I can not even describe in proper words how much we LOVE this meal!
One thing the quarantine has made me do is try to make new dishes. This Mediterranean style chicken and rice dish was a new recipe that became a family favorite!
What I love about this dish is that you only use one pan to cook the entire meal. Less dishes the better in my book!
A cast iron pan would work best. But since I do not own a cast iron pan (I know, what’s wrong with me right?!?) I used a skillet pan that could be put in the oven, and it worked just fine.
How to make a one pan chicken and rice dish…
It’s actually quite simple. You preheat the oven while you do the hard work (which really isn’t hard at all).
You first will toss your chicken breast or thighs with the oregano, parsley, paprika, lemon juice, salt and pepper to season it.
In your cast iron pan or skillet, you will add olive oil and then place your check onto the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. The chicken will not be cooked through completely, but that’s ok since it will finish cooking in the oven a little later.
You will remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a plate.
Next, melt the butter in the pan and add diced onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the garlic.
Once these are all together, add the uncooked Jasmine rice. Stir the rice for about 30 seconds.
(NOTE: It is SO important that you use jasmine rice and not brown rice. I made this mistake the second time I made this recipe because we didn’t have Jasmine Rice. It took FOREVER for the brown rice to cook and then the chicken was WAY over-cooked. Don’t make the same mistake I made!)
Then add the chicken broth, turmeric, cumin and cinnamon (yes cinnamon! It’s the perfect touch to the flavor of this dish), stir well. Place the chicken back into the pan on top of the uncooked rice mixture.
Cover the pan with foil and bake in your preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
This dish only takes approximately 20-25 minutes to prep. The longest wait time is the time that it is in the oven. I love this about the dish because it allows me to clean the kitchen before the meal is ready to eat.
By the time you pop it out of the oven, the hard work is done and you can sit-down and enjoy this tasty meal!
Mediterranean Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 2-3 chicken breast (pounded out and cut in half)
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the rice:
- 1 cup Jasmine rice (you cannot substitute brown rice for this)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tbsp butter, unsalted
- 1/2 cup onion (white or yellow) diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
Garnish Toppings
- kalamata olives
- feta cheese (optional)
- fresh parsley (optional)
- diced tomatoes (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
For the Chicken:
- In a medium bowl, mix chicken with dried oregano, dried parsley, paprika, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Heat pan over medium heat. Add olive oil. Place the seasoned chicken into the pan.
- Cook chicken for about 3-4 minutes on each side (chicken will not be completely cooked which is ok. It will finish cooking completely through when it is in the oven).
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a plate.
For the Rice:
- After removing the chicken, using the same pan, on medium heat melt the butter and add the diced onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic. Cooke for a 1 minute.
- Add in the uncooked Jasmine rice, stir for 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken broth, turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon. Stir well.
- Place chicken back in pan on top of uncooked rice mixture.
- Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees and rice is soft.
- Garnish with olives and any additional garnish topping of your choice.
- Plate it and enjoy the flavors!