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This One Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole Recipe is a simple go-to chicken dinner that’s full of flavor and only uses one pan. My family loves the flavor and I love that it only takes 45 minutes to prepare!
If you’re hungry for chicken, try some of our other favorite chicken and rice casseroles for dinner, like Easy Chicken and Rice Bake and Arroz con Pollo.
Skillet Chicken and Rice Casserole
Chicken and Rice Casserole is just one of those easy, comforting meals that I love to make all year long. It has a great combination of flavors with lots of garlic infused.
This meal is simple with very little prep time. It’s not super complicated and uses basic ingredients that you can find just about anywhere.
If you like saving time in the kitchen (and who doesn’t?), this One Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole is going to quickly become a favorite. Be sure to try our other One Pot Meals, like my One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice recipe, Easy One Pot Ham Fried Rice and One Pot Chicken Alfredo.
Ingredients Needed for Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Chicken breast – I use tenderloins or thin cutlets. You can also use larger pieces and just cut them up. Chicken thighs are an option, but you’ll need a longer cooking time so it’s possible that you could overcook the rice. I’d recommend cutting thighs into smaller, more bite-sized pieces.
- Rice – You need long grain white rice, or Jasmine rice. I have not tested this with brown rice, but if you want to use it, the time will need to be increased and could end up drying out the chicken.
- Chicken broth – for cooking the rice and adding flavor.
- Onion – diced finely.
- Garlic – I used 4 minced cloves and also added garlic powder.
- Seasonings – Salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder and red pepper flakes. These can easily be adjusted based on your tastes or what you have on hand.
How to Make One Pot Chicken and Rice
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
- Heat a large skillet and cook the onion until translucent, then add and cook the garlic. I use olive oil, but you could use butter instead, or a little of both.
- Add the uncooked rice to the skillet and toast it for a couple of minutes. Season the chicken and then nestle it into the rice. Pour some chicken broth all around (but not over) the chicken.
- Bring the broth to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat for about 20 minutes. Don’t touch it! The rice needs steam to cook so leave that lid on.
- Remove the lid and stir the rice mixture. Pour in the rest of the chicken broth, and sprinkle on some more seasonings. Replace the lid and cook for another 15 minutes or until the liquid is fully absorbed and the rice is nice and tender.
- Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh minced parsley if desired.
FAQs
No. The rice is added to the pan or pot uncooked (raw) and will cook in the steam from the chicken broth. This is why it’s so important to resist opening the lid to peek – you don’t want to risk the steam escaping.
To get good flavor from anything you’re cooking, proper seasoning is so important. I added 4 cloves of garlic to this skillet meal to make it taste amazing. I also added paprika, onion powder, and red pepper flakes.
As long as you heat the chicken to a safe temperature (it should be 165 degrees), it’s totally fine to cook them together. In this chicken and rice recipe, we’re bringing everything to a boil, which will kill any potentially harmful bacteria.
Serving Suggestions
Because this dish can be a little bland in the color department, I recommend serving with a green vegetable of some sort.
Serve with some fresh Roasted Broccolini, Garlic Green Beans or Easy Oven Roasted Asparagus, or a crisp Caesar Salad.
Variations
You can also throw in a big cupful of parmesan cheese right at the end of cooking, and it adds such a nice salty, nutty bite. Even a little cheddar cheese would be delicious.
If you want to add some veggies, broccoli or mushrooms are great options for cooking in the pan with the chicken and rice. Or, throw in some cooked peas and carrots (frozen and heated) at the end.
For freshness, add some herbs like parsley or thyme.
What to Do With Leftovers
Keep leftover chicken and rice in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last 3-4 days if properly stored. Freezing is not particularly recommended, but it can be done. You can reheat in the microwave; just add a little water to help rehydrate the rice.
Expert Tips
- I use thin-cut chicken breasts in this recipe or you could use chicken tenderloins. I prefer not to use large chicken breasts because I worry that they will not cook through. If that is all you have in the freezer, just cut them into 2-3 strips or you could cut them in half to make them thinner.
- While I love cooking with all types of rice, I really only recommend long grain white rice for this recipe. Any substitutions will affect cook time and you may end up with dry chicken or mushy rice, so stick to long grain for this recipe.
- My best tip for cooking flavorful rice is to lightly toast the rice before adding any liquid for another layer of flavor.
More One Pot Meals
- One Pan Creamy Tortellini and Smoked Sausage
- Sheet Pan Lemon Dill Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes
- One Pan Cheesy Beef & Tomato Pasta Skillet
- One Pot Pizza Pasta
- One Pan Taco Macaroni and Cheese
- Smoked Sausage and Rice
Skillet Garlic Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins or thin chicken breasts
- 1 ½ cups long grain white rice
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock divided
- 1 medium onion diced fine, about 1 cup
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder divided
- 2 teaspoons salt divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet (one with a lid) over medium heat. Add onion to the pan and season with ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, about 5-6 minutes or until translucent.
