Chicken and Rice Recipe – An easy, healthy dinner made with simple and real ingredients in just one pot. Perfect for any night of the week!
Chicken Rice Recipe
Hello, there! It’s Katie from The Casual Craftlete blog. I previously shared a slow cooker recipe for seafood stew, and today I have an easy chicken and rice recipe.
We love this one pot chicken and rice at my house. It’s easy to prepare and is fairly inexpensive to make. I can usually have this chicken and rice recipe ready from start to finish under an hour. The best part is everything is cooked in one pot, cutting down on cleanup time later. I don’t like doing the dishes so this is a win-win recipe for me and my family! This chicken rice recipe is made with hearty ingredients and it’s a yummy comfort meal for anytime of year.
For this chicken and rice recipe, I’m using chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are less expensive than breast meat and have more flavor since they are dark meat. The richness from the thigh meat gives the one pot chicken and rice tons of flavor. I like to add lots of healthy vegetables to brighten it up and add color to this one pot meal. I sauteed one diced yellow onion with the chicken thighs, then add grated carrots, chopped celery, and two whole garlic cloves. The garlic cloves are removed once the creamy chicken and rice recipe is completely done cooking. You get the flavor from the garlic without it overpowering the dish.
How to Make Creamy Chicken and Rice
This easy chicken and rice recipe is so delicious and is the perfect weeknight meal! Follow the 5 simple instructions and video below to get started. This is one of my absolute favorite healthy chicken and rice recipes!
- Heat 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat (in 3 quart pot).
- Place chicken thigh pieces into heated oil. Add plenty salt & pepper. Sauté for 5-7 minutes, or until cooked.
- Add diced onion & garlic to the chicken and sauté for another 3 minutes. Next add the carrots and celery to the chicken.
- Increase heat to high & add chicken broth, then stir in the rinsed rice (I use jasmine but you could use basmati or brown). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Stir again and then cover and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Add more salt, pepper or seasonings if desired.
If you love this easy and healthy meal, you’ll enjoy these too!
- Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quiona
- Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary Apricot Sauce
- Southwest Quiona Salad
- Curry Chicken Chowder
- Crispy Lemon Baked FishÂ
- One Pan Dijon Chicken and PotatoesÂ
Chicken and Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts), cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and shredded
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1.5 cups rice, rinsed (I used jasmine)
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a 3 quart pot heat 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat.
- Place chicken thigh pieces into the heated oil. Add plenty of salt and pepper. Sauté for 5-7 minutes, or until cooked.
- Add diced onion and garlic to the chicken and sauté for another 3 minutes. Next add the carrots and celery to the chicken.
- Increase the heat to high and add chicken broth, then stir in the rinsed rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Stir again and then cover and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Add more salt, pepper or seasonings if desired.
Video
Nutrition
Looks yummy!
This looks beyond amazing + you totally had me at one pot! Such an easy and impressive dinner :)
Looks like a great weeknight dish.Â
One pot meals are such a wonderful help at dinner time. Â Love the whole garlic cloves too!
I love how you’ve updated this classic! Perfect for a quick weeknight meal.
I always love one pan meals. This is a perfect complete meal! Can’t wait to try!
I love one pot easy recipes. This is one is one of our favorite dinners. I need to make it again soon. Your version looks great!
I love chicken and rice, but I have seriously never made it at home! I really need to give this recipe a try.
I can’t wait to try them , it’s remind me about my favorite food from my country!Thank you so much!
Made this today and really lived it! Real comfort food here. My daughter said it is like chicken noodle soup without soup! :)
Hey Katie!Â
I was able to make this twice on the ingredients I bought for $16!Â
Keeps well for the second and third days, tastes great! I like to add extra carrots and hot sauce on the side!Â
This was the first one pot I’ve ever tried and it was great! Thanks!
Just made this for dinner–it was DELICIOUS!!! Definitely going to be my new go-to recipe! :) Thanks for sharing!
Can you use other types of rice? Like regular long grain white rice?
Long grain white rice should work beautifully, Melissa!
This would not be “instant” rice, correct?
Correct!
Do we cook the rice before putting it in the pot?Â
Nope! The rice gets cooked in the dish! :)
the recipe says “1/2 grated parmesan cheese” is something missing, or do I need to put in half of a block?Â
Half a cup of grated Parmesan, and I’ve updated the recipe. Thanks, Lauran! :)
Has anyone tried brown rice!
