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 recipe sounds great, was wondering if I can use wild rice instead of white.
Hi Sue, sorry not for this one! I haven’t tried baking wild rice 🙂
I don’t know if the time in the oven changes (might take some experimenting) but my dad makes this dish with wild rice and it turns out very well.
It would be amazing with wild rice! It does take longer in the oven because on stove wild rice takes 40 min whereas white rice takes 15 🙂 N x
OMG! Made this tonight in my Dutch oven and added leftover red peppers to the rice. Amazing dinner and so easy! Thank you!
That’s great! So pleased you enjoyed this Rebecca – N x
Hi Nagi, thanks for your site. I’m just starting to cook once a week for the family, and this is my fourth of your recipes. All turned out great! Question, help a dumb guy here: what do you mean by the optional step “spray with oil”? Like, nonstick cooking spray? What other kind of oil sprays?
I think you can use nonstick cooking spray or if you may be able to rub on a small amount of olive oil too. I think this just gives it some crispiness.
Can you use chicken breast?
I just did it with a pair of large chicken breasts sliced in half (they were in the fridge and needed cooking). Worked fine, perhaps a little bit drier than the thighs, but with the foil covering and simmer in the rice, they were just fine, and the recipe was quite delicious. This one is definitely going in my recipe box.
Subsitutions that worked: bouillon cubes for chicken stock, mild ground pepper for paprika, and breasts for thighs.
Is it possible to prep everything and then put it in the fridge until it’s time to bake? I work evenings and am looking for something my husband can pop in the oven later tonight.
Hi Ellen! I would season the chicken, measure out rice in a bag, put everything else in the pan (skip the oven saute butter + onion), then he can just pour rice in, top with chicken then bake per recipe 🙂
Absolutely fantastic. My three primary aged children loved it. And getting them to eat onion is usually a task indeed. Yet they loooved the rice.
And as a single father of three I plan on trying as many of your recipes as possible! 😀
I think though, that I might be tempted to leave the skin on the chicken breast next time as the children wanted that —-crunch to it.
That’s so great to hear Shaun!! So glad they enjoyed it 🙂 Try the Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice on them, it’s another one pot meal! Also my friends say that their kids love the creamy chicken and vegetable risoni 🙂 N x
Ok, Will do. Currently trying out the Honey garlic chicken now. Will try the one suggested tomorrow night. 😀
Hi Nagi, just wondering if you use a fan force oven for your recipes? I made this tonight but it took nearly 30mins longer than recipe states. I reduced temp as my oven only let’s you cook using fan forced.
Thanks, Bec
Hi Nagi,
Do you need to wash the rice first (am also from a Japanese background and we always wash the rice), or do I just pour it in as is?
Thanks!
Hi Viv! Rinsing will remove debris and it also removes starch from the rice which people say makes it more fluffy and makes the grains less sticky. But with long grain – which is what we use here – it is not as sticky as Japanese short grain rice so it’s not necessary. Also depends on how rice is cooked – if in rice maker, yes rinsing yields a fluffier rice (because there’s less water evaporation compared to stove). I plan to do a post on how to cook rice covering all different methods 🙂 N x
I made this exactly as listed but I added one can of cream of chicken soup and one can of cream of mushroom soup! Delicious!!
Did you use cream of mushroom and chicken soups instead of the chicken broth?
I have this in the oven now, I had to reduce the rice and liquids by half though. I didn’t have enough rice on hand, so I adjusted accordingly. I just took the foil off and it looks amazing, can’t wait for it to finish. I think next time I might drain some mushrooms to add to it, or just add some fresh with the onion and garlic step.
Oh my goodness. This is the easiest thing to make. As tasty as anything. And there is one dish to wash up and that went in the dishwasher. Timings, ingredient quantities, oven temperature etc are perfect. No need to change a thing. This is fast becoming my favourite recipe site.
That’s terrific to hear Daneille! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed this – N x
This recipe was delicious! I made it for my kids and they couldn’t get enough of it!
I left the skins on chicken thighs and drumsticks, and left it covered for an hour and a half and it was perfectly cooked. This is definitely becoming a supper staple in my house.
This recipe is SOOOOOO good. My husband can’t eat Gluten and this dish is 100% Gluten Free. I absolutely love everything about it. Super easy and mouth watering. I did add another half cup of rice and chicken broth because we LOVE this rice and we want more! I didn’t use thyme in mine, I didn’t have any on hand so I used parsley in place of the thyme and a sprinkle of dill. DELISH!! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
I’d like to make this for my 2-year old grandson’s birthday party on Friday. Around here, chicken thighs vary so much in size, from giant to teeny tiny! Do you know, roughly how much each thigh weighs, or how many pounds the package is for this recipe?? Thanks so much.
Great recipe! My brother is a fussy eater and this has his two favourites. I’m always looking for different ways to have chicken and this was perfect 👌🏽
Glad to hear you enjoyed this Lynette!! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 N x ❤️
I got everything prepared and ready to put in the oven and not realizing that I only had a little of foil left!! I still put it in uncovered. Is that ok? I don’t have anything else to cover it 🙁
You’ll be ok! If the rice is still a bit hard once the liquid has all evaporated, just sprinkle over 1/4 cup of extra water and pop it back in the oven 🙂
I have a new stainless steel round pan, 11″ wide and 3″ tall. It is 5 quarts. Will this recipe work in that pan? Thanks!
Wonderful recipe. Very tasty and so easy to make.
Don’t waste those chicken skins! Make Chicken Skin Chicharons!
Put the chicken thigh skins in a pot with some salt, vinegar and pepper. Add enough water to cover and boil until the liquid evaporates. Adjust the heat. stir and continue cooking until the fat renders out and fries the skins crispy. Drain, cool and adjust the salt and pepper. Oh, so good!
Oooh! I’ve honestly never heard on that, I will give it a go. Thank you!!
I made this tonight adding some dill (my favourite spice) and dried chives.
I also added nuttelex instead of butter because I needed the dish to be lactose free. I doubled the rice and fluid content and it still worked out nice and moist and hubby and I enjoyed it. Have added to my favourite food pins on pinterest. Thanks
I have made this three times now. The spice combination is fantastic, it’s easy and my family loves it. I hope for leftovers so I can enjoy it again the next day!
Love this recipe….it is genius!!! Easy and quick as well as tasty. I made two pans in one day and they didn’t last 24 hours. My kids were fighting over it!!!