rinse the rice here. N x
Just a heads up, but you don’t want to cook with hot water from your tap, it more than likely has high concentrations of iron oxide and lead. It’s better to just heat up cold water, preferably filtered if you can. https://gykam.com/life-insurance-marketing-tools/the-dangers-of-using-hot-tap-water-for-cooking-and-drinking-1545253415639.html
Bryan, thank you so much for sharing that info. I’d never heard anything like that before! Great to know. Cheers and keep sharing that with others!
I have tried this recipe two different times and the rice never cooks. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.
Really want to try this recipe Nagi, but as I live alone I’m wondering if it’s possible to freeze in individual servings please?
Yes 100% Lorraine! N X
Thanks Nagi. I bought the skinless chicken thigh fillets today (and some brown rice as I prefer it to white), and will make the adjustments that you note in the recipe. Assuming that it’s every bit as good as your other recipes I’ve used, being able to freeze four servings will not only help on the days that I don’t feel up to cooking, it will be better for my budget!
Thanks again 😊👍🏻
I can’t wait to make this! Do you think that reducing the butter would make it alright to leave the chicken skins on? I love chicken skins, but I’m just beginning to learn how to cook, so I’m not sure if that would mess it up!!
can i use a whole chicken to make this recipe?
Hi Sam, you’d need to break the chicken up – but different parts of the chicken take longer than others to cook so it makes it a little too difficult here! N x
can i use a whole chicken for this recipe?
How to cook the recipe in instantpot ?
This recipe isn’t suitable for an instant pot sorry Meshmesh. N x