This easy one-pot chicken and rice recipe is a healthy dinner made with simple and real ingredients. Perfect for any night of the week!
Easy Chicken and Rice
As a busy mom of four, I love meals that come together quickly in one pot and this chicken and rice recipe is one of my absolute favorites. It’s easy to prepare and is fairly inexpensive to make. The best part about it is that everything is cooked together in just one pan, cutting down on cleanup time later.
Not only is it a healthy chicken breast recipe, but it also has amazing flavor too. It tastes like a better-for-you version of the classic chicken and rice casserole that many of us grew up on. It’s hearty and packed with delicious ingredients like jasmine rice, chicken thighs (or breasts), onions, carrots, celery, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley.
This easy chicken and rice recipe will become a go-to one-pot meal that your family begs for over and over again. Even my kids love this dish and go back for seconds whenever I make it!
Ingredients
For this easy one-pot chicken and rice meal you are going to have simple ingredinets that are pantry and fresh vegetables.
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Chicken: I love to use chicken thighs for this recipe because they are less expensive than breast meat and have more flavor since they are dark meat. The richness of the thigh meat gives the dish tons of flavor.
- Olive oil: Used when cooking the meat and vegetables to keep them from sticking to the pan and add additional flavor.
- Vegetables: An aromatic mix of diced onion, celery, and shredded carrots, also known as “mirepoix” in French cuisine.
- Garlic: Fresh minced garlic will add the best flavor to this dish. Learn how to mince garlic in a few different ways.
- Rice: I prefer to use jasmine rice, which is a long-grain rice that has a super fluffy texture once cooked. Do not use instant rice or precooked rice.
- Chicken broth: The liquid needed to cook the rice in the pan. It also adds additional flavor to the dish.
- Cheese: Freshly shredded or grated Parmesan cheese adds a creamy element to this dish, as well as a rich, tangy flavor.
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper, and fresh chopped parsley finish off the flavor of this meal.
How to Make Chicken and Rice
Making this easy chicken and rice dinner is quick and easy. This is going to be your go-to dinner each week, it is that delicious!
- Sauté the meat. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Place chicken thigh pieces into heated oil and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 5-7 minutes, until cooked through.
- Add in garlic and veggies. Add the diced onion and garlic to the skillet with the chicken and sauté for another 3 minutes. Next, add the carrots and celery.
- Cook rice. Increase heat to high and add 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).
- Add cheese and parsley. Stir in Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Add more salt, pepper, or seasonings if desired.
Tips and Variations
- Chicken. Use chicken breasts instead of thighs for a leaner alternative (thighs will result in more flavor).
- Pre-cooked chicken. You may also use cooked chicken in this recipe (such as rotisserie). Simply mix in the cooked meat after the vegetables have been sautéed.
- Garlic. If you are a garlic lover, add a few additional garlic cloves to the broth to help infuse more garlic flavor or garlic powder. Then remove the cloves before serving.
- Vegetables. Feel free to include extra vegetables like bell peppers, peas, or mushrooms. Simply add them in when sautéing the onions, carrots, and celery.
- Stock. Rather than using chicken broth, you can use vegetable stock instead.
- Herbs. You may substitute fresh parsley, thyme with basil or oregano if preferred.
What to Serve with Chicken and Rice
Any of the below side dishes would taste great with this easy chicken and rice recipe. Make a complete meal with any of these sides. These are all great combinations!
- A crusty loaf of homemade French bread or garlic bread.
- A small chopped salad topped with a zesty vinaigrette.
- Make parmesan roasted broccoli in the oven while the rice and chicken cook on the stove.
- Whip up more steamed vegetables and either serve on the side or mixed into your meal.
Storing and Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. When ready to reheat, take out of storage and warm it up in the microwave or on the stovetop until it is warmed through.
Recipe FAQs
Brown rice takes longer to cook than long-grain white rice and typically requires a bit more liquid. For best results, I don’t recommend using brown rice in this recipe as it might not cook as well.
If you’d like to give it a shot, try using 1 cup brown rice instead of 1.5 cups and let it cook for an additional 10 minutes or so to get tender.
Sure! Omit the meat and use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth when cooking the rice. You could always add in extra veggies to bulk it up more or serve it with cooked tofu for protein.
Instead of cooking on the stovetop, you can achieve the same delicious flavors by making this easy Instant Pot chicken and rice. Learning how to use the Instant Pot to make all your favorite recipes is a huge game changer in the kitchen!
