Easy Chicken and Rice
Updated Nov. 14, 2023
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 3tablespoons olive oil
- 2medium onions, about 8 ounces, peeled and sliced
- Salt and black pepper
- 1chicken, cut up into serving pieces
- 1½cups long-grain white rice
- Pinch of saffron, optional
- Freshly minced parsley or cilantro for garnish
- Lemon or lime wedges
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
682 calories; 37 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 18 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 43 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 41 grams protein; 694 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Set 3 cups of water to boil. Place olive oil in a large skillet that can be covered, and turn heat to medium-high. Add onions and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions soften and become translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove skin from chicken.
- Step 2
Add rice to onions; stir until each grain glistens; sprinkle with saffron, and stir. Nestle chicken in rice, add a little more salt and pepper and pour in the boiling water. Turn heat to medium-low, and cover.
- Step 3
Cook 20 minutes, until all water is absorbed and chicken is cooked through. (You can keep this warm over a very low flame for another 15 minutes; it will retain its heat for 15 minutes beyond that.) Garnish and serve with lemon or lime.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Lynda H.
I cooked 12 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced, with the onions. I added 2 cloves garlic, minced, with the rice and used low-sodium chicken broth instead of water. When the dish was done, I turned off the heat, added 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, and covered the skillet for about 5 minutes to cook the peas. Still quick and easy, but a lot more flavor. Next time, like other reviewers, I'll use less rice.
Lilikoi
For moroccan flavor profile:
before adding rice, add spices
1 t coriander
1 t ginger
1 T cumin
before serving, add 1 c shelled pistacios and lots of fresh cilantro. Omit the citrus.
Serve with a salad of cured black olives, blood orange segments, lots of fresh parsley, tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, and aleppo pepper.
Carla
This dish is beautiful in it's simplicity. Love cooking everything in one pan, so easy. I added peas (frozen, from another Bittman iteration of this recipe) & green olives. It was ready in an hour or so and delicious. Thank you, Mr. Bittman!
ZFMT
I added a bunch of chopped kale to the onions and left out the saffron. Used two boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks, and basmati rice. Delicious! A squeeze of lemon brought it all together.
Tina
I didn't think this was going to have enough flavor, but it was really delicious. Make sure to add salt and pepper twice, as advised. Simple, fast, easy to memorize. A great cold weather dinner with salad.
Kim
Made this with one cup of brown rice and added sage as suggested by another reviewer. Browned chicken with the onions, pulled out chicken threw rice in and toasted it a bit with the onions and then added chicken back with 1 1/2 cups broth and 1 1/2 cups water. Put lid on and popped it in the oven at 350 because I found myself needing to run pick up my son. Had to leave it there for a little over an hour. It was perfect!! Family loved it. Chicken was wonderfully tender and flavorful.
Carolyn
First dish I learned to cook more than 50 years ago, to serve while my mom was in night school. We used curry powder rather than saffron. Still a favorite, especially with kids.
Lew
Add extra flavor by browning the chicken first, set it aside, then proceed as follows. Brown meat is deliciosis. Muah!
Nicholas Yarmoshuk
In instructions . . It states. . 3 cups
BklynMom
Got inspired by Melissa Clark's porchetta pork chops... Smeared smashed garlic, sage, salt, pepper on both sides of bone-in pork chops (no pocket) and seared in cast iron pan. Removed, then sauteed onion, then did rice per the recipe (including saffron, but used homemade chicken stock -- water would have been fine), put seared pork chops on top and covered until rice was done... And heaven! Variations on this theme are infinite!
Cynthia
Make sure to add enough salt and pepper, and definitely use the saffron - it adds a wonderful flavor to the dish! I crushed a little saffron in a cup, then added 1/4 cup of hot water and a few more threads into the cup and let it sit for about 10 minutes before pouring the mixture into the rice.
Patricia
First, cooked onions in olive oil until almost soft and added rice to same pan, cooking until golden. In another pan, I browned 8 skin-on, bone-in well-salted and peppered chicken thighs in olive oil, to get rid of some of the fat and make the chicken look more appetizing. Moved thighs to pan with rice and onions, and added 3 cups of chicken stock, plus one lemon, cut with peel on. When it was almost through cooking, I added frozen peas, raisins, and more lemon slices. Family loved it.
