One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice.

The easiest One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice. Trust me, this is going to become your new go-to chicken and rice dinner. Chicken breasts or thighs marinated with olive oil, garlic, yogurt, lemon, pepper, oregano, thyme, and paprika. All tossed together with dry basmati rice and broccoli. This juicy marinated chicken and rice is all made in one pan without even having to cook the rice separately. Simply mix, bake, eat, and enjoy! You’re going to LOVE this.

I couldn’t think of a better Monday night dinner. I can’t even begin to express to you how simple this is, but even more importantly, how delicious!

We all know the story. When I grew up our dinners consisted of beef tacos, pasta with red sauce, maybe a takeout pizza here and there, or on very special nights, BW3s. And then, of course, there was chicken and rice. So much chicken and rice. Aside from tacos, chicken and rice was the staple meal. And it was on rotation once, twice, sometimes even three nights a week.

Ingredients

• Chicken thighs or breasts 
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Plain Greek yogurt 
• Lemon zest and fresh lemon juice
• Garlic 
• Black pepper 
• Dried oregano 
• Dried thyme 
• Paprika 
• Onion powder 
• Kosher salt 
• Chili flakes 
• Dry basmati rice 
• Salted butter 
• Roughly chopped broccoli 
• fresh herbs

We ate a lot of chicken and rice growing up. It was either mom’s Sunday roasted chicken with boxed rice pilaf, dad’s grilled chicken (and rice), or my brother’s favorite, potato chip chicken (and rice). Again, so much chicken and rice.

You’d think it would be a dinner that I would not want to repeat as an adult. Shockingly, I’ll revert back to our staple family meal once or twice a month. I guess it’s just my comfort food.

For the longest time, I tried to recreate the Monday night dinner my mom would often make. Roasted chicken (whole chicken or just tenders) with a boxed rice or roni-style mix. I’ve never come close, but then I made this – and this is it.

You need just one baking dish with the most minimal ingredients and almost zero prep time.

The secret to this recipe, and all the flavor, is actually the reason the recipe is so SIMPLE – cooking the rice and chicken slowly together. This creates the most flavorful, juicy, pull-apart, tender chicken, and the tastiest rice.

Sounds too good to be true, but this is one of those recipes that just works so wonderfully well.

Ingredients

• chicken thighs or breasts 
• extra virgin olive oil
• plain Greek yogurt
• lemon zest
• garlic, chopped
• black pepper, using more to your taste
• dried oregano
• dried thyme
• paprika
• onion powder
• kosher salt and chili flakes
• dry basmati rice
• salted butter
• roughly chopped broccoli

Details

Start with the chicken. The greek yogurt marinade makes all the difference. Marinate it in olive oil and yogurt with lemon zest, pepper, and garlic. Then add dried oregano, thyme, paprika, and a nice helping of salt and chili flakes (if desired).

If time allows, you can marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or overnight. If you’re in a time crunch, just start cooking. I’ve now made this both ways and there’s not a huge difference.

Start off by grabbing a baking dish. Use something around the size of a 9×13-inch pan. Add the dry rice, I love to use basmati, and then add broccoli. Pour water overtop and then add a couple of salted pats of butter.

Place the chicken directly over the rice, then bake. I don’t even cover the pan or anything. This cooks up beautifully in just about 30 minutes. But the timing will depend on the size of your chicken and the size of your baking dish.

Top with any fresh herbs you enjoy most, then serve and enjoy.

As the chicken roasts, the juices drip down into the rice creating a REAL chicken-flavored rice situation. It’s so delicious!

And the chicken doesn’t dry out since it’s roasted over a bit of water. As the water cooks into the rice, the chicken slowly and beautifully roasts and gets perfectly crisp.

It’s honestly just the best. I might not go back to cooking chicken and rice any other way! Just add some 5 ingredient beer bread to really complete the Gerard family staple. A comfort meal at its best!

Looking for other easy chicken and rice dinners? Here are my favorites: 

One Skillet Louisiana Style Chicken and Rice

Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice Casserole

Cheesy Zucchini Chicken and Rice Bake

Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf

Spicy Sesame Chicken and Ginger Rice

Lastly, if you make this One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!