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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!
This recipe is not good. Overall it is bland – very little flavor. The rice did not cook evenly and did not have any flavor. What little flavor there was was only on the chicken thighs. So diappointing. I followed the recipe to the detail and did not read reviews prior to making. I wish I had. I typically enjoy HBH recipes but this one needs to be reworked or deleted from the webpage.
Hi there,
Thanks for trying this dish and your comment, I’m so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx
Ugh. Super disappointing. This recipe needs to be drastically changed and republished. I didn’t read all the reviews until after I had bought the ingredients (my mistake). I took all the commenters feedback to heart, increased liquid, used broth instead of water, baked covered for 30 minutes, uncovered for 20…..45 minutes later it’s still in the oven with grainy crispy rice floating in some broth. My husband actually spit it out. Making a pot of regular rice now to eat the thighs and broccoli with. Bummer.
Hi Mary,
So very sorry to hear that this recipe didn’t work for you! I appreciate you sharing your feedback and the adjustments that were made. I tested this so many times and didn’t have issues, so it’s hard for me to say why it is working for some and not others. Again, my apologies! xx
Typically everything I make of yours is SO delicious and gets high reviews from my teenage boys and husband but this one fell way flat. No flavor really at all and rice didn’t cook through. Might need more of a sauce to help give flavor to the bland rice? Not sure. Sorry for the bad review! Again, your recipes disappoint. Will try something else!
Hi Danielle,
No worries, thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, I’m so sorry to hear it wasn’t enjoyed! xx
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it! Can I use brown rice instead of basmati rice?
Hi Lisa,
Thanks so much!! Brown rice is going to cook a lot differently than the basmati rice so you would need to make some substitutions. Please let me know if you give this dish a try! xx
This recipe really needs to be taken down until the method works and ingredients are added to give flavour to the rice and broccoli. Took note of other comments just after I’d put it in the oven, so took the (correctly sized) dish out added more than double the amount of water (I actually used chicken stock, water was never going to add any flavour) , cooked it covered for 30 minutes and then 20 mins uncovered. Even with chicken stock the rice needs more flavour. The chicken was the only part of the dish with flavour.
I wish that I had read the comments before I made this dish. It has been in the oven for over an hour, and we are still waiting for dinner to be ready. HBH recipes sound great, but many don’t deliver what you expect. I think the recipes need to be tested before they are released.
Hi Judith,
Thanks for trying this recipe, sorry to hear it’s not what you expected. I can promise you I test all of my recipes quite a bit before sharing:) What is wrong with it that it is still in the oven for over an hour? Please let me know how I can help! xx
My husband actually said this is his new favorite. Thanks for another delicious sheet pan meal.
Hey Jill,
Happy Sunday! I’m so glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for trying it out! xT
I made this in a heavy oven proof pan with a lid. As suggested, I doubled the amount of water and added chicken stock plus a little bit of the left over chicken marinade into the rice. I also added spinach as well as broccoli. Thirty minutes covered, 20 minutes uncovered and it was absolutely wonderful. Really full of flavour with perfectly cooked rice that took on the taste of the chicken. Squeezed lemon on top as well as chopped fresh basil. Highly recommend. Will definitely be making this again.
Hey Sadie,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing what worked well for you, so glad it was enjoyed! xT
Big fan of most HBH, but this one was a miss for us – should have read the other comments first! I had the same issue – rice was unevenly cooked and didn’t take on any of the flavor of the chicken. The chicken was good though – next time, will make more of that seasoning and mix it in with the rice!
Hi Shannon,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback! Next time, I would try covering the dish to see if that helps with the rice! xx
I second Sarah’s comment!:
“Increased seasoning. Increased fluid and changed to chicken broth. Cooked for 30 min with foil and another 20 without and it turned out perfect.”
I sliced my chicken breasts thin and then only had to do 10 minutes uncovered after the initial 30 minutes covered. I added spinach and a side of sautéed zucchini!
Hey Devon,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was enjoyed! Xx
I wish I could give this recipe two thumbs up, but the chicken wasn’t done after the 40 minutes, and the rice was still crunchy. I usually cook my rice in the oven covered and I wish I would have done that for at least the first half of the cook time. My family gave the flavor two thumbs up, though. I wish I would have read the comments before cooking and I would have gone with my gut, and cooked covered for 20-30 minutes .
Hi Christina,
I appreciate you trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you had issues with the cook time. I do think covering the dish would work nicely for you if you want to give this another try! xx
I’m excited to make this! Should I be using boneless or bone-in chicken?
Thanks!
Thanks so much Dana!! I used boneless:) Please let me know if you give this dish a try, I hope you love it! xT
Tieghan!! This was FAB!!! All four kids had seconds and asked for it again next week.
Thanks for an easy, people-pleasing meal!
Hey Dana,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out nicely for you and I appreciate you making it! xT
Recipe needs work. Rice didn’t cook evenly even after adding more liquid several times. (Mushy/crunchy, bland). Should have followed my instincts and covered in foil for first 30 min. Liked the Greek yogurt chicken marinade but the thighs needed a much longer cooking time than indicated.
Hi Wendy,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it didn’t turn out as expected! xx
I tried this recipe and found the rice needed more time and more liquid as it was not quite done. I also would use some chicken broth next time instead of just water. The chicken was good but would have liked the seasoning to also have mixed in with the rice for more flavor.
Hi there,
Thanks so much for trying this dish! So sorry to hear the rice did not cook properly. You could definitely season the rice next time for more flavor! xx
Wanted to love this one it looked sooooo good. I used thighs, followed the recipe exactly, save for broth instead of water and it was very mild and the chicken cooked way faster than the rice. I had to add water multiple times and recook the rice for an additional thirty minutes and some is crunchy, some soggy mush. Bleh. Great concept! Maybe I will try something similar again.
Hi Tessa,
Thanks so much for giving this dish a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you! xx
Increased seasoning. Increased fluid and changed to chicken broth. Cooked for 30 min with foil and another 20 without and it turned out perfect.
Thanks for sharing, Sarah!!
A deceivingly tricky recipe! Some tips: be generous with your seasonings and filet your chicken to be very thin. I had the same issue as others where the chicken took 2x the time to cook, and my oven is functionally correctly, I chalk it up to my chicken breasts being too thick. Otherwise very tasty!
Hi Alyssa,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your notes on what worked best for you! Glad to hear it was enjoyed:) xT