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Light and delicious summer dinners are the best! And this one pot Greek chicken and rice pilaf dish is exactly that! It’s easy enough to pull together on a weeknight and has the most delicious lemony fresh taste!
In my world the simplest dinner recipes are truly the best. ❤️
And you can bet that this Greek Chicken and Rice dish truly is. Marinated chicken, perfectly cooked rice pilaf with a zing of lemon and tons of freshness from the herbs. All you need is a little zucchini and corn saute or a greek salad on the side to serve this with.
Oh and this is totally a one pot dinner recipe, which means, easy cleanup recipe and it also happens to be a minimum prep time recipe.
It also happens to be great to meal prep, because you’re making both the chicken and rice in one pan.
Win. Win. And Win.
Review goes Made the one pot Greek chicken with rice pilaf tonight and I rate it at 5 stars. No picture to share as the hungry horde fell upon the pan without waiting for the chopped parsley
Ingredients for Greek Chicken and Rice
- Chicken: You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or skinless boneless chicken thighs for this recipe.
- Olive Oil: You’ll need a little to cook the chicken in and then some for the rice pilaf.
- Seasonings: You’ll need kosher salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and fresh or dried oregano.
- Garlic: We’ll use some fresh minced cloves garlic to marinate the chicken with.
- Lemon Juice and Red Wine Vinegar: Both acids that will give the chicken breasts plenty of flavor. We’ll also do a little lemonjuice for the rice.
- Butter: Saute the rice in a little butter to give it plenty of flavor. Butter is the best choice for the rice, but you can swap it with more olive oil if you prefer.
- Rice: I like to use parboiled rice for this recipe. It does not mean that the rice has been previously cooked. It’s a type of rice like jasmine rice, brown rice, white rice, or basmati. You can use long-grain rice if you like here instead.
- Chicken Broth or Stock: is the cooking liquid for the rice. It amps up the flavor in the lemon rice. We’ll use this instead of water to give the rice some much needed flavor. The liquid to rice ratio for this recipe is 2:1. So you’ll need two times the amount of liquid as the rice. Vegetable stock makes a good substitute if you needed have chicken stock or broth on hand.
- Parsley: Just adds a little color to the top of the dish, skip this if you don’t have any on hand.
Making Greek Chicken and Rice Recipe
- Marinate the chicken. Start by adding 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a splash of lemon juice, the garlic, red wine vinegar, and all of the seasonings. Let the chicken soak in that marinade for as long as you can allow.
- Sear the chicken. In a large saute pan or a cast iron skillet, heat the remaining olive oil. Add the chicken and cook them until the protein is done. Remove to a plate and keep it warm while you make the rice.
- Rinse the rice. Add the rice to a bowl or a mesh strainer. Rinse the rice under cold running water until the water runs clear.
- Cook the rice. Saute and stir the rice in the butter until the rice starts to pop.Then add the liquid and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low and let the rice cook until fluffy. Use foil if you used a cast iron pan.
- Storing leftovers. Pop the leftovers in an airtight container and keep it in fridge. Just zap in the microwave when you’re ready to serve.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
- Cart-Style Halal Chicken Rice Bowls
- One Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice
- Honey Harissa Chicken Bowls with Feta Cheese Sauce
- Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Creamy Chicken Paprika Pasta
One Pot Greek Chicken and Rice Pilaf
Light and delicious summer dinners are the best! And this one pot Greek chicken and rice pilaf dish is exactly that! It's easy enough to pull together on a weeknight and has the most delicious lemony fresh taste!
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or more!
- 4 teaspoons fresh oregano or 2 tsp dried
Rice Pilaf:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1¼ cup parboiled rice or long grain
- 2½ cup chicken broth
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice see notes
- zest of 1 lemon plus sliced lemons, if desired
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- MARINATE: Combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and oregano in a zip top bag. Add the chicken breasts, zip the bag and give it a good shake until the chicken breasts are evenly covered in the marinade. Allow the chicken to marinate for 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.
- COOK: In a large sauté pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and discard marinade. Cook the chicken breasts for 4-6 minutes per side or until the chicken is all the way cooked through and registers 165ºF on a thermometer. Remove the chicken to a plate. Cover loosely with a piece of foil and keep warm.
- RINSE: Rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer under cold running water for 2 minutes, use your fingers to rub the rice, set aside.
