One Pot Chicken and Rice

This One Pot Chicken and Rice recipe is the perfect Sunday Night Dinner that will bring everyone to the table. It's packed with veggies and rice, and because it braises in the oven for over an hour the chicken is moist and tender and fall-off-the-bone delicious! 

This is a fantastic Chicken Recipe for kids because the veggies are diced and mixed in with the rice (sneaky!) and the flavors are so hearty and comforting. 

For another One-Pot dinner idea, try my Chicken and Mushroom Pie or my 15-Minute Chicken Dijon recipe.

What You'll Need for This Recipe:

• Chicken Legs I like to use a dark cut of chicken for this recipe because the chicken braises in the broth for over an hour, allowing the rice to cook underneath. Keeping the skin on allows the fat from the skin to render down into the meat, helping to keep the meat tender and juicy. Often times this cut is labeled "Chicken Quarters" which refers to the fact that it is a quarter of the chicken which includes the leg and the thigh.  If you can't find them, you could also just use the thighs.
• I like to use legs because you get both the chicken thigh and the drumstick in one cut, making it a more filling dinner.  It's also a really cost-effective cut of meat and versatile! For more recipes using thighs and legs try my Sheet Pan Chicken with Potatoes and Veggies, or my Sheet Pan Chicken with Curried Veggies and Couscous
• I wouldn't recommend chicken breasts for this recipe since the white meat would dry out too much as it waits for the rice to be done.  
• Fresh Thyme and Kohser Salt The thyme and salt combine to create an easy rub you'll use to flavor the chicken legs before giving them a quick sear.
• Olive Oil You'll sear the chicken legs in the oil first to lock in their flavor and create a nice golden color on them. 
• Brown Rice I like to use brown rice for its higher nutritional value, but you could also use white rice if you prefer. Keep in mind if you use wild rice, the cooking time would increase by about 15 minutes since wild rice takes longer to cook. I just wouldn't use minute rice or any quick-cooking rice since it turns mushy very quickly. 
• Diced Carrots and Onions Adds some nice veggies into the mix, making it a complete dinner in one pot!
• Chicken Broth The rice cooks in the chicken broth, flavoring the rice as it simmers in the broth. 
• Worcestershire Sauce The Worcestershire sauce adds a delicious earthy flavor to the rice and compliments the chicken and the mushrooms. 
• Garlic I throw in a clove of minced garlic into the chicken broth before placing my pot in the oven. It flavors the broth as it simmers carrying over that flavor to the rice. 
• Shitake Mushrooms If you really don't care for mushrooms you can leave them out, but I love to cook with them this time of year since they add such a wonderful fall flavor. I like the shitake because they cook down to a soft velvety texture once simmered in the broth, but you could replace them with white button mushrooms too.
• Butter The butter adds additional flavor to the rice and gives it a nice creamy finish.
• Thyme Sprigs I place 3-5 whole thyme sprigs in the broth which imparts even more flavor as they "steep" in the simmering broth flavoring the rice
• Parsley For a finishing touch add some chopped parsley over the entire dish once it's done. It will provide a fresh finish to all the earthy flavors below. 

Watch My Video Demo of This Recipe Below!

Subscribe to My YouTube Channel (it's free!)

Step #1: Season the Chicken

You'll combine the salt and the chopped thyme to create a rub, then rub it all over the chicken front and back. You can leave the chicken at room temperature while you prep the vegetables.

Step#2: Sear the Chicken For Flavor and Color

This recipe calls for 6 chicken legs. It's best to sear the chicken in olive oil, in batches of three. At this stage it's not necessary to cook the chicken all the way through, it will continue cooking in the oven with the rice. This stage is primarily for locking in the flavor and creating a beautiful golden brown color on the skin. 

Step#4: Add the Veggies Add The Broth

Saute the carrots and onions in the chicken fat and drippings until tender. This will add additional flavor to the vegetables. If your pan is dry you can add a bit more olive oil. 

Then you'll deglaze the pan with the broth, scraping up the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Then you'll add in the mushrooms.

Step#5: Add the Rice and Seasonings

At this stage, you'll add the rice, Worcestershire sauce, butter, garlic, and thyme sprigs. Stir the mixture and then add the chicken on top. 

Arrange the chicken in a way that each leg is laying in the pot in a single layer not overlapping too much. This will allow the skin to crisp back up once the cover is removed in the final stage of cooking. 

