One Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole
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This One Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole is a simple, cozy and delicious meal with very little prep. Juicy chicken simmers in one pot with a handful of simple ingredients, making it perfect for weeknight dinners, or Sunday suppers.
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What to Love About Chicken and Rice Casserole
When thinking about this dish, here are some of the reasons it’s become one of my favorites:
- It’s a one pot dinner – which means the raw rice and chicken are cooked together at the same time with a few simple ingredients.
- It almost cooks itself – after searing the chicken, you nestle the ingredients into a large pot and let the oven do the work for you.
- Quick prep time – while the chicken and rice is slowly cooked in the oven, prep time is about 10 minutes.
- Savory and delicious!
One Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole Ingredients
This simple rustic yet delicious dish requires only a handful of ingredients. While the exact ingredient measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, here’s an overview of what you need:
- Chicken: I like to use a whole, cut-up chicken. While you can definitely cut up your own, it’s easy to buy it at the market already done for you. Or, you can use other cuts of chicken you prefer. I would definitely recommend choosing bone in, skin on pieces for the best flavor.
- Butter: I like to use butter to sear the chicken pieces, but you can also use cooking oil too.
- Onion: Look for a medium to large onion that you will quarter or cut into 8ths that will be nestles into the rice and chicken.
- Bay leaves for flavor. If you can find fresh bay leaves, use those. Otherwise, dried bay leaves will work find too.
- Broth or water: for cooking the chicken and rice
- Rice: Choose a long grain white rice, like Basmati. I’ve not tested this recipe using other varieties of rice.
- Fresh Herbs: for garnish fresh herbs add a pop of green color and beautiful flavor. Italian parsley is simple and delicious, but you could use fresh basil, thyme, rosemary, sage, or tarragon. I foraged in my herb garden and am using fresh parsley and tarragon.
Ingredient Additions
This simple dish can handle additional ingredients to make it your own special recipe. Ideas might include any of the following: mushrooms, carrots, peas, celery, zucchini, or any other vegetable that is seasonal and looks delicious.
How to Make One Pot Chicken and Rice
While this dish slowly bakes in the oven, it’s an incredibly simple, somewhat rustic dish we love. Step by step instructions are in the recipe card below, but here’s a brief overview:
Step 1: Sear the chicken
Preheat the oven and sear the chicken pieces in a Dutch oven on the stovetop.
Step 2: Bake the chicken
Nestle the onion and bay leaves around the chicken, add water or broth, cover and cook for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is tender.
Step 3: Add the rice
Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle rice around the chicken, add additional water or broth, cover and cook another 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
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One Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 3-4lb whole chicken cut into pieces
- 1 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion quartered
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
- 3/4 cup long grain white rice
- 1 cup water
- Italian parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Heat Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons butter or cooking oil. Place the chicken, skin side down and sear until golden brown; 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and sear on the side and season with salt and pepper. You may have to do this in batches. Discard accumulated grease in the pan.
- Nestle the quartered onion around the chicken and add the bay leaves. Pour in 1/2 cup water (or broth) into the pan and cover it with a lid. Place in the oven and cook until the chicken is tender; about 1 hour.
- Remove the pan from the oven and uncover. Sprinkle the uncooked rice around the chicken and pour 1 cup of water (or additional broth) over the rice. Stir the rice with a fork to moisten it with water and pan juices. Cover and return to the oven and cook 20 minutes more.
- Carefully remove the chicken to a serving platter and spoon the rice around the chicken. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the top and serve!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.