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One Skillet Louisiana Style Chicken and Rice with Herb Butter. Quick, easy, colorful, and delicious! Pan-seared chicken with cajun seasoning and lemon butter. All cooked together with rice pilaf and peppers for an all-in-one dinner. Take that extra step and serve with a drizzle of delicious herby garlic butter. A dinner that everyone at the table will love.
I’ve always loved a skillet dinner, but when the days get really busy, that’s when I really count on skillet recipes. And this one has quickly become a new favorite.
This doesn’t surprise me, it has all of the flavors my family loves most. Just about anything with rice and they’re sold on in seconds, so I knew this would be a hit.
The way this was created reminded me of the way my dad used to cook when I was a kid. He’d pull out the contents of the fridge and just start making dinner with what we had. He’d throw in a little of this and a little bit of that.
They never turned out bad, and to this day, it’s my favorite way to create new recipes.
I only had a few things on hand and I knew that Creighton wanted something with a southern flair. Lots of seasoning, lemon, peppers, and rice.
Thankfully, I always have a cabinet full of spices, lemons, tons of peppers, and rice. I also knew there was chicken was in the freezer. So from there, I really did just throw everything into a skillet. The second all the yummy seasonings hit the chicken, I knew it had potential.
The details
Everything starts with the chicken, which is southern-inspired and seasoned simply with my homemade cajun seasoning. Simply chicken, olive oil, and seasonings, all pan-seared in a skillet and then finished with lemon and butter.
Once the chicken has been seared, I toss in the rice and spaghetti.
Using a combination of broken pasta and rice makes this almost more like a Rice-A-Roni or rice pilaf bake, it’s such a nice addition. And perfect if you have an almost empty box of pasta just sitting in the pantry waiting to be used.
Allow the rice and pasta to get a little toasted. You want things to be smelling just a little nutty at this point.
Add the onions, bell peppers, and chicken broth, then slide the chicken in. Bring everything to a boil and allow the rice to simmer before transferring the entire skillet to the oven to finish cooking.
As the dish cooks in the oven, you’ll find that some of the rice and pasta on top get a nice little crisp. Which we think is pretty delicious!
Finish it up
Since this already has so much flavor, I didn’t think the dish needed a sauce. But at the same time, I wanted to add a saucy element. So I browned a little butter with garlic and fresh herbs to spoon over the warm chicken and rice.
Best idea. I know it doesn’t seem like much to add a small drizzle of herby butter, but it really finishes the dish so nicely. The rice especially…so delicious with some nutty herby garlic butter.
What’s great about this one-skillet chicken rice bake is that it incorporates a variety of flavors and textures. Yet it’s all made simply in ONE skillet, using a lot of pantry staples. Have to love that!
This is already in my rotation of “back pocket” recipes. It’s just so good, and it’s different, which is really nice! Creighton gave it a double thumbs-up, so hey, it’s got that going for it too!
Looking for other skillet dinners? Here are my favorites:
One Skillet White Chicken Chili Bake
Lemon Butter Dijon Chicken and Orzo with Feta Sauce.
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice Casserole
Lastly, if you make this One Skillet Louisiana Style 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!
Skillet Louisiana Style Chicken and Rice
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 547 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1/2 cup dry broken spaghetti or angel hair pasta
- 1 cup long grain rice
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
- 2 bell peppers, sliced
- 3-4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh tenders herbs, cilantro + parsley
- chili flakes
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.2. In a large oven-safe skillet, combine the olive oil, chicken, and cajun seasoning, toss to coat. Set the skillet over high heat. Sear on both sides until golden, 3-5 minutes. During the last 2 minutes of cooking, add 1 tablespoon of butter and lemon slices. Remove everything from the skillet.3. Add the rice and pasta. Cook until the rice is toasted, about 1 minute. Add the onion and peppers and continue to cook another 3-4 minutes, then pour in 3 cups broth. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. 4. Slide the chicken, lemon slices, and any juices left on the plate back into the skillet. Bring to a boil. Cover the skillet and turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook 10 minutes, until most of the liquid has cooked into the rice, but not all of it. If needed add more broth. Bake, uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.5. Meanwhile, melt together 5 tablespoons butter, the garlic, and a pinch of chili flakes. Cook until the butter is browning. Stir in the mixed herbs. 6. Serve the chicken and rice drizzled with garlic butter and topped with fresh herbs.
Notes
Homemade Cajun Seasoning: mix 2 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 tablespoon dried thyme, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon black pepper. Makes 3/4 cup.
This is so good! My family loved it. I did make a small modification: I had some frozen cut okra hanging around, so I defrosted it and added it with the peppers and onions. It worked! Thank you for this great dinner!
