Fast or Fancy

Chicken & Rice One-Pot

Prep: 20m

Cook: 40m

Servings: 6

A very flexible one-pot meal template that makes enough for a week of dinners. Season the chicken how you like, and add or swap vegetables. Two samples are below, but this is a pretty forgiving recipe and you can generally use what you have on hand.

—Ingredients—

Fast

Seasoning
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
rice pot
  • 6 chicken thighs, bone in skin on (~2.5 lbs.)
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 300g long grain rice
  • 2.5c chicken stock
  • 1 red and 1 green bell pepper, chopped

Fancy

Marinade
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp plain yogurt
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • salt & pepper
rice pot
  • 6 chicken thighs, bone in skin on (~2.5 lbs.)
  • 1 red onion, chopped fine (150-200g)
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp dried time
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 100g spinach, roughly chopped
  • 125g carrot, grated (~ 1 lg.)
  • 300g long grain rice
  • 2.5c chicken stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Parsley for garnish

—Method—

Fast Method
  1. Prepare the seasoning – mix all ingredients in a bowl. Coat chicken.
  2. Add some oil to a hot, large pot, and add the chicken. Cook 4 minutes on each side.
  3. Remove chicken and saute the onions and peppers until start to soften, about 3-4m.
  4. Add the rice and stir, then add the stock.
  5. Nestle the chicken into the rice.
  6. Cover and place in the oven. Cook at 350 for 20 minutes.
Fancy Method
  1. Prepare the marinade – mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Coat chicken.
  2. Add some oil to a hot, large pot, and add the chicken. Cook 4 minutes on each side.
  3. While the chicken is cooking, chop the onions and grate the carrots and garlic.
  4. Remove the chicken from the pot, and sauté the onions until soft, about 3-4 minutes.
  5. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
  6. Add the spinach and carrots
  7. Add the rice and stir, cook for 1 minute,
  8. Add the stock and bay leaf.
  9. Nestle the chicken into the rice.
  10. Cover and place in the oven. Cook at 350 for 20 minutes.

—Notes—

  • To avoid burning the marinade, cook the chicken on medium.
  • Other ingredient suggestions: Roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, chickpeas.

—Serving Ideas—

  • Veggie side

I’m still not convinced marinating meat makes any sense if you’re not grilling. Next Time: Try salt & pepper the meat searing first, then dip in marinade and add to pot. Or just add marinade ingredients to pot.

panda