One-Pan Chicken and Rice for Nights You Can't Decide
When you're blanking on dinner, this one pan has you covered in 40 minutes.
This is the recipe for the nights when you've been staring at the fridge for ten minutes and still have no idea what to make. One pan, one decision, done. Bone-in chicken thighs go in skin-side down, get golden and crispy, then finish cooking right on top of garlicky rice that soaks up every bit of drippings. It's the kind of meal that feels like you actually tried without requiring much of you at all. Expect tender chicken, fluffy rice, and almost no cleanup. It won't win a food photography award, but it will absolutely get eaten.
Ingredients
- 4 unit bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs — about 2 lbs total
- 1 tsp kosher salt — plus more to taste
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 unit yellow onion — diced
- 4 unit garlic cloves — minced
- 1.5 cup long-grain white rice — rinsed
- 2.5 cup chicken broth — low-sodium
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 0.5 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley — chopped, for serving — optional
Method
- 1 Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season all over with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.
- 2 Heat olive oil in a large, oven-safe skillet or braiser over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- 3 Add chicken thighs skin-side down. Sear without moving for 5–6 minutes until the skin is deep golden brown. Flip and cook 2 more minutes. Transfer to a plate — they won't be cooked through yet.
- 4 Reduce heat to medium. Add diced onion to the same pan and cook in the rendered fat for 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- 5 Add garlic and tomato paste. Stir and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
- 6 Add rinsed rice, oregano, and thyme. Stir to coat the rice in the fat and toast for 1 minute.
- 7 Pour in chicken broth. Stir once to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Taste the broth and add more salt if needed.
- 8 Nestle the chicken thighs skin-side up on top of the rice, pressing them in slightly. Bring to a simmer.
- 9 Cover the pan tightly with a lid or foil and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes.
- 10 Uncover and check that the rice has absorbed the liquid and the chicken is cooked through (internal temp 165°F). If rice is still wet, cook uncovered 3–5 more minutes.
- 11 Let rest 5 minutes, then scatter parsley over the top and serve straight from the pan.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Skip the chicken and use 1 can of drained chickpeas instead. Add them with the rice, use vegetable broth, and reduce cook time to 18 minutes covered. Top with a fried egg if you want extra protein.
- Faster swap — Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs to cut cook time by about 5 minutes — they'll be done at 165°F faster. You'll lose the crispy skin, but it's still a solid weeknight meal.
- Broth substitution — No chicken broth? Dissolve 1 bouillon cube in 2.5 cups of hot water and use that. It works perfectly fine and most pantries have one hiding somewhere.
Notes
Rinsing the rice removes surface starch and helps it cook up fluffy rather than gummy — don't skip it. If your pan doesn't have a lid, foil pulled tight over the top works just as well. Leftovers reheat well with a splash of broth or water to loosen the rice.
Equipment that helps
- Large oven-safe skillet or braiser (12-inch) — A wide, heavy-bottomed pan gives the chicken room to sear without steaming and distributes heat evenly so the rice cooks uniformly.
- Tight-fitting lid or foil — Trapping steam is what cooks the rice through — without it, the liquid evaporates before the grains are done.
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