- Add the minced garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add the rice and saute for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, or until lightly browned and toasted.
- Meanwhile, combine 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, paprika, onion powder, and pepper. Season chicken on both sides, and set aside.
- Nestle the chicken into the rice and add 3 cups of the chicken broth, careful not to pour over the chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook undisturbed for 20 minutes. Resist the temptation to lift the lid as it will release steam which is necessary for cooking the rice.
- Remove lid and give it a good stir. Pour in the remaining cup of chicken broth, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and red pepper flakes if using. Cover and cook another 10-15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. If rice is not done, continue to add small amounts of chicken broth until tender.
- Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh minced parsley if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Can you make this in an electric skillet?
I’m sure you can, but I haven’t personally tested it.
I must have done something wrong or the recipe missed a step, but the seasoning I put on the chicken the bottom side was washed away when I added the chicken broth and after letting cook for 20 minutes it says to stir which removes the rest of the seasonging off the chicken. Maybe sear the chicken before hand might keep the seasnoning on the chicken. IDK
In step 4 it says “careful not to pour over the chicken” which it sounds like may have been the issue.
Will it work if I use chicken thighs?
Yes you can use chicken thighs but will need to adjust the cook time.
Very Good and Easy to make!!
I seasoned until my heart told me to stop lol. I also used veg broth (all I had in stock), adobo seasoning and a little turmeric.
That is the best way to season!
This was so easy and delicious! I added some broccoli, too, just to include some veggies 🙂
Nice! Thanks for stopping by KK.
I love the recipe, it’s very flavorful! However, I keep running into a problem. Despite using long grain white rice like you specify, the rice still comes out sticky and mushy. Is there a way to remedy this?
You could try rinsing the rice first, using a metal sieve. This will remove some of the starch that could make it a little sticky.
The rice I find the best luck with In these kind of recipes is the zatarans long grain rice. It’s a much firmer rice. Great recipe. I added cheese when I added the extra broth and it was great! I also seasoned until my hearts desire lol
Where are measurements?
In recipe card at end of post.
I was looking for something easy for dinner tonight after thawing out some chicken breast. I’m pleased to find something that uses ingredients I have on hand, but I plan to add mixed frozen veggies at the end. If I had spinach, I would add that as well. The recipe itself doesn’t mention using ‘thin chicken breasts’ but after reading the tips, I’ll be butterflying mine and pounding them for extra tenderness. I do this often with great results. I believe the recipe could be more consistently enjoyed with this method written into the recipe. As always, I will spice it to our taste as most recipes aren’t vibrant enough for us. As squeeze of lemon goes a long way to brighten a lot of recipes. I appreciate having this method to follow as a baseline so I know it wont fail!
Hi Bonnie, Thank you for your compliments and appreciate your friendly critique. I love your suggestions and I will definitely add that into the tips for the recipe. I agree about the seasoning of some dishes, I always recommend seasoning “to taste” and adding flavors you love.
Can I use chicken thighs?
The ingredients call for 1 tsp of salt divided but the instructions show 2 tsp. of salt.
Add onion to the pan and season with ½ teaspoon salt.
Meanwhile, combine 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, paprika, onion powder, and pepper.
Pour in the remaining cup of chicken broth, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and red pepper flakes if using.
Which is the correct amount?
It should be 2 teaspoons in the instructions. However, the amount of salt can be subjective to individual tastes. Thanks for catching the mistake…the humans behind the site make little mistakes sometimes but appreciate when we get the chance to fix them. Have a great day!
We loved your recipe. I made it for my boyfriend and we both loved it. The chicken was tender, as well as the rice. There was alot of flavor. So Kudos to you and thank you. We haven’t been disappointed yet with any of your recipes.
You are so welcome Deborah! Thank you for the awesome feedback.
way too salty
This was a good dish. Not amazing.
It had flavor. But not flavor popping.
If you are looking for a dish that caters to young children and/or elderly people. Then this is the dish. I would equal it to cafeteria food. Unfortunately this wasn’t a hit for my husband and I. My toddler however loves it.
Great recipe and I love the one skillet method of cooking. Thanks
You are so welcome Maria! Thanks for stopping by.
This a great recipe! Full of flavor! My boyfriend who is a picky eater really enjoys it! One of my go to recipes
Nice! Awesome feedback Monica! Thanks for stopping by.
