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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.
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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.
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs or breasts
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Lemon zest and fresh lemon juice
- Garlic
- Black pepper
- Dried oregano
- Dried thyme
- Paprika
- Onion powder
- Kosher salt
- Chili flakes
- Dry basmati rice
- Salted butter
- Roughly chopped broccoli
- fresh herbs
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.
Ingredients
- chicken thighs or breasts
- extra virgin olive oil
- plain Greek yogurt
- lemon zest
- garlic, chopped
- black pepper, using more to your taste
- dried oregano
- dried thyme
- paprika
- onion powder
- kosher salt and chili flakes
- dry basmati rice
- salted butter
- roughly chopped broccoli
Details
Start with the chicken. The greek yogurt marinade makes all the difference. 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!
Yogurt tenderizes chicken and gives it that juicy taste and tender texture. You can marinade chicken in yogurt for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.
One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice
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. Serve the chicken, rice, and broccoli topped with fresh basil and or thyme. And enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Can I add cream of chicken to help add flavor to the rice?
Hi Courtney,
I’ve not tested that, but you would need to reduce the water if you are going to add another liquid:) Let me know if you give this dish a try! xx
I would love to have the complete nutritional breakdown. My son was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and as I plan meals it’s super important to have the carbs, fibre etc for each serving.
Hi Sue,
So sorry, I do not have that info. I would try finding a reliable online calculator that you enjoy and just inputing the ingredients there. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
We loved the flavor of the chicken but the rice didn’t cook well. I had to keep adding water and had to cook an additional half hour. I only had white rice, wondering if that’s why? What brand basmati rice did you use? I’d love to try the recipe again. The rice was the only downfall for me.
Hi Cindy,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear about the rice! The types and brands of rice are definitely going to create a difference in cook time. Good and Gather brand from Target has a basmati rice that I like to use and same with Whole Foods! I hope this helps for next time! xT
Hi Tieghan!
How much water should I pour cover the broccoli + rice if I am only cooking 2 servings?
Thanks!
Hi Savannah,
For best results, I would just cut the whole recipe in half and just do 1 cup of water and I would recommend using a smaller baking dish:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Should the chicken be boneless?
Hi Kathryn,
You can use either one, if you chose to use bone in, just be sure to check the temperature of the chicken to ensure doneness. I hope you love this dish! xT
How much water/cook time would you add if you subbed brown basmati rice?
Hi there,
So sorry, I have not tested that with this recipe, so I do not have exact time and measurements. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
We tried this last night and it was the first Half Baked Harvest recipe that we didn’t like. We marinated chicken breasts overnight and it was tasty enough but nothing special. And the rice took 2 extra 10 minutes of baking and some still wasn’t done. We found the whole dish quite bland. I wonder if it would be better with skin on chicken so more juice from the skin would seep into the rice. And maybe replacing some of the water with chicken broth? Sorry to be a downer. It looks like most people really liked it.
Hi Cynthia,
Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed!! What kind of rice did you use? Let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
Have you done this with both bone in and boneless chicken?
Hi Lee,
I have, you can use either one here, the recipe works with both! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Boneless or bone-in thighs?
Hi Sue,
Either one, just be sure to use a meat thermometer to ensure that your bone in chicken is thoroughly cooked. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This dish didn’t need that sauce I was looking for. Delicious 💯
It was 💯
This was not my reply. I only posted that it was delicious
Very strange
Thanks so much for trying the recipe Margaret, so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
I loved this recipe – for some reason the rice directly under the chicken didnt cook as well as the rest.
Hi Luiza,
Happy Wednesday!🌤️🌸 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! Hmm, that’s interesting to hear about the rice, next time make sure to really snuggle the chicken into it! xx
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/One-Pan-Lemon-Pepper-Yogurt-Chicken-and-Rice-5.jpg
This picture of some great looking sauce and I feel like this chicken is screaming for it? In the process of making this dish now and I sure wish I’d had that sauce recipe. Thanks for the inspiration to cook such deliciousness
It was very quick and simple to make, and very kid-friendly. Thank you!
Thanks so much Tara!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed! xT
I hope you love the recipe Margaret!
“4. Severe the chicken”
how is this reheated, want to bring something over to my mom for dinner. She is 94 and doesn’t always eat well…
Hi Mary,
I think that would be just fine for you to do, I think chicken thighs would be best to use so they don’t dry out:) Let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Excellent! Everyone loved it. I marinated the chicken for 4 hours and replaced the water with chicken stock. So easy and delicious! Thank you!
Hi Ellen,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for trying it out! Have a great week:)