Step#5: Bake Cover + Uncovered

• Covered Cooking: Place the cover on your pot and bake for 45-50 minutes just until most of the broth has evaporated and the rice becomes soft and tender.
• Uncovered Cooking: Remove the cover and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until rice is done and the chicken skin has crisped back up. 

Hands-Free Cooking

• What's nice about the recipe is that as it cooks in the oven it frees you up to tidy up the kitchen, set the table, help with homework if needed.
• And once it's done you can bring the pot oven-to-table (no need to transfer it to platters or bowls!) and be rest assured there's only one pot to clean!

Troubleshooting Tips:

• Depending upon the type of rice you choose it may take more or less time for the rice to cook in the covered stage. You'll know when it's OK to remove the cover once the rice is tender. 
• If the broth has evaporated before the rice is done, it's OK to add more broth in 1-cup increments until the rice is tender. Then you can proceed to the uncovered stage. 

Storing and Reheating Tips

• This recipe reheats well the next day! Keep the meal in the pot, cover, and refrigerate.
• To reheat add ½ cup-¾ cup of chicken broth to moisten the rice. Cover and reheat at 350F for 20-25 minutes until the chicken and rice are warmed through. 

More Delicious Chicken Recipes!

• Chicken and Mushroom Crepes
• Orange Chicken
• White Wine Chicken
• Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken
• Chicken Parmesan

Continue to Content

One Pot Chicken and Rice

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

This One Pot Chicken and Rice recipe is the perfect Sunday Night Dinner that will bring everyone to the table. It's packed with veggies and rice, and because it braises in the oven for over an hour the chicken is moist and tender and fall-off-the-bone chicken delicious! 

Print

Ingredients

• 6 Chicken Legs (Bone-in, Skin-On)
• 1 ½ teaspoon (7.5ml) Kosher Salt
• 2 tablespoon (30ml) Fresh Thyme, Chopped
• 2 tablespoon (30ml) Olive Oil
• 1 cup onion (150g), diced
• ½ cup carrots (75g), diced
• 2 cups (380g) Brown Rice, uncooked
• 4 cups (950ml) Chicken Broth
• 5 oz (141g) Shitake Mushroom
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tablespoon (30ml) Butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3-5 sprigs of Thyme
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) Fresh Parsley, Chopped

Instructions

1. Mix together the salt and the chopped thyme. Rub the mixture over the chicken legs, front and back, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, dice the carrots and onion and measure out the mushrooms, rice, and broth, and set aside.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy bottom braiser or Dutch Oven. Once hot place 3 chicken legs in the pot, skin side down and sear until golden brown. Then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes on the other side. At this stage it's not necessary to cook the chicken all the way through, it will cook through in the oven. Once all the chicken is seared transfer to a clean plate and set aside.
4. Do not clean out the pot, add the carrots and onions to the pot and cook in the chicken fat. If your pot is a bit dry add 1 tablespoon more olive oil. Cook vegetables until fragrant and slightly tender.
5. Then deglaze the pan by slowly adding the Chicken broth, scraping up the drippings and brown bits with a wooden spoon into the broth.
6. Then add the mushrooms, brown rice, Worcestershire sauce, butter, salt and pepper to taste, garlic and thyme sprigs.
7. Add the chicken on top of the rice and broth mixture.
8. Cover and bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes until broth is almost totally evaporated and rice is tender.
9. Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes more until chicken skin is crispy and the broth is evaporated.
10. Serve oven-to-table!

Notes

Chicken Legs:

Often times this cut is labeled "Chicken Quarters" which refers to the fact that it is a quarter of the chicken which includes the leg and the thigh.  If you can't find them, you could also just use the thighs.

Troubleshooting Tips:

• Depending upon the type of rice you choose it may take longer or less time for the rice to cook in the covered stage. You'll know when it's OK to remove the cover once the rice is tender. 
• If the broth has evaporated before the rice is done, it's OK to add more broth in 1-cup increments until the rice is tender. Then you can proceed to the uncovered stage. 

Storing and Reheating Tips

• This recipe reheats well the next day! Keep the meal in the pot, cover, and refrigerate.
• To reheat add ½ cup-¾ cup of chicken broth to moisten the rice. Cover and reheat at 350F for 20-25 minutes until the chicken and rice or warmed through. 

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Hotec Premium Stainless Steel Locking Kitchen Tongs with Silicon Tips, Set of 2-9" and 12"
• 
  Staub Braiser, Grenadine, 4 qt. - Grenadine

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 679Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 333mgSodium: 782mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 69g