I made this last night and doubled the resumes. I realized after I started the directions that though the system will double the ingredients for you it doesn’t correct the information in the posted directions. I quickly adjusted the information in the directions. I used low-sodium chicken stock and didn’t use all the chicken stock because it would have been too soft for my liking. I used about 7 cups instead of 8. Even though I used low-sodium, it was almost too salty but it was ok to eat. My picky eater liked it so that’s a win in my book.
Nice! Thank you for your feedback Tee.
Made this last night. I doubled the recipe and it made a ton, enough for hungry company. I used two large chicken boneless chicken breasts which I cut in half horizontally and then cut each half in 4 slices on the diagonal. I did everything else according to the recipe but did find that I had to add another cup of chicken broth as the liquid was quickly absorbed. I also grated a cup of pecorino cheese to incorporate so maybe that’s why I needed more liquid. Everyone agreed it was delicious.
I served it with a tossed salad of mixed greens, apple, toasted almonds, feta cheese and dried cranberries. Italian crusty bread. Thanks for this recipe, I always use to think I had to brown up chicken before adding to anything, this was very tender.
Delicious recipe!! My go to recipe for sure! Boyfriend loves it.
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Monica.
K.
Delicious! I will make this dish again!
Nice! Thanks for stopping Deborah.
Made this with 2 bone-in chicken breasts, no need to add that last cup of broth. I let it sit covered after cooking for 20 mins, perfect!
Love the feedback Sue! Thanks for stopping by.
Can I use instant rice if that’s all I have?
Instant rice wouldn’t need to cook the same, so for a one skillet dish like this you really need to follow the recipe.
Looks and sounds good. I can’t wait to try it.
Thank you Rebecca! Thanks for stopping by.
I made this tonight, it was really delicious and super easy. I ended up using chicken breast that I cut in tenders. I didnt have any chicken thigh on hand. I also added some chicken buillion to really kick up the flavor. My husband loved it.thank you so much! I cant wait to try more of your recipes!
Fantastic feedback Beatris! Thank you so much for stopping by.
Recipe calls for one onion — what size, please? Or how many cups?
Hi Bonnie, I’ve updated the recipe card to reflect the amount. You want about a cup of diced onion, so a small-medium onion.
Thanks for the clarification, Kristin.
Is it chicken broth or chicken stock? Ingredient said stock so I got stock and then I start cooking and it says broth.
Stock and broth are often used interchangeably. But to your point I will update the recipe to keep the language the same.
I made this tonight. OMG it was so good. On a scale of 1 to 10 Hubby gave it a 10 and he is a very picky eater. It was very flavorful. I followed the recipe to the tee. My granddaughter (20) was happy I included the crushed red peppers. We will definitely be having this meal many more times.
That’s awesome Crystal! Thank you so much for stopping by.
Eating this meal AS I write this review! It’s honestly great. I made some modifications and I think I made it worse. It seems like it would’ve been really amazing without my modifications. I’ll try again in the future!
Great Feedback Kelsi! Thanks for stopping by.
I made this tonight and the flavor was phenomenal! I added a side of roasted green beans & mushrooms. I do have to recommend going by when your rice is done though. I should have stopped after 20 min but added the last of the stock and it made the rice mushy. Check the chicken after 20, and remove from rice if one of them needs to keep cooking. Enjoy!
Thanks for the tip, Brittany!
I cooked this tonight. Procedure wise I think 20 minutes for the white rice is definitely sufficient as when I went to go finish the rest of the recipe after 20 minute timer, the rice and chicken were all cooked through. Loved that the chicken cooks quite tender so I could cut through it with my cooking spoon. I added the additional cup of broth/garlic powder, but did not see a need for an additional ten-fifteen minutes. Seemed to add a creaminess to the dish, personally, which i like since I’m dairy free on most meals I make. I did add 1 tsp Italian seasoning into the spice mixture used to coat the chicken with. Taste wise this is seasoned perfectly. The spice measurements are pretty spot on. Thanks for an easy recipe!
Fantastic feedback Sara! Thanks for stopping by.
Good and simple. I added 1/2 cup of white wine to chicken broth.
Awesome feedback Carmen! Thanks for stopping by.
Very yummy! The seasoning is perfect and is now my go-to seasoning mix for chicken! This recipe could feed a family for sure- I had a lot of leftovers when I made this for my boyfriend and myself.
Awesome feedback Kahler! Thanks for stopping by.
So cook the chicken before adding it into the rice?
No, the chicken goes into the pan uncooked/raw.
I made this today for supper, it turned out wonderful. I made some salsa to go on top, yum
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Patrice.
Just wondering if I can Use Brown Rice instead?
