This Lemon Chicken Rice Bake has incredible lemon herb flavors, all done in ONE POT and super fast to prepare! Perfect for any night of the week!
We all have those dishes that are kind of nostalgic to us because it’s something our mom used to make often. When my sister and I were growing up, my mom worked so she always made dishes that were fairly easy. These dishes would feed the whole family and most importantly dishes they were dishes everybody liked.
That was probably the hardest part because while I pretty much ate everything, my sister was pickier and my dad was and still is mostly a meat and potato kind of guy.
One dish that we all liked, or I should say nobody ever complained about were these chicken and rice dishes. You basically bake the rice in the oven and it comes out cooked perfectly every single time.
My mom makes so many different variations of this chicken and rice dish, and not necessarily with just with chicken. She would use sausage or fish and lots of veggies. But the results are the same every single time. Delicious and everything always perfectly cooked.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN AND RICE BAKE
This lemon chicken rice bake is pretty similar to these casseroles my mom makes all the time. But this is my version. I love using lots of lemons when cooking with chicken so this recipe is for a lemon chicken rice bake. You basically make a super easy marinade in a ziploc bag, which is great because this means there’s no bowl to wash.
You have to marinate the chicken for a few minutes in the ziploc bag, just to let all those flavors marry together and flavor the chicken a bit.
Great part about this is that you can make this the night before. Leave the chicken in the fridge to marinate over night. Next day when you come home from work your chicken is ready to be cooked.
I like to crisp up my chicken first which is why chicken with skin on is best in this dish. You get lots more flavor. You don’t have to cook the chicken all the way through, it will probably still be pink inside, you just want a nice crispy skin, because later on you will finish cooking it in the oven.
HOW TO COOK CHICKEN AND RICE BAKE
The rice is so unbelievably delicious and really cooked perfectly and flavored just right. The chicken is placed on top of the rice which also adds to flavoring the rice as it cooks, because all those juices from the chicken drip down into the rice, making it that much better.
You do have to cook the casserole covered but if your skillet doesn’t have a lid, you can probably use a lid from something else, however you could just wrap it up with aluminum foil, that’s what my mom always used.
Cook it covered for about 20 minutes then remove the lid or aluminum foil and finish cooking it for another 10 minutes. Your house will smell incredible and your bellies will be happy after you enjoy this.
Try my One Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice for another fantastic and fast chicken casserole dinner!
LOOKING FOR MORE CHICKEN AND RICE RECIPES? TRY THESE:
- Chicken Rice Pilaf
- Lemon Rice and Chicken Soup
- Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole
- Mexican Chicken and Rice Salad
- One Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Lemon Chicken Rice Bake
Ingredients
For Marinade
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine I used Sauvignon blanc
- 1/4 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper or to taste
- 1 tsp oregano
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 8 chicken thighs with bone and skin
For Rice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup rice long grain uncooked
- 2 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper or to taste
- zest from 1 lemon
- lemon slices
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- In a ziploc bag combine with wine, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and chicken thighs. Shake the bag well and marinate for at least 20 minutes up to overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet that's oven safe. Add the chicken thighs and cook on both sides until skin is golden brown and crispy. Make sure to reserve marinade. Chicken doesn't have to be cooked through since it will continue cooking in the oven. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
- In the same skillet add the onion and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes just until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds just until it becomes aromatic.
- Stir in the rice and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, reserved marinade and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Add the lemon zest, stir and bring to a boil. Add the chicken back to the skillet on top of the rice, arrange lemon slices around the chicken and cover the skillet with a lid.
- Bake covered for 20 minutes then remove the lid and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Garnish with parsley and serve warm.
Video
Notes
- I prefer to use chicken thighs with skin and bones for flavor and because the thighs are juicier. Chicken drumsticks or chicken breast will work as well.
- If you don't want to use wine, substitute it with low sodium soy sauce or additional chicken broth.
- Total time does not include time required to marinate the chicken. You could prepare the chicken the night before and marinate it over night in the fridge.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition
Just found this recipe online and I don’t have a pan that can go in the oven but have a casserole dish. Could I do everything in the pan and transfer to a casserole dish and bake?