Hey Margaret,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xx
This was absolutely delicious! My husband said it came out restaurant quality, but even better. He wants to add it to our weekly rotation!
Hi Kylie,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it!!☀️ xTieghan
Made this last night and we loved it. However, I didn’t make the garlic butter sauce as we are trying to cut down on our butter quantity. I used thighs this time, but will try breast the next time.
Hi Mary,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it!!☀️ xTieghan
Wonderful! Easy, my husband loved it! This is a keeper. One request for a recipe edit, the recipe calls for “bell pepper”, so grabbed a green one. When I got home I looked at the pictures and realized a yellow bell pepper was used, that would have been a little sweeter and imparted different flavor. Next time I’ll use yellow bell pepper.
Hi Malinda,
Perfect!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a go, I am thrilled to hear that it was a winner! I’ve tried this recipe with different bell peppers and didn’t notice a huge difference which is why I wasn’t specific about the color:) Have the best week!? xT
This was great! I adjusted based on what I had, and had to tinker with the timing:
I used 1.5 cups of a wild rice blend (cook time usually 45 min). I cooked it in the skillet for 15min with the peppers before adding the chicken thighs for an addition 15min. Then I baked for 15 min. (I think the chicken thighs handled the longer cooking time perfectly; chicken breasts might get overcooked with these adjustments, though.)
It was kind of liquidy (2.5 cups broth would probably have made it like normal, drier rice), but I found the soupy, schloopy texture is pleasant– it’s perfectly oily from the chicken juices and butter, if that makes sense. Delightful.
For the garlic herb butter, I used cilantro and dill. I threw in about 2 tsp of honey- i don’t know why, but it sounded good, and it was.
Hey Sarah,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Thanks for sharing your feedback and what worked well for you. Have the best weekend:) xx
We thought this was delicious! I did make some changes after reading the comments — skipped the lemon slices (added a bit of lime juice instead), and followed the video instead of the directions (sauteed the onions and peppers in the butter first instead of the rice and pasta). I also found 10 minutes and 3 cups of broth wasn’t sufficient to cook the rice (needed 20 minutes and 3.5 cups). Oh, and the garlic butter was the perfect finishing touch. Anyway, I’ll definitely be making this one again!
Hey Helen,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for trying it out! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. ☀️xx
Delicious hearty comfort food! Added andouille sausage links x 2 before putting in oven. Beautiful dish as well!
Hey Anne,
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! ?Tieghan
I liked the idea of this dish and I like the pasta/rice combo (I used precut vermicelli). But it had a slightly bitter taste from the lemon rinds, so if I were to make this again, I would probably just do juice or a little zest, or even just not return the lemon slices after cooking them with the chicken at the beginning.
Hey Noell,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed!! Thanks for sharing your feedback! xTieghan
Another winner! This was so good and really easy to make. Will definitely make this again.
Hi Genevieve,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
I’m wondering if this would freeze well, maybe without the garlic herb butter?
Hi Brooke,
Sure, that should be just fine for you to do. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
I don’t know what I did wrong. The lemon slices became bitter and broke up in the rice making them impossible to pick out. I had to throw the whole dish away. I wouldn’t add the lemons next time and would just add the juice.
Hi Nicole,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, so very sorry to hear this!! Was it possible that the lemon slices were too thin? xTieghan
So so good! I did about 1.5x the amount of seasoning. At the end of cooking I also found my rice a bit bland, but I just added more Cajun seasoning and oregano and thyme. One of your Greek recipes has me hooked on roasted lemon so I chopped those up and added them to the rice too. And a squeeze of lemon… my husband who hates to admit anything I make is better than “ok” was actually Mmm-ing while he ate! Thank you, Teighan!!
Hey Miranda,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it. Have the best week:) xx
This was so good!! I can’t really put my finger on what makes it stand out, but my family loved it! Will definitely make again!
Hi Carrie,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out! xTieghan
Flavor is super lacking. Disappointing considering other HBH recipes have more character. Prepare to amp up the seasoning on your own.
Hi Rachel,
So sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try. xTieghan
We made this tonight. It’s definitely a keeper! We used a premade Cajun spice that had salt listed as the first ingredient; that’s the only thing we’d change next time, as it turned out too salty. My husband said, “I would pay for this in a restaurant!” And continued to say “Wow!” over and over, even while we were cleaning up 🙂 Fantastic recipe, Tieghan!!
Hey Mara,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it. Have the best week:) xx
Recipe was a hit. I added some andouille sausage that kicked it up a bit! Was excellent.
Hey Joshua,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out! xTieghan