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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!
Do you use bone in thighs or breasts or boneless? Love your recipes and your Instagram! And your awesome family.
Thanks so much for your kind message Jennifer!! For this recipe, I used boneless, but you can easily use bone in! Please let me know if you give this dish a try! xT
Made with chicken breasts. It was fine. Just a normal chicken broccoli and rice dish. I’ve loved some other things but was disappointed with this one
Hi Heather,
Thanks for trying this dish and sharing your review, so sorry to hear you didn’t love it! Let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xT
Very yummy! I added a little Vidalia onion in with the rice and broccoli and used 1/2 chicken stock/1/2 water. Comfort food yum and I will make again.
Hi Kate,
Awesome!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for making it and sharing your comment! xT
I ended up cooking this for 60 minutes for the chicken to reach 160 degrees. The rice and broccoli were still slightly undercooked. The chicken flavor and seasoning was great though!
Hi Sierra,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear the rice and broccoli weren’t cooked all the way. What kind of rice did you use? Let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xT
This was SO GOOD and made life so much easier! I used brown rice and used chicken stock instead of water. Also added some mixed poultry seasoning to the rice and used chopped sweet potato, carrots, and celery instead of broccoli. I did leave it in the oven for about an hour. It was great and will replace my weekly chicken/veggie sheet pan rotation.
Hey Abby,
Happy Friday!!😎 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and your review! xT
I am a HUGE fan of you and your genius mind, but unfortunately, this recipe is not the one. I swapped chicken broth and lemon juice for the water and it was still a bland dish. To be fair, the meat, rice and broccoli all cooked to perfection, it just severely lacked in flavor. I’d love to see an update to this in the future with a sauce or something to enhance the flavor!
Made this last night. My favourite part was the rice because it soaks up juices from the chicken and was nice and flavourful and perfectly cooked. Though the chicken wasn’t my favourite. The skin didn’t crisp up nicely as it normally does when I bake thighs. Any suggestions?
Hi Michelle,
I appreciate you making this dish and sharing your review!! So glad to hear it was enjoyed, for the chicken try turning the broiler on towards the end, that should really help to crisp the skin! Please let me know if this helps! xT
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for giving this dish a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it turned out bland for you! xx
Can you use Jasmine rice?!
Hi Molly,
Jasmine rice is going to cook slightly differently than the basmati, but yes it will work. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Love everything from HBH but this one was not my fave. I love the method – everything in one pan – and all were cooked perfectly. But this was way too much pepper. We like spicy food, but felt like the pepper just overpowered all the other spices. Might try it again with a variation on the spices and less pepper. But high fives on easy prep and cleanup meals!
Hi Sara,
I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so sorry to hear you didn’t love it! If there is anything that I can help with, please let me know! xT
We loved this recipe – as we do all of your recipes- but agreed that it could use some kind of sauce to put on after baking. Would you have any suggestions?
Hi Jennifer,
Happy Thursday! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it:) A yogurt or tzatziki sauce might be nice:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chicken-gyros-with-feta-tzatziki/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/poblano-mushroom-tacos-with-cilantro-yogurt-sauce/
You might like the sauce from these recipes:) xx
Can I substitute orzo for the rice?
Hi Connie,
Sure, that would work for you, just keep in mind the orzo is going to cook differently so you may have to adjust a few things! Please let me know how this dish turns out for you! xx
I made this the other night. I thought the flavor was great but my rice was not completely cooked. I used Jasmine rice. What should I adjust next time?
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Sorry about the rice, I would try using basmati rice next time, it going to cook slightly different than the jasmine:) xx
Can I sub quinoa, instead of rice?
Hi Julie,
I’m sure the quinoa will work, I just don’t know the exact adjustments you would need to make because I haven’t tested this. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
After reading some of the comments, I followed Kent’s method of cooking. This dish is SO delicious!! The best chicken and rice dish I’ve made (and I’ve made quite a few lol).
Thanks so much Carol!! Love to hear that you enjoyed this dish and thanks a lot for making it! Have a great Thursday! xT
I made this dish and it was delicious! I followed the directions, however, I didn’t have any salted butter, so I used unsalted butter. I added a teaspoon of salt to the water instead, but it could have used a bit more. This was fixed with a little salt on the table! I also needed the extra water and time for the rice, but my oven runs hot, so I went ahead and added the water right at the beginning. I added 1 whole lemons worth of wedges. The flavor is more subtle than some recipes, but it is definitely there! My kids Loved this dish and I will definitely make it again!
Hi Jenni,
Lovely! Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing what worked well for you:) So glad to hear this was enjoyed and that the kids liked it too! xT
Less sheet pan dishes, more fresh veggies, less cheese! Where are the lighter recipes you’ve touted about? Everything is covered in globs of cheese. Do you only develop recipes based on how they’re going to look? It would explain A LOT.
You’re welcome to consult a health-food site if that’s what you’re looking for. Some people like the globs.
This recipe has no cheese in it and isn’t made on a sheet pan.
Are we reading the same recipe? There is no cheese in this dish at all.
Also, but only because I’ve already taken the time to reply… You don’t have to like what other people put out, you can simply choose another dish to enjoy for yourself.
I don’t see any cheese in this recipe…?