Next Post
Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Yogurt Cups.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
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!
Can you substitute Orzo for the rice
Hi Connie,
Sure, the orzo will cook differently but it will definitely work for you! Please let me know how this recipe turns out, I hope you love it! xT
Do you take the chicken out of the marinade or do you add the yogurt marinade to the rice in the pan. Thanks
Hi Kerry,
I just remove the chicken from the marinade:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope this turns out well for you! xT
This is delicious!!
My husband raved about the Lemony Rice, it was his favorite part!!
Love to hear this Jake!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! xT
Super good and easy! Only marinaded the chicken for an hour and it was still so flavourful. Will definitely make again!
Thanks so much Allie!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and I appreciate you making it:) xT
We enjoyed this with a few tweaks for more flavor! Substituted veggie broth for water (would’ve done chicken broth but didn’t have) as well as added a half of a diced yellow onion to the rice mixture. Would also broil next time at the end for more of a crisp finish on the chicken. Will make again!
Hey Alyssa,
Happy Memorial Day!!🇺🇸🎆 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xT
I was surprised that the dish tasted bland, I loved the yogart lemon seasoning dressing on the chicken. Next time I will add more salt and chicken stock instead of plain water.
Hi Cindi,
Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear this was bland for you! Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
Can brown basmati rice be used. I can’t eat white rice.
Hi Lynn,
Sure, you will probably have to adjust your cook time and you might need to add some liquid! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Spelling error in last line … should say serve
Thanks Minnie!
Question? Do you cover the pan with foil while it is baking? Does the rice dry out without a cover? It sounds delicious!
Hi Judy,
Nope, I don’t cover this recipe and the rice will not dry out:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Turned out amazing. I ended up adding salt, pepper, garlic powder and olive oil to the broccoli before placing in the baking dish. Sub vegetable stock or chicken stock for the water for the rice. Adds more flavor.
Hi Hetal,
Happy Memorial Day weekend!🇺🇸 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it! xx
Would definitely try adding some chicken boulian to recipe to give a bit more flavor
I made this last night and had printed the recipe out after I saw you share it on Instagram a few days ago. I went by the print out I had and questioned the 2 teaspoons of black pepper the recipe originally called for but went with it. The dish is yummy but VERY VERY peppery (and black pepper is my fav spice). I went back to look at the feedback for this recipe and I see there has been a change to both the website version and the printable version to adjust the amount of black pepper being called for in the dish (taken down to half the original amount). I thoroughly agree with this change and just wish I had seen it before I made this dish. The flavors and texture is otherwise very good and I could see myself making this again. Maybe a little psa in your Instagram stories about the change would have alerted me as I follow you pretty closely on there 🙂 thanks for putting out all of these yummy recipes and photos and videos! They really make everything look much more do-able.
Hi Amanda,
Happy Memorial Day weekend!🇺🇸 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it! Sorry about the pepper! xx
Do you use boneless or bone-in thighs/breasts for this recipe? I love your recipes and following you and your awesome family on Instagram!
Hi Jennifer,
You can really use either one, totally up to you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Hey Tieghan! Just curious if the greek yogurt can be subbed for regular plain yogurt? Excited to try this recipe. xx
Hi Anna,
Yes, that would be just fine for you to do! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I made this last night and was surprized how nice the rice came out (I used basmati and gave it a little rinse first). The flavours in the marinade are strong and work really well for this dish. I used boneless, skinless thighs as that is what I had out already and did include the lemon wedges.
I think this would be even a touch better using skin on chicken as it would allow more drippings and marinade to flavour the rice and the marinade would affect the chicken a little differently as well. Because mine didn’t have enough drippings I did have to add a bit more salt to the rice when I was eating it.
This will be something I make again.
PS using the boneless skinless thighs and rinsed basmati, I had no problem with this being cooked in 30 mins, I would assume I need 40 at least for the bone in chicken, possibly more if the pieces are large or a different rice is used
Hey Cindy,
Wonderful!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad it was a hit! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! Happy Memorial Day weekend!🇺🇸
I’m wondering how the broccoli comes out in this recipe? I can’t stand mushy broccoli.
Hi Robin,
As long as you don’t chop your broccoli too small, it should not be mushy! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT