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…..
Nagi, tonight was my second time to cook your Oven Baked Chicken. I thought it was good the first time. It was even better the second time and I forgot the peas. Thank You
Is this recipe for the chicken and rice available for printing off?
Hi Joanne, it sure is – just click the print logo in the recipe card and it will open a printable window for you – N x
Very good, followed all directions came out perfect. This recipe is now a go to meal.
That’s awesome Karen ☺️
Wonderful recipe! A hearty dinner or split it up into portions for week of lunches
Yes perfect for food prep! I’m so glad you love it ❤️
This looks so delish! Cant wait to try. However am feeding a party of 7 and usually we cook 4-5 cups of rice. How much water and stock should i use for this amount of rice?
Hi Feisy, if you hover your mouse over the serving size you can increase all the ingredients according to the number of servings. You can increase the servings to 15 and that equates to 4.5 cups of rice ❤️
Hi you have mentioned about the time about what about the temperature
Hi Vishnu – Step 1: Preheat oven to 180C/350F – N x
Love this recipe as published, but it also great without the rice (just the chicken). I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs and apply the rub and bake for 20-25 minutes in a parchment lined pan. Tastes great and is so easy. I do double the rub ingredients, because we like a lot of rub.
Sounds fantastic Lee, thanks for letting me know!
A hit with little and big kids. I used my lodge frying pan so no need to start off in oven, substituted moroccan seasoning and added some frozen peas and corn. Loved it, a great method.
I’m so glad you loved it Jennifer ❤️
My husband is on a low-sodium diet – what would you suggest substituting in place of the salt in order to not have a flavorless dish?
Hi Carolyn, I’d just try cutting in half and see how you go ❤️
forgot to rate the recipe in my last comment. It was still really good 🙂
Thanks so much Raji!
Hi Nagi,
Great recipe; but one suggestion: since your recipe’s ingredients as listed calls for boneless skinless chicken thighs, it makes more sense to me to dictate the recipe for those ingredients, instead of as an afterthought. My dish took longer to cook and I had to make some adjustments even though I thought I had followed the recipe exactly. I looked back and noticed that the directions for boneless, skinless, chicken thighs were mentioned in the recipe’s notes as kind of an “afterthought”. Not sure what kind of chicken the main recipe was referring to. Overall a good recipe though! thanks!
Hi Raji, sorry you missed it but the first ingredient states “5 chicken thigh fillets , bone in, skin OFF (Note 1)”- N x
Apparently, I didn’t read the recipe through, just seeing the note about it not being suitable for minute rice…its in the oven now so we’ll see how it comes out :/
Omg ditto for me. I also just placed it in the oven and used minute rice. Cross my fingers and cautiously optimistic.. 🤞🏼
😬 Let me know how it goes Sara!
Oh, it was awful, had to throw it out 🙁 I’ll read the directions better next time.
Hi Nagi, can i use black rice for this recipe?
Hi Bea, sorry black rice isn’t suitable for this recipe – N x
Great recipe! My family loved it and I will be making this dinner again.
Terrific!
Super easy and quick to put together and so tasty! A hit with our three teenagers, and this dish will definitely be in our regular rotation 🙂
Easy and delicious
My husband was sceptical but once he tucked in he loved it! The rice was so yum! The chicken was pretty good too. Loved that it was so easy to make, it was a super simple meal for a Friday night. We will definitely be making this again.
I’m so glad it was a hit Deb – the perfect midweek meal ☺️
Hi Nagi, I made this tonight, it turned out wonderfully. Followed the recipe exactly (used the instructions for boneless chicken thighs). The rice was amazing, came out perfectly cooked, as did the chicken. THANKS!
Perfect Tami!
The best chicken and rice so much flavor
Thanks Diana, I’m so happy you loved it!
One teaspoon if dried thyme is way toooooo strong. We were not able to eat it.