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:
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it’s a one pan dinner – the raw rice and chicken are cooked together at the same time;
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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;
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quick to prepare – active prep time is under 10 minutes; and
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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:
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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.
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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;
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Chicken seasoning – feel free to use any seasoning you’ve got on hand, pre mixed, or switch up the spices I’ve used;
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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…..
Delicious!! I pre-make your spice rub and save it in a jar for ease of use. I rubbed this generously on boneless chicken thighs and I used Japanese rice. Flavorful and comforting! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Was absolutely demolished by the family and has been requested again in the coming weeks!
Thank you Nagi for ANOTHER FAB RECIPE!!
YES!!!!!!! I will 100% be doing this again and again and AGAIN!!! wow the rice is amazing. I read the reviews about it being bland and noticed the recipe didn’t call for any added salt to the rice only on the chicken so I added a dash of salt and extra garlic powder to the liquid before I mixed it in. I left this cooking in a dutch oven style pan for 50 minutes covered removed the lid and broiled for 4-5 minutes. LAWD HAVE MERCY. The rice is soooooo good. Oh yea I added peas and carrot mix about a cup to the rice, and I made 3 cups of jasmin rice total using the exact liquid measurements I would normally cook the rice (4cups liquid). You can really season the chicken however you like (I did) also I used boneless skinless thighs. Thanks so much for publishing this recipe. This is going to save me so much time for cooking and cleaning!
Great family meal. I double it when we have dinner guests. Love that I can try various seasonings to the chicken every time. Favorite so far is a lemon and herb blend from Coles. Two thumbs up.
Very tasty! My partner is lakto-ovo vegetarian so I used tofu instead of chicken. The rice was still reeeally tasty despite removing the chicken!!
Hi Nagi,
I love all your recipes that I’ve tried – thank you very much for sharing them. This recipe is as delicious as the others and while I did not change a thing when I made it, I would like to make it now as a Moroccan dish, thus changing the ingredients. As well, I will be serving this to guests who eat only chicken breast.
Do you see this as possible, changing the rub to Ras El Hanout, cinnamon, paprika, ginger and anything else that would be tasty and when would I add the raisins, apricots, lemons and olives? How long would I cook the chicken breasts for? I realize I’m asking a lot of you but if my question interests you, I would appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Sorry have to agree with a few others on here….very bland. And took another 15 mins longer than stated to cook the chicken. I’m yet to find a one tray bake that the rice isn’t mushy. In saying that love so many of your recipes nagi xo
I followed this recipe exactly and I wish I had stuck to my mom’s, but wanted to try something new… I was already skeptical when I saw the recipe called for adding rice before the chicken had time to cook a little. Also, skinning the chicken? Not necessary. After 50 minutes the rice was still very undercooked. When it finally finished it smelled amazing, but this was the most bland chicken and rice I’ve ever tasted. No flavor.
Ultimate comfort food. Great recipe. I added 1/4 cup white wine to the hot water measurement. Delicious
I have made this dish a few times and it’s awesome!!!! I added frozen peas in it and it was a true one dish meal.
I cooked this in a Remoska electric oven-pan (look it up, it’s a wonderful device). Timings as per recipe. The rice is the star. I loved it. Thanks for another winner, Nagi.
My first try at this recipe. I adjusted the chix, rice and liquids to serve 4. I used an 8×8 dish and this is where I went wrong. It took an extra 20 min. to get the liquids absorbed into the rice. I also increased the temp to 375 Convection. I will try again because it is soooo easy to prepare and clean up after. I will use a larger dish next time.
If you adjusted the recipe and used a totally differnet dish (8 x 8 instead of 10 x 15) why are you leaving a review? stupid
My favourite recipe and so easy to make, never any leftovers!
Love this recipe, delicious and easy. Instead of using water, I use all Chicken Stock. I also used Basmati Rice, since that’s what I had available, worked great. One last thing I did, was add a bag of frozen mixed veggies with the rice. It was great, and you get some extra veggies along with everything else.
This recipe is on high rotation in our house. It’s soooo good and everyone always want seconds (even if they haven’t got room for them). I have been known to replace the chicken with salmon on occasion (I just put it in for the final 20 minutes, uncovered). My favourite one-pan meal.
I’ve been cooking this recipe for probably 5 years now (it was my first foray into the wonderful world of Nagi) and it always turns out perfectly. I use drumsticks, long grain rice and follow the recipe to a t. Served with a side of steamed greens it’s a perfect midweek no fuss dinner.
Absolutely loved this recipe!!! So simple, love the hands off method. Gives me heaps of inspiration for future family friendly dishes.
I was a little worried about the rice when I first pulled it out of the oven as it seemed undercooked but after letting it stand it remedied itself and was delicious!!!
Will definitely be making again.
I’ve always given Nagi’s dishes 5 star reviews, She’s without doubt my go-to for her amazing recipes. I followed the exact recipe on this one, but the rice came out gluggy. The flavours were nothing to rave about – my husband said it tasted like chicken stuffing and my son said it reminded him of an economy airline meal 😒.
Kids actually ask for this recipe which means it’s good. I add chopped baby spinach near the end and mix through the rice once wilted
Yet another yummy recipe,easy to cook with delicious results