Yeah that will work for sure! Make sure you have it covered well with foil to make sure the rice cooks properly.
This dinner was so easy to make and to clean up. My family loved it! It’s going into regular rotation. Definitely the easiest and tastiest lemon chicken recipe. I added parboiled broccoli on top of the rice and under the chicken before putting the pot into the oven. Also, I used boneless breasts being careful to only sear them before putting them into the oven.
Followed recipe exactly, but used boneless, skinless chicken breasts (in order to avoid dry chicken, they only need 15 minutes in oven after browning on stovetop). Recipe had good flavour, but rice took an additional 15 minutes in the oven to cook through – it was crunchy and hadn’t absorbed liquid after the suggested 20 minutes in the oven and then 10 minute resting period.
What type of rice did you use? Different varieties can affect the cooking times quite a bit.
Looks delicious! Finding so many fantastic recipes on your site – thank you!! What modifications would I need to make to this recipe if I’m using chicken breasts? Same cook time? Skip the step of “browning” the chicken? Many thanks!!
Keep all the steps, temp, and time the same! Browning the chicken adds tons of great flavor, I wouldn’t skip it 🙂
I made this for my brand I a few months and loved it but lost it and forgot about it. I did add the broccoli as another poster suggested and it really is one pan meal when done that way. My 2nd is a chicken fanatic and eats it almost evertday…so it’s great cause well left overs!
Correction for my boyfriend…stupid auto correct.
I made this recipe for dinner last night – quick and really easy. I threw in some fresh raw broccoli for the baking part only and it came out perfect along with the rest of the dinner. Chicken was cooked through and moist, the rice was soft but not mushy with just the right amount of seasoning. I did use vegetable stock instead of chicken and I also added a little butter at the end as the combination of olive oil and butter is one of my favorites.
This recipe is spot on. It needs no adjustment.
My family loved it.
Made this tonight and my whole family LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it!! A perfect dish to make for company. Looks gorgeous and tastes divine. I made it exactly as the recipe was written.
I’m so happy you liked it. 🙂
How many servings does this make?
6! It’s listed in the top header of the recipe. 🙂
Hi! Thinking of making this tonight. Was it a white rice you used? Could I substitute the white rice for brown maybe?
Yes you can, you just need to cook it a bit longer.
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I thought it might be too lemony but it was just perfect. The rice taken with each piece of chicken flavored them perfectly. The only thing I would add to your recipe is in the step after you fry the chicken, I would add to drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the oil before adding onion. I had about 3-4 tablespoons of oil and rendered fat in there and the resulting dish left a bunch of oil on the plate and felt greasy to eat even though it was delicious
Glad you liked it, Wendy!
Hi Jo. This has comfort food written all over it! When I roast a whole chicken I always cut a lemon in half and put it in the cavity along with a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary. Had to laugh about your family’s differing appetites. My dad only liked well done (overcooked) beef and potatoes. No pork, chicken or fish. If I’d married a man like that I would probably have hit him over the head with a skillet! 🙂
LOL that’s funny my dad likes his beef well done too, I’m not sure if it’s because how he likes or that’s how my mom has always made it for him.
what temp do you bake this at?
350F! It’s in step 2.
Greeat one-pot recipes ! What brand of pots do you use in your videos and where can I buy them ? Thx
Thanks Charles! I usually use Le Creuset for my pots and pans because I love them. I find them here in Calgary at the Le Creuset store, but most of the time I’ll buy them on amazon when they are on sale. You can find the one used in this video here: http://amzn.to/2wXMDFm
What size?
The pot used here is a 3 3/4 quart braiser, you can find it here: http://amzn.to/2mZOoyu
When do you add the rice????
It’s been added to step 5, thanks for catching that.
You didn’t write when to add the rice.
If using soya sauce instead of wine how much soya
It’s been added to step 5. If you’re using soy sauce, I would go with 2 tbsp of soy sauce. Also you may need to adjust the salt if using soy sauce.