- SAUTE: Place the butter in the same sauté pan and allow it to melt over medium high heat. Add the rinsed rice and allow to toast for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently so the rice doesn't burn. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice to the pot and allow it to come to a boil. Stir just once to break up any lump.
- RICE PILAF: Cover, reduce heat to low and let the rice cook for 8 minutes. At the 8 minute mark, remove the cover, the rice won't be cooked through yet, add the lemon zest and lemon slices to the rice and top with the cooked chicken breasts. Cover and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes or until the liquid dried up and the rice cooked through. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before topping with parsley and serving.
Notes
- The lemon juice can be adjusted according to preference for the rice. We wanted the rice pilaf with that lemony zing so we prefer it with 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. If you prefer a lighter lemon flavor, use 2 tablespoons.
- I have only made this recipe with parboiled rice. For best results, I suggest following the recipe exactly as written.
Nutrition
Calories: 515kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 18g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
You should definitely consider doing a whole bunch of one-pot meals because this was delicious! My kids loved it. So glad I found you and this recipe!!! Will absolutely be checking out your other recipes!!
Question. Is par boiled rice, Minute Rice?
I had to throw the rice out. I did 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and also added the zest and lemon slices. Too much lemon. Next time 2 tbsp of juice and no zest and lemon slices. The chicken was good though.
I’d like to try this recipe with quinoa – any advice for adjusting?
Hi there! I’ve only tested the recipe using parboiled rice, so, unfortunately, without another round of recipe testing, I’m not sure if anything would be done differently if you swap the rice for quinoa. If you decide to try it anyway, I would love to know how it went for you!
Thought this was great with the exception of my rice being brown. Next time I’ll have to clean the pot before the rice goes in.
This was great! Will definitely make again. Only thing I’d do differently is to reduce the lemon juice in the rice by half, and add a bit of garlic.
Marzia, Hi my name is Mari and I’m also from Texas, n I just want to say that your Lemon Chicken Rice dish was absolutely DELISH!! I will definitely make it again and and not to mention, what a great dish to show off for a pot-luck, it’ll be a star for sure!!
Just found your blog… we live in Houston too! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Welcome to the blog, Heather! So glad you’re here and I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Made this today it was delicious. I used more lemon and basmati rice. Thanks!
What else can i use if i don’t have red wine vinegar?
I’ve only tested the recipe with red wine vinegar so unfortunately, I can’t say if another ingredient would work here. For best results, I suggesting preparing with the ingredient listed.
I love your recipes! I Have a question about this one. I have three big NO WAYS when I cook – fennel, cilantro and oregano. I have tried them dozens of ways and it just never works for my taste buds. So…what would you substitute for the fresh oregano, if anything?
Hi Laurie! You can replace the oregano with a combination of rosemary and thyme if you’d like. I think the flavors would work well here.
2nd recipe I have made from Little Spice Jar, also amazing. And again, so easy.
Hi Marzia, I tried this last night with long-grained Basamati rice. It was delicious! Everyone loved it! I was hesitant to try it with parboiled rice, but I think I lost out on the nutty and crunchy bit, but we loved it. Will try it with parboiled rice next week. 🙂
Hi Heera, I’m so glad to hear you tried the recipe 🙂 Yes, the parboiled rice does add a delicious, almost nutty flavor to the whole thing so I’m glad you’re going to try it way too!
Where do you get parboiled rice?
Can I use leftover rice?
Parboiled rice is sold in bags in the same aisle as regular rice. Leftover rice is not a good substitute for parboiled rice as it’s already been completely cooked.
What type of skillet do you use and what is the size?
I used a 3.5 quart sauté pan but really anything 3qt or larger would work. Here’s a link to one that’s very similar to the one I own.
Can you double the rice/liquids?
Sure can!
This is definitely my husband’s favorite and I love how it feels so gourmet but is simple to put together! I’ve included it in my Healthy Family Meals post. https://lifefling.ca/food-10-healthy-family-friendly-recipes/
I made this dish for dinner last night and everyone LOVED it! I left out the red pepper flakes because of our 2 little ones ages 2 and 4. Defiantly will make it again.
Hi Marzia, my husband and I loved it. Simple and delicious, is all I have to say. I made it with Basmati rice because parboiled rice sometimes doesn’t agree with me, and yes it did need just a wee bit more stock, but it tasted awesome. Thank you!
Why par boiled rice? Can I use regular rice instead?
Regular rice will require additional cooking liquid as well as more cooking time. Without further recipe testing, it’s difficult for me to make these suggestions, please use your best judgement.