I want to say the star of this dish is the chicken. But that would be lying. Because this, my friends, is all about the RICE! People have said this One Pot Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice is the best chicken and rice recipe they’ve ever had (their words not mine!). I hope you feel the same when you try it!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Chicken and rice – elevated!
What makes this lemon rice so special, you might ask? Well, it’s like cooking the rice in triple strength chicken stock because the chicken is cