Oven Baked Chicken and Rice is a family friendly and easy weeknight one pot meal in the oven. Buttery chicken in an herb flavored rice makes the perfect nostalgic comfort food.
One pot meals are the best! Baked Chicken and Rice is one of my go to one pot dinners on a busy weeknight, but we have others on the site such as the Best Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Cattiatore and Braised Chicken Fricassee.
The way this recipe comes together is almost magic. Crispy, flavorful chicken thighs, lots of flavorful onions, and the rice, all baked in one pan in the oven. The chicken turns out with a mellow garlic flavor throughout that's wonderfully family-friendly. As it cooks, the seasoning from the chicken creates a rich broth and flavors the rice so perfectly, you will want every grain off the plate.
It's delicious and comforting and mellow and has that homecooked nostalgia, but really all you did was dump some ingredients in and let the oven do the work! This may be one you come back to time and time again (we do).
What you Need
Let’s talk a little about the ingredients we are using. The beauty of this recipe is that it is both easy and uses ingredients easily found in your pantry. Here is an overview of the ingredients I use and why:
Long Grain Rice – Use a long grain rice like basmati or jasmine. The rice takes up the rich broth without being starchy or gelatinous. The cook times are calculated based on using this type of rice.
Onion – Regular yellow cooking onions.
Garlic – I often use pre-minced garlic or you can chop up a clove into minced pieces.
Butter – Salted or Unsalted is fine.
Chicken Pieces – I use bone-in chicken thighs with skin and trim any excess skin or fat before seasoning. The crispy skin helps with the overall flavor of the dish even if you don’t eat the skin itself. Boneless thighs or breasts will cook differently.
HOT water – It is very important to the cook times that the water be hot when you mix it. You can heat tap water in the microwave until steaming or boil on the stove. I do not heat the chicken broth and it works fine.
Chicken Broth – I use lower sodium chicken broth usually, but regular chicken broth works great.
Oven Baked Chicken and Rice step-by-step
In a 9×13 inch baking dish, scatter onions and garlic. Place butter in the center. Bake for 15 minutes (check at 12 minutes, mix if some bits are browning too much). (Photo 1 after Cooking)
Add the rice, hot water, and chicken broth to the dish. Stir. (Photo 2 & 3)
Trim any excess skin or fat and pat the chicken dry. Mix chicken rub. Sprinkle on both sides of the chicken and pat into the skin. (Photo 5)
Add chicken to dish skin side up and cover dish with foil. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. (Photo 6)
💡 Chef Tip!: You can cut about 15 minutes off the cook time by using boiling water rather than just hot water. It takes a little longer for the oven to heat the water up than it does for you to heat it on the stove. Bring it to rolling boil while the onions are cooking, but don’t leave it boiling.
Serving Ideas: I normally serve this with either some steamed vegetables like garlicky green beans, or a side salad. My quick trick for vegetables is to either buy them in steamer bags from the frozen section at the grocer or to use these awesome steam bags. 3-4 minutes in the microwave, and voila!, easy steamed vegetables with all the nutrients.
Store: Store your Garlic Chicken in a ziplock bag or other airtight container in the fridge. It should keep well for up to 3 days.
Freeze: You can freeze garlic chicken for up to 6 months. Be sure to let it cool before sealing and storing it in the freezer. The next time you want to enjoy the chicken, let it thaw in the fridge overnight then reheat it in the crockpot or in a dutch oven.
Slow Cooker Directions
Instead of preparing your Chicken in the oven, you can easily make it in an slow cooker. Follow these simple instructions to get flavorful chicken that's just as good as the oven.
- Spray a 6qt crock pot lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Add chicken breast and season with chicken rub.
- Add diced onion and minced garlic on top of chicken and pour in chicken stock. Cover and cook on LOW 5-6 hours, or HIGH 3-4 hours.
- In a pot on the stove, cook the rice per directions, but substitute half the water with the chicken stock from the crock pot.
- Serve the chicken and onions over the rice.
