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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.

One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice | halfbakedharvest.com

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!

One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice | halfbakedharvest.com

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

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
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

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!
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One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice | halfbakedharvest.com

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I made the recipe as described and had no problems with it being bland or incorrectly cooked – it was really simple to make and I found it to be quite flavorful. It was very light and fresh, and the lemon added a nice summery feel to it. Really nice one, Tieghan, thank you!

    1. Hey Margo,
      Happy Thursday! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it:)

  2. 5 stars
    Made this last night for dinner. As always your recipes do not dissappoint. Delicious. Loved the flavour of the rice – suttle hints of lemon. Added a little more liquid to the rice at the end. Super quick, easy to make dinner and and very little clean up. Adding this to the rotation for sure.

    1. Hi Laura,
      Happy Thursday! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it:)

  3. 5 stars
    I made this last night using brown rice, especially since several have asked how to use it instead of basmati. Since brown rice needs more liquid and takes much longer to cook I gave it a head start. I put the brown rice (1 3/4 cup) and twice as much (3 1/2 cups) BOILING water in the pan, covered with aluminum foil, and put in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Then I mixed in the broccoli and topped with the chicken and cooked uncovered another 40 minutes.
    As others suggested I added some of the spices to the rice before cooking (I threw in some chopped onion and an extra dollop of the yogurt as well), and I put it all under the broiler at the end to brown the chicken more. It turned out delicious. With these tweaks it was 5 stars.

    1. Hi Kent,
      Happy Tuesday!! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing all of your tips and what worked well for you! Love to hear that it was delish! Thanks again! xT

  4. 1 star
    This recipe leaves a lot to be desired. Rice is flavorless and dry. Broccoli is also bland and undercooked. Chicken had decent flavor but would have benefited from being seared first. If you follow all the modifications mentioned in other comments, you may as well just follow a different recipe.

    1. Hi Morgan,
      So sorry to hear you really did not enjoy this dish. Please let me know if there is anything that I need to clarify or anything that I can help with! Again, sorry for the trouble! xx

  5. 2 stars
    I love a good one pan chicken and rice dish. I found this one quite dry, and rice + broccoli lacking in flavor. Tastemade has an amazing version (https://tasty.co/recipe/paprika-chicken-rice). I think covering the pan really helps keep the rice from drying out, and searing the chicken first then cooking the garlic/onions in the seared chicken oil gives the rice SO MUCH flavor.

    1. Hi Hayden,
      Happy Tuesday! I appreciate you making this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xT

  6. 2 stars
    Very disappointing. Chicken was OK but rice still crunchy and tasteless after adding more water (twice). Broccoli overcooked. Will not make again but will definitely continue making all the other wonderful Tiegan recipes!

    1. Hi Jennifer,
      Thanks for making this dish and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed. What kind of rice did you use? Please let me know how I can help! xT

  7. 5 stars
    This was delicious! I read the comments before making it so I seasoned the rice. It would have been fine without it but this combo of spices is just so good. Definitely going on our regular meal rotation.

    1. Hey Kylie,
      Wonderful!! I appreciate you making this dish and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT

  8. 5 stars
    This tasted so good and was so easy to throw together! For brown rice I added an extra 1/2 cup of water and cooked it for 55 minutes and it was perfect!

    1. Hi Brandy,
      Fantastic!!🍗🍚 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and your comment! xx

  9. 3 stars
    I read the comments and added the same spices to the rice mixture(that was used on the chicken) and used vegetable broth. I only added one cup of rice and 2 cups of broth and added more equally 1/2 cup. I think if a 1/2 cup of milk or cream it would have been the creaminess I desired. First time eating thighs and would have preferred breast or a mix of both. I’ve never cooked with paprika and realize I’m not a fan. My husband loved it.

    1. Hi Kelly,
      Thanks for making this dish and sharing your feedback, glad to hear your husband enjoyed, sorry to hear you did not! Let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xx

  10. 5 stars
    This was our supper tonight and will definitely be making at least once a month. Very easy prep, off to the grill ~ yes, you read that correctly, the grill. I hardly use my oven unless it is for cake/cookie baking.

    1. Hey Christine,
      Happy Tuesday!! Love to hear that this dish was a hit and such a great idea to cook it on the grill! Thanks for making it and sharing your review:) xT

  11. 1 star
    I have never given a review for a before. I have many tons of different recipes I have found online but this one is so bad that I had to give it a review. The rice has absolutely no flavor and didn’t cook all the way even after I put more water and then put chicken broth to try to give it some flavor. The broccoli also didn’t cook well and had no flavor. The chicken wasn’t horrible but just not great. Will never make again.

    1. Hi Jojo,
      So sorry to hear that this dish was not enjoyed, thanks for making it and sharing your feedback. Was there anything that I can clarify or help with? Please let me know! xT

  12. 2 stars
    I read the comments first and decided to use chicken stock instead of water and add a chopped shallot to the rice. Sadly it was still lacking in flavor. The chicken was juicy but didn’t have much flavor. My kids still ate it but it I wouldn’t make it again.

    1. Hi Amanda,
      I appreciate you making this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you didn’t love it! Please let me know if there is anything that I can do! xT

    1. 4 stars
      I was wondering if you baked this in a conventional oven or a convection oven? The kids were not a fan of the rice but liked the chicken and broccoli. They wished the skin was more crispy. Liked the idea just going to tweak it a little.

      1. Hi Sabiene,
        Thanks for trying this recipe! I bake in a conventional oven. You could always pop the chicken under the broiler next time to crisp the chicken. I hope this helps for next time! xT

    2. Hi Lucille,
      Thanks for making this dish and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was dry for you! Was the chicken dry or the whole dish? Maybe try chicken thighs next time, they tend to be a lot juicer. I hope this helps! xx

  13. 5 stars
    This was delicious and so easy to put together! Your recipes never disappoint! I think this chicken would also be good grilled and added on top of a fresh salad!

    1. Hi Jodi,
      Fantastic!! 🍇🍌 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and your comment! xx

  14. 5 stars
    Dinner this evening. I think I should have used skin on, bone in chicken thighs, which would gave created a juicer outcome. LOVE the flavor used boneless, skinless thighs. The chicken was NOT dry very tasty. Will make this again, 2 thumbs up

    1. Thanks so much Betty!! I appreciate you making this dish and sharing your review, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xT