Yes, you can freeze the leftovers although the texture in cooked rice-based dishes does tend to get mushy upon thawing.
Love delicious dinner ideas? Try my best risotto, easy goulash or chicken cordon bleu next!
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One Pot Chicken and Rice
Video
Ingredients
- 3-4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts , cut into 1-inch pieces
- salt , to taste
- ground black pepper , to taste
- 1 medium yellow onion , diced
- 2 carrots , peeled and shredded
- 2 celery stalks , chopped
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups jasmine rice , rinsed
- ½ cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a 3-quart stockpot, heat olive oil over medium-high. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper (I start with about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Sauté 5 to 7 minutes, or until no longer pick and cooked through.
- Add onion and sauté 3 minutes. Stir in the carrots, celery and garlic and sauté 1 minute.
- Increase the heat to high and add the broth and rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Stir again, cover, and let simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the broth is absorbed. Stir occasionally to keep the rice from sticking to the pot.
- Stir in the parmesan and parsley. Taste and add more salt, pepper, or any other desired seasonings.
Notes
- Can used cooked chicken, if desired. Simply skip step #1 and add in after sautéing veggies.
- For extra garlic flavor, add in 3 cloves of garlic (not minced) to help infuse the garlic flavor. Remove before serving.
- You may also add in extra vegetables while sautéing the onions, like bell pepper or mushrooms.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Chicken, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, One Pot, One Pot, Reader Favorites, Stovetop
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
This was so delicious! And easy! We loved it. We will be making this on repeat.
So glad you love the one pot chicken and rice!
Could this be done in a crockpot? If so, how lonng do you think it would take for the rice to fully cook?
Sorry that has not been tested and water would need to adjust as on the stovetop it evaporates, if you have an Instant Pot, I recommend trying Instant Pot Chicken and Rice.
It was okay for the most part, made It strictly to the recipe except I added some mushrooms. I thought it was bland, not enough good “chickeny” taste, was better after I added a pat of butter to my bowl. I probably wouldn’t make it again.
My entire picky family like this!
Yeah! So glad to hear it!
My rice didn’t cook. 😔
If your rice is not cooked, try adding to start a 1/2 water or broth and cooking longer until tender.
How much cooked chicken would you use?
2-3 cups :)
love it
This was really good – perfect for a chilly day . My picky two year old even loved it .
Love this recipe (especially the easy cleanup!) and have made it many times now! Tonight, though, I did a slight variation with brown rice instead of Jasmine. I figured it would need to cook longer and in more liquid, so I added a half cup of water to the recipe and cooked it for about 30 minutes on medium-low (it was cooking too slow on low for my taste), then added shredded cheddar instead of parmesan. It actually turned out pretty good! The rice was a TAD undercooked, though, so next time I might do a full cup of water (or chicken broth) added to the recipe’s two cups, or just cook it at a lower temp for closer to 35-40 minutes and accept the longer wait time…haha. But otherwise, I would totally try this variation again! Just thought I’d share in case anyone else wanted to give brown rice a try instead of Jasmine. :)
Thanks for adding your brown rice comments. I want to use brown rice too, and wasn’t sure how to change it!
Very good. Next time I’m going to throw in a half bag of mixed veggies.
Can white or basmati rice be used instead? Will it change the consistency?
I’ve used basmati and it’s worked great :)
Would it work to substitute riced cauliflower instead of regular rice?
Unfortunately not for this recipe, it would get too mushy.
I have made it before with cauliflower rice! But Jamie is right, it would get too mushy if you follow the recipe as written. So I afollowef the recipe without the rice and then added the cauliflower rice at the end. It was delish!
Glad you enjoy it and can adapt it to the cauliflower rice!
Very good!
The entire family loved it. The second time I made it I double the recipe and added a bag of broccoli slaw mix instead of shredded carrots. It was so good.
Mmm that sounds delicious! Great idea to double for leftovers :)
I’ve never left a review before but this was so delicious!! Followed the recipe exactly as written and it was so easy. My 13 year old son and husband also loved it! This will be a regular in our home.
I’m so happy to hear it was a success and a hit with your family, Lori! Thanks for your comment and review :)
Simple, fast, delicious and versatile. Exactly what I need on weeknights to feed the family!
I’m so happy to hear the recipe was a success with your family, Mel :)
Love this 😀 so does my toddler. On regular rotation at our house!
Love to hear that! Thanks for your comment and review, Jess :)
This was delicious and easy. All 4 of my kids devoured it!
Love to hear that!! Thanks for your comment and review, Stephanie :)