Top Tip: Slow Cookers don’t crisp the skin well. After cooking, I usually put my chicken in the oven under broil for about 5 minutes. I keep a close eye on it to watch for the skin bubbling and turning darker until nice and crispy.
More easy dinner recipes
- Maple Mustard Marinated Chicken
- Chicken Marsala Pasta Bake
- Italian Stuffed Shells
- White Chicken Chili
Frequently asked questions
I know that some of you like the extra creaminess that a condensed soup can add to a casserole. You can definitely add condensed soup to make this into a casserole recipe. Add 1 can of cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken after the onions and garlic are sautéed. Heat the condensed soup before adding to the dish. Don’t adjust the liquids, but for 5-10 minutes longer when uncovered. Overall, the dish will be creamier and the rice will be thicker.
Yes, you can use boneless chicken thighs in the recipe. I would not use boneless, skinless breasts. For me, the crispy skin helps with the overall flavor of the dish even if you don’t eat the skin itself. If you only have boneless, skinless chicken thighs then just know the chicken will be done cooking before the rice. I would remove the chicken thighs early or the chicken may overcook and be drier.
Not Sure
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Oven Baked Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 5 chicken thighs bone-in, with skin
- 1 cup yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ cups basmati or jasmine rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ¾ cup hot water
Chicken Rub
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Black pepper
Optional Garnish:
- Fresh thyme leaves or finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a 9×13 inch baking dish, scatter 1 cup yellow onion and 2 cloves garlic Place 2 tablespoon butter in the center. Bake for 15 minutes (check at 12 minutes, mix if some bits are browning too much).
- Add 1 ½ cups basmati or jasmine rice to baking dish and mix.
- Mix chicken rub: 1 teaspoon paprika powder, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon dried basil, ½ teaspoon dried rosemary, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon salt, Black pepper. Sprinkle on both sides of 5 chicken thighs and pat into skin.
- Pour 2 cups chicken broth and ¾ cup hot water around the baking dish, 1 can of chicken broth is just under 2 cups. Add hot water until you get exactly 2 cups. Then add ¾ cup more of hot water.
- Add chicken to dish and cover dish with foil. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
- Let stand for 5 minutes. Remove chicken and fluff rice. Garnish with Fresh thyme leaves or finely chopped parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes
- Spray a 6qt crock pot lightly with non stick cooking spray. Add chicken breast and season with chicken rub.
- Add diced onion and minced garlic on top of chicken and pour in chicken stock. Cover and cook on LOW 5-6 hours, or HIGH 3-4 hours. If desired, crisp the skin in the oven under broil.
- In a pot on the stove, cook the rice per directions, but substitute half the water with the chicken stock from the crock pot.
- Serve the chicken and onions over the rice.
Italian Herb Mix – use what you have.
Myra says
OMG! Amazing! I actually stopped eating chicken years ago but the rest of my family still eats it, made it for them and tasted during and after cooking…😳😍😍😍 make it! It was so good, can’t say enough, hubby scraped the plate.
Rachel says
This chicken is fantastic! I added a bit of flour to thicken the sauce and served over some pasta. The flavor is so good, I used leftovers in a salad.
Samantha says
Made this tonight and it was SO good! I accidentally got fire roasted tomatoes, which was a spicy but delicious surprise! I also added cornstarch and doubled the sauce recipe, made it into a pasta sauce and mixed it with 1lb of penne noodles. Absolutely delicious.
Ian says
Put it over Pasta with butter and olive oil. Super good!
Shane says
one of my favorite chicken dishes, maybe ever. Wish it made more sauce, but still perfect.
Crystal says
Came out great!
Rogelio says
Put it over Pasta with butter and olive oil. Super good!
Carmen says
This was wonderful! I made it in my Ninja Foodi. Baked at 350 degrees, flipped chicken halfway.
Tasha says
I’ve made this before and it is sooo yummy! Is there an alternative way to use a slow cooker? Thanks!!
Rachel says
I can’t be sure of the exact recipe since I haven’t done it that way. You may still have to at least broil the chicken at the end to make the skin crispy. Let us know if you try it!