This oven-baked chicken and rice pilaf Chicken and rice is a classic combination of ingredients, however, plain old chicken and rice can get pretty boring after a while. Fortunately, with a few additional ingredients and a bit of spice, you can easily create an entirely new dish with minimal effort. This chicken and rice casserole is inspired by a traditional rice pilaf recipe that is made in one pan. It’s incredibly easy to prepare that feeds a crowd or makes plenty of leftovers for a week of lunches.
One-pot meals are my favorite. I’ve shared a ton of one-pot meal recipes before, including my Rainbow Chicken Stir-Fry, Thai Cod Green Curry, and Hungarian Beef Stew, and to be honest that is how I do most of my cooking at home. Whether it is a slow-cooked stew or a quick and easy weeknight meal they help keep things simple and cut down on dishes too. Rice can be tricky to cook but this oven-baked version turns out perfectly fluffy every single time and paired with some simple spices it takes on a fragrant flavor.
More Chicken and Rice Recipes:
Oven-Baked Chicken and Rice Pilaf
This baked chicken and rice recipe makes 6 servings with one piece of chicken per person, however, feel free to adjust the number of chicken thighs as needed.
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Prep Time: 10 minutes -
Cook Time: 1 hour
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Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
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Yield: 6 servings 1x
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Category: Main
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Method: Baked
Prep Time:
Yield:
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Method:Ingredients
Chicken
- 6 chicken thighs, skin-on, and bone-in
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Rice
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, peeled and minced
- 1 cup green peas, frozen
- 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 cinnamon stick or 1/2 teaspoon ground
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- If you can an ovenproof pan or Dutch oven the entire recipe can be made in there. Otherwise, begin by cooking the onions in a frying pan and transfer them to a casserole dish for the remainder of the recipe.
- Heat butter in a skillet or ovenproof dish on medium heat.
- Add onions and carrots, season with a pinch of salt and saute for 5-7 minutes until tender and onions are translucent. Once cooked, add minced garlic and cook for another 1 minute until fragrant.
- While onions are cooking, add chicken thighs to a large bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with spices. Using your hands, rub the spices onto the chicken until well covered.
- Once the onions are done cooking, add coriander and cumin and stir well to combine. (If you cooked the onions in a frying pan, transfer them to a casserole dish now.) Pour in rice, peas, cover with broth and give it a stir to ensure onion mixture, spices and rice is well combined in the broth. Drop the cinnamon stick into the broth.
- Place the chicken thighs in the pot or casserole dish leaving room in between. They will be slightly submerged in the broth mixture which is fine, this will help to add moisture as they cook.
- Cover casserole dish with aluminium foil, or if using ovenproof pot cover with lid, and transfer to the oven for 50 minutes. Remove the foil or lid and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to fluff rice with a fork before serving.
- For extra crispy chicken skin you can return the chicken thighs to the oven on broil for an additional 5 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 580 calories
- Sugar: 5 grams
- Fat: 37 grams
- Carbohydrates: 25 grams
- Fiber: 3 grams
- Protein: 36 grams
Great recipe!! I modified the spices a little and added cajun spice I got as a gift from New Orleans. Used fresh organic chicken from a local farm. Delicious!!
Cajun spice would be delish in there, great idea!
Could I make this with boneless skinless chicken breast instead of thighs? Would I need to alter the cooking time?
Yes, absolutely! I would just start the rice for the first 20 minutes alone, and then add the chicken breasts for the last 30 minutes instead of the full 50 minutes as suggested.
The smell in the house while this is cooking is fantastic!! It’s one of our go-to winter meals.