The recipe instructions are for white rice. Brown rice requires a much longer cooking time which would dry out the chicken.
Thank you! I’m about to try this one.??
You are so welcome Lisa!
Should I slice the chicken tenderloins before hand? They are about 6-7 inches.
No you can leave them as is.
Is the chicken raw when u add it to the rice
The chicken cooks with the rice.
Hi! It’s so delicious! But how do I get my rice to stop coming out mushy? Everytime I make it the rice is sticky and mushy. (Doesn’t stop me from eating it but my boyfriend is a little picky when it comes to things like that. ?)
This can be caused by the starchy rice, so rinsing it first might help. Use a fine mesh sieve and give the rice a quick rinse under cold water. Let it drain as much as possible before adding it to the pan. I haven’t tried this because I haven’t had that issue, so keep that in mind.
This soooo easy and it came out GREAT!!!! My kids loved it and they can be picky. They said they would eat it again!!! I added some fresh broccoli and some frozen peas, and season the chicken with Morton seasoned salt.
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Colleen.
Can I double this recipe?
Yes you should be able to double the recipe.
Can this recipe be doubled? I can never cook rice correctly so if it can how much rice and broth would I use? Thanks
You can try doubling the recipe, you would just double the amount of broth and rice. It may take longer to cook, which could potentially overcook the chicken. Just watch it closely.
Very good dish and easy to make! I recommend it.
Thank you Janice!
In the ingredients list you list chicken stock but in the instructions you say broth. Which should I be using, stock or broth?
One other question, should I be cutting the chicken before I add it to the rice? I don’t see any mention of cutting the chicken but in the pictures it appears that it should be.
Thanks!
Chicken stock and broth are so similar that I sometimes will use them interchangeably. I apologize for the confusion and plan to clarify in the post. I used chicken tenders so that’s why they look like smaller pieces.
I made this last night for dinner and I thought the chicken came out great, so tender and flavorful. My rice, however, came out a bit mushy. I will have to work on my technique. I will definitely try again. Someone in comments mentioned adding lemon juice. I had served this alongside mixed frozen vegetables (broccoli cauliflower, carrots), steamed then sauteed with honey, lemon juice and crushed red chili pepper; it seemed to compliment the chicken dish very well. A nice contrast.
delish – my teen ask that it make its way into the week night rotation! Iast five minutes of cooking I tossed in two handfuls of broccoli . thanks !
You’re so welcome Melissa! thank you so much for stopping by!
Are you supposed to cook the rice before adding it to the pot?
No, the rice will cook in the pot.
Winner, winner chicken dinner. Simple to make, delicious meal
Ha Ha! thank you CJ.
Is it okay to use smoked paprika or does this call for regular sweet paprika? I have both
You could use either one, but there will be a slightly different flavor with each one.
I found it a little bland, but added about a tablespoon of lemon juice at the very end and it added a nice punch. I didn’t have any parmesan, or that would have made the dish. Great jumping-off point and will definitely make again
I love that you were able to make it work for you! Thanks Tasha for stopping by.
Turned out great! A few changes I made… I did 2.5 cups of broth and 1/2 cup of half & half to the rice (to give it more of a creamy texture.) I also stirred in some freshly grated parmesan cheese after the rice was done cooking. Also added a little basil and rosemary along with the other spices. Delicious!
Thank you Dayna! Great idea, love that you made it your own!
I love this recipe! I have made it about 5 times since discovering it. It is so simple, but gives great flavor in return. I always follow the recipe and have yet to experience any issues. Whole family enjoys it. This has become one of our go to meals.
Great to hear, thank you Amber!
Does the chicken need to be thawed or can it be added frozen?
It should be thawed.
So easy and delicious! We love chicken and rice, but it can sometimes be bland. This is a new staple in our house.
Thank you Amber!
I was skeptical that this would have enough flavor honestly… but it was amazing! Thanks so much for sharing will definitely make again!
Thank you Christina!
In step 1 it states “while rice cooks” did you mean while onion cooks? Because I thought you add the uncooked rice in step 2 to toast it.
Yes, that was a typo. Thanks for letting me know!
I tried this chicken and rice recipe and was blown away because it tasted amazing on my first try. Its very full of flavor. This is a keeper. Thank you for sharing! I am making this again tonight.
Can you substitute boneless skinless chicken thighs?
I made this for dinner just now…it is very tasty! I did add some peas and carrots! I will definitely make this again!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Made this last night. We liked it but its a little plain so definitely add the Parmesan cheese and if you like red pepper flakes. I was actually looking for something not too spicy for a change. It actually reminded us of risotto which I make often. I will make again.Thanks!