Jeff R
20 min to cook the chicken? Doesn’t sound right. Is this starting with raw chicken?
Bel
My teenaged daughters loved this dish! Can't think of a better recommendation. This is a perfect addition to my repertoire of simple dinners. I added garlic to the sautéed onions and half tsp of turmeric, in lieu of saffron. I used four skinless boneless chicken thighs, and shredded them a bit at the end to distribute the meat throughout the rice, the way we enjoy it. I may add some sausage next time. Thanks for sharing a delicious basic recipe that I can build upon.
Paul
Just cooked this, added red peppers with the onions, paprika and some garlic and it was awesome. Cheers!
Sivi
Nanette
Tonight I made my second version of this recipe. The first go, I made it per instructions, except that I brown the chicken thighs with skin on. From there, I removed the skin and made the recipe, sautéing sweet peppers with the onions, then adding kalamata olives for the last few minutes to warm through. There is definitely too much rice, but it's perfect for leftovers, adding some ground meat for a balanced meal!
MikeM
Instead of whole chicken, use two legs (thigh drumstick) and two breasts.
Kind of boring
Try making it using what the recipe suggests -
Miz Jerry
Chop onion.
Jamee
Not sure if this has been suggested: while I have made as written (mini saffron) the next time I will make it with ginger, garlic and white bits of green onion and include fish sauce. Seems like Arroz Caldo (Filipino porridge with chicken) without the liquid/aoup. This was very easy and delicious and a hit with my BF. Nice and quick easy dinner no matter what time of the day
Name
Used chicken stock and cooked with half lemon
Nanette
This dish is so comforting and delicious! I made it with a bit more than two cups of water so I could get a bit of crispy rice on the bottom, and the rice wouldn't get soggy. It was perfectly done, though because the chicken skin made it so unctuous there was virtually no crisp rice. Next time, I'll crank up the heat at the end! I also added about 8 oz of fresh spinach at the very end, let it wilt, then stirred it in. Perfect one pot dinner!
Susan
Used 1.5 lbs chicken breasts- season with salt and pepper, browned then removed from pan. Added sliced portobello mushrooms with the onion, then 2 cloves of garlic, minced. Added 1TB Penzey’s Now Curry powder with 1 cup jasmine rice. Added chicken back in, with 2 cups water and 1 1/4 tsp chicken Better then Bouillon. Covered on med low for about 20 minutes, added half a bag of cooked frozen peas in the last 5 minutes.
Ekuza
My first attempt and followed the recipe, for the most part. Used one large onion (weighed in at 13oz!). Three boneless skinless chicken breasts, because that’s what I had on hand. I shredded the meat a bit after it was cooked to distribute evenly through the rice. Added more S&P a third time after cooking, to make sure it was seasoned enough. Used saffron, ground and added in with some of the hot water before adding chicken and the rest of the water. Lemon, parsley and parm topped my bowl. Yum!
Tracey Culver
Used five b/s chicken thighs trimmed of excess fat, 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice. Started with 3 cups chicken stock, but it had reduced on simmer by the time it was used to maybe 2 cups. Decided to use it as it was. Added 2 teaspoons minced garlic after onions were mostly done. I did initially brown the chicken thighs, removed, added onions, etc. Garnished with parsley and served with lemon wedges. Rice was cooked perfectly and so was chicken. Easy, quick and very good.
AllanD
It has a nice texture but, frankly, is a bit bland. It needs a significant dose of your favorite seasoning - probably best added midway through so that it doesn't all end up in the still watery rise versus the chicken.
chuck in Hillsboro
This is a terrible recipe. Chicken mot browned. Lose a lot of moisture resulting in tough rice. Better off baking chicken and making a pilaf.
Ann S.
Add yoghurt to the broth and some grated ginger, maybe a little powdered ginger, and it's even tastier
Emmie
Great quick recipe. Make sure to add lots of pepper to it.
Mary W.
I did most of the modifications that other reviewers suggested. I still felt that it was under seasoned at the end. Next time I will double the sage, cumin, turmeric.
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