When life gets hectic, here’s a one pan meal to the rescue! This Baked Lemon Chicken and Rice dish is as delicious as it is comforting. Fluffy and flavorful lemon infused rice topped with lemon and herb chicken…yum yum yum!
I ate a lot of rice growing up. A LOT.
We pair rice with all kinds of things, but there is something super comforting about the chicken and rice combination.
These days, when things are busy and I still want my chicken and rice meal, I started making it all in my pan. Throw everything in there, bake it in the oven, and viola, dinner is served.
But we are not just talking about slapping a plain ole chicken on plain ole rice.
We are infusing lots of amazing flavors into this delicious Baked Lemon Chicken and Rice dish.
Both the rice and the chicken are cooked in garlic, onions, lots of herbs and spices, lemon juice, lemon peel, chicken broth and white wine.
Yep, wine. Because it makes dishes like these taste a thousand times better.
Just like some of my favorite recipes that are cooked with wine (White Wine Tomato Skillet Chicken, Stovetop Beef Stew, The Best Spaghetti and Meat Sauce), adding wine brings about many layers of flavors to a simple every day meal.
All that to say. It’s a good one. And here are all the reasons why you need this in your life 🙂
- Super simple to make
- Dinner in one pan!
- Truly delicious and complex flavors (did my wine-talk convince you? 😉 )
- Great as leftovers and for meal prep (it has been in my husband’s lunch box for the past three weeks, and he is still not bored with it!)
Let’s make Baked Lemon Chicken and Rice!
Besides the ingredients required, you will need these before you get started:
- a small pot
- a 9″ x 13″ rectangular casserole dish
- meat thermometer (optional, but preferred)
First, we are cooking the aromatics, chicken broth, lemon and white wine in a small pot. Although ‘cooking’ might be a loose term because what you want to do is to bring it all to a boil and then immediately remove from heat.
We are merely combining it all and infusing the flavors together.
Once that is ready, add the liquid from the pot onto a rectangular casserole dish that should already have rice in it.
Make sure to spread the rice out as evenly as possible to ensure they cook evenly.
Then add:
- chicken thighs
- olive oil + more herbs and spices on top of the chicken
- lemons
After that, cover casserole dish and send into the oven to bake.
And that’s it! 🙂
Tips and Tricks
- When heating up chicken stock and aromatics in the pot, do not over-boil to avoid drying out liquid. Remove from heat promptly after it starts boiling.
- Spread the rice out in casserole after adding chicken broth mixture so that it cooks evenly.
- Use basmati rice or any kind of long grain rice. Avoid using short grain rice.
- Remember to cover casserole dish with aluminum foil when baking for the first 30 minutes. This is important as this will help cook the rice without drying it out!
A simple meal that happens to be actually flavorful and delicious!
Not only is the rice filled with amazing flavors from the herbs, spices, white wine and lemons, the chicken is also cooked in the same liquid and is full of great flavors!
I especially love the burst of freshness and citrusy flavors that the lemons bring.
It is also a nice reminder that the warmer weather is coming back again very soon! 🙂
Simple, low touch, and a great as leftovers. I hope you give this a try, and enjoy it as much as we have!
Until next time…happy cooking!
More Chicken Recipes:
- White Wine Tomato Skillet Chicken
- Hawaiian Chicken with Coconut Rice
- Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Chicken
- Lemon Balsamic Chicken (Grilled or Pan Fries)
- Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Chicken
- Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup
- Easy Chicken Fried Rice
- Cajun Chicken
- Chicken and Brussels Sprouts
- Lemon Pepper Roast Chicken (by On Ty’s Plate!)
ENJOYED THIS RECIPE? Let us know how it was by leaving a rating and review below! 🤍
Baked Lemon Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
Sauce
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced white or yellow onion
- 5-6 clove garlic minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp salt
Other
- 1 1/2 cup basmati rice
- 6 pieces chicken thighs
- olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Bring 3 tbsp olive oil to a small pot and heat pot using medium heat. Add diced onion and minced garlic. Saute until fragrant, but do not brown or burn garlic and onions.
- Turn off heat then add the rest of the ingredients under "Sauce" to pot. Bring to a boil and stir. Once it boils, turn off heat immediately. (Important: do not over boil.)
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a 9" x 13" casserole dish, add basmati rice, then add sauce/liquid from the pot to casserole dish. Using a spatula, spread rice out evenly so that it bakes evenly.
- Place six chicken thighs on top of rice and sauce/liquid. Spread chicken thigh pieces out with some space between them.
- Using a brush, brush olive oil onto the top of each chicken thigh. Then evenly distribute salt, pepper, oregano and thyme among the six chicken thighs.
- Wrap casserole dish with aluminium foil, then bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove aluminium foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Using the meat thermometer, check to make sure chicken is cooked (thickest part should be at least 165 degrees F). If chicken is not cooked, bring casserole back to the oven and bake for longer. Bake for longer if needed if rice is not properly cooked.
- Remove from oven and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve and enjoy!
Made this last night and it was AMAZING! I ended up having to bake for longer than the recipe suggested by about 10 minutes, but I think that’s due to my oven. I’m going to try this again with chicken breast, which should help! DELISH! Also super easy.
That’s so awesome, Christna! I’m telling you – it’s the wine! 😉 Thank you for sharing your modifications – it’s super helpful for other people who are making it. I bet it’ll be delicious with chicken breast as well.
Are the chicken thighs skinless? Boneless?
I used skin-on, bone-in thighs for this recipe. But you can use skinless boneless if you prefer. The skin and bones do bring some good flavors though.
Hi, I forgot to pick up some white wine and an wondering if a Rose wine would work?
Or would that give if an off taste? Looking forward to trying another one if your great recipes!
I have not tried it that way and would highly recommend using a dry white wine for this. Definitely avoid any sweet wine. Thanks for making my recipes! I hope you love this one as well. 🙂
Thank you for Another hit!! So easy and sooo delicious. Because I’m so confident in your recipes I more than doubled the recipe so there would be plenty leftovers for 3. We all loved it, and will be making it often! (as I do with so many of your recipes). if I could post a pic I would ( don’t have instagram)
Thank you so much for sharing this! I’m so happy to hear you’ve been loving my recipes. We love this yummy dish as well and I am so glad you tried this and love it too!