Some people have, it just takes a lot longer to cook! :)
I love chicken and yellow rice, can I use yellow rice?
You can certainly try! Just adjust the cooking time and liquids as needed.
This was delicious and so easy! Tasted like chicken noodle soup but in a heartier, casserole form. My husband can’t have chicken, so I’m always looking for recipes that I can substitute turkey without compromising the overall flavor. This worked perfectly with diced up turkey tenderloins as a sub for the chicken. Thanks for this recipe – it’s a keeper, especially in winter!
I made this today. Would only use cup of rice or add more veggies.Nice. Next time will add mushrooms peppers and g reen beans. Also left mashed garlic in.
Glad you enjoyed it!
So does this mean you cannot use instant white or brownÂ
rice? And what do you mean by “rinsed” rice?Â
I can’t wait to make this, but don’t want to mess it up…
You cannot use instant rice in this recipe; if you use brown, you need to increase the cooking time significantly.
Rinsed rice is when you take you rice and put it in a fine colander and rinse it – this removes some of the starch and makes the final product more fluffy and less sticky. :)
Thank you for the rice tips! Looking forward to makingÂ
this one!!!
Just made this for first time and is delicious. I used chicken breast as I don’t like dark meat and minced garlic. Very good! Thank you !
I made this and it was so easy. Husband had second servings, and luckily I kept some before he took extras. I wanted to save some for a couple of days later to see if this keeps well. fingers crossed!
It should be delicious leftovers! :)
Has anyone tried this in a crock pot?
My best friend tried this and loved it so it’s my turn now! I always have all the ingredients on hand so this would be a great easy meal to throw together. Thanks!
I made this tonight. As was mentioned in comments it is like chicken soup with all the classic flavours but hearty and comforting. I added mushrooms and didn’t have parm so I used cheddar. It wouldn’t take much to give it a southwestern spin but I wanted to try it as it was first. It was a hit and I’ll be adding it to the roster of comforting cold weather foods. Thank you for posting this!
I just used instant brown rice before reading all of the comments. Oops. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
I am going to make this but I’m using the Kirkland mixed veggies or the stir fry veggies. and since i don’t have chicken breast right now I’ll be using kirkland canned chicken breast. I will be also adding some heavy cream to actually make it “creamy”. ;-)
Sounds delicious!
This looks so yummy! I love it! I can’t wait to make it! Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi just a quick question. Do you add in the whole garlic cloves and also minced garlic? Sounds delicious.
Can this be made in a crock pot?
Hi! I haven’t tried it in the crock pot so I’m not sure! Definitely worth a try!
Thanks for the recipe. Made Sunday
Glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for your comment! :)
…for work lunch! delicious!!!
Excellent recipe! I have passed it on many times all with rave reviews.
I’m so glad it has been a hit! Thanks for your comment and review Julie! :)
Made this tonight! Really good! Will make again!
So glad you enjoyed it :)
Brings back so many childhood memories. I love chicken and rice, amazing.
One pot meals are such a life saver on those busy weeknights! Looks great!
I love how easy this dish is! So delicious, it needs to be in a regular rotation!
This is such a filling meal! I actually love it even more the second day!
This is such an amazing flavor combo!! Get in my belly!
This is such a great rice recipe! Would love to give this a try!
One pot meals are essential for me these days!
Can you use the cauliflower rice instead of rice?
Thank you.
I’m not sure it would work the same since the rice is cooked in this dish. If you have substitute other recipes that use rice cooked in a recipe and it works, I would definitely say give it a try! :)
This is a good recipe and nearly exactly the way my Abuela from Zihuatanejo causes it to be I’m excited to try out some of the additional recipes Kristin! I really like your answers how everyone has gaps in their own kitchen and that you aren’t scared to step outside the box. Keep this up! For your”women” who bashed; pity you! What happened to others!
Hey looks great! Does it work with japanese rice too??
Hi Nina! I’m not too familiar with Japanese rice, so I’m not sure! You could definitely give it a try, but it might cook differently.
Hi! Can you used precooked chicken … like a pulled rotisserie chicken?
Yes definitely :)