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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.
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.
Details
Start with the chicken. 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!
One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 593 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs or breasts (skin on or off)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2-4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1- teaspoons black pepper, using more to your taste
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- kosher salt and chili flakes
- 1 3/4 cups dry basmati rice
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cups roughly chopped broccoli
Instructions
- 1. In a bowl, toss together the chicken, olive oil, yogurt, lemon zest, garlic, pepper, oregano, thyme, paprika, onion powder, and a good pinch of salt and chili flakes (if desired). If time allows, marinate for 30 minutes or overnight.2. Preheat the oven to 400°. 3. Pour the rice and broccoli into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Pour over 2 cups of water. Add the butter. Arrange the chicken over the rice and broccoli. Add lemon wedges, if desired. Bake 30-40 minutes, until the rice is fluffy and the chicken is cooked through. If the rice is hard, add 1/3 cup water and cook for an additional 10 minutes. 4. Severe the chicken, rice, and broccoli topped with fresh basil and or thyme. And enjoy!
The marinade for this chicken is incredibly flavorful. I am dairy free and I used unsweetened coconut yogurt and dairy free butter and it turned out perfectly still. I also subbed broccolini instead of broccoli. I should have added the extra 1/3 a cup of water for the rice because there were a few undercooked pieces but the rice that was under the chicken was super flavorful and well cooked. Adding the lemons definitely gives it another flavor boost and I added salt to finish.
My husband is very wary of one pan recipes especially rice and chicken based recipes he isn’t a casserole person but he ate this and said I could make it again. My 2.5 year old loved the chicken!
Hey Charlotte,
Fantastic!! 🍇🍌 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and your comment! Thanks for sharing your tips and what worked well for you! xx
Really good! A little added salt and pepper to taste. Easy and delicious. Great for a fast dinner especially for a lighter summer meal!
Hey Michaele,
Fantastic!! 🍇🍌 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and your comment! xx
Can I use frozen broccoli for this one???
Hi Jordan,
Yes, that will work well for you! I hope this dish turns out amazing, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Just wondering- Do you cover the dish with foil?
Hi Gwen,
Nope, I didn’t cover this dish while baking:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
If i wanted to use brown rice instead of basmati, what would be the time and water adjustment?
thanks!
Hi Paulina,
Sorry, I have not tested that so I do not know the exact measurements, but you would need to increase both:) Please let me know if you give this dish a try! xT
This dish was very tasty. I did have to add another 1/2 cup of liquid and add 10 more min to the cooking time. I used chicken stock instead of water, as I could tell water alone wouldn’t add any flavor to the mixture given there are no seasonings added to the rice.
Also, I feel like this needed some sauce to drizzle over when serving as I found it pretty dry with just rice and chicken alone. So next time I’d whip up some dressing to go with it.
Hey Jessica,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this dish and good to know the chicken stock worked well for you! Love the idea of adding a sauce to the dish! xT
Just made this. Didn’t have broccoli so used spinach which worked out perfectly!
Hey Alexandra,
Awesome!! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe and thanks so much for making it:) Happy Tuesday! xT
would this work as a freezer meal? It looks amazing!!!
Hi Cadence,
Totally, that would work well for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Oh no! I love so many of your recipes. This was so bland. Chicken has pretty good flavor but the rice tastes like white rice…unfortunately has no flavor to it. Rice “water” Definitely should be substituted with chicken stock and some spices to make the dish more flavorful.
Beth – I agree. Made it tonight after seeing it on FB this morning. Pretty bland and the chicken and broccoli didn’t crisp up the way show in the picture despite cooking it for longer than suggested. Won’t make it again, but will still make many other Half Baked Harvest dishes. My fam particularly LOVES the sticky sweet and spicy chicken!
Hi Cimberly,
So sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy this dish either. Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! Have a great Tuesday! xx
Hi Beth,
Thanks for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. Feel free to use chicken stock in place of the water and add spices to your liking:) xx
This is incredible!
I did use chicken broth instead of water.
Rice was a little too firm after 40 minutes so I added the 1\3 cup of water and put back in for 10 more minutes. It came out perfect!
Thank you, I will be making this often. 😋😋😋
Thanks so much Cheryl!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear the dish was a hit! xT
Cooking covered or uncovered?
Hi Sarah,
You do not need to cover this dish:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hello! This looks great. Can you use brown rice for this?
Nevermind! I saw you already answered this. 🙂
Hi Maggie,
Yes, brown rice will work, but you will need to increase your liquid and bake time:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Can you use chicken stock in place of the water?
Hi Jen,
Totally, chicken stock would be great to use here! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe:) xT
Thanks so much! Tried this out tonight and the whole family enjoyed it – even my daughter who doesn’t usually eat rice!
I used chicken thighs and chicken stock in place of the water. It was delicious, comforting and most importantly, easy! Perfect weeknight meal.
Love to hear this!! Thanks so much Jen:)
Are the chicken thighs/breasts bone-in or boneless?
Hi Katie,
You can use either for this recipe, totally up to you!! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
How would cooking times change? Which did you use when testing this recipe? This sounds good but worried about overcooked chicken or mushy rice.
I’m wondering the same thing! I’m preparing this right now with 6 bone in , skin on thighs. Don’t want to over or undercook!
I had such high hopes for this, but unfortunately it wasn’t great. The flavor was good, but if I make it again I’ll make some tweaks. I used 5 chicken breasts rather than 6 only because I thought 6 seemed like too much. The result was dry and it desperately needed salt and I’m not one to add a lot of salt. If I make it again I’d use 4 chicken breasts or thighs and reduce the rice to 1.5 cups or maybe even 1 cup. ( it was a lot of rice!) I would also probably use chicken stock in place of water as others have suggested. I would increase the amount of broccoli a little. Disappointing. Can’t imagine anyone loving it if made per the recipe.
Hi Tonya,
So sorry to hear that this recipe didn’t turn out for you, thanks for giving it a try! Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with or clarify! Again, sorry for the trouble! xT
Hi Paula,
You can follow the recipe as written, if you chicken is on the bigger side, just check it at the end to ensure it is fully cooked through:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
I used boneless, just use a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is cooked through, it really will just depend on the size of your meat:)
Hi! How would cooking times differ for breasts vs. thighs? Thanks so much!
Hi Anna,
You should be able to follow the recipe as written for both, you would really only need to increase your timing if you use bone in chicken. If you have a meat thermometer just check the chicken to be sure it is thoroughly cooked! I hope you love this dish! xx
Would love to try this! Could I use brown rice? Would I need to adjust anything? Thanks!
I was wondering the same thing. I prefer brown rice.
Hi Ingrid,
The brown rice will work, I just don’t know the exact adjustments that would need to be made since I haven’t tested it! Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
You’ll have to increase the liquid and likely cooking time for brown rice. Also keep in mind how the longer cooking time may impact the chicken. When I know I’ll be cooking the chicken for longer, I use thighs over breasts so they don’t dry out.
Oh, yes, I have the same question!!
Hi Jenny,
Sure, you could do brown rice, I haven’t tested this but you would probably need to increase the cook time and liquid! I’m sorry I don’t have the exact measurements for that! Let me know if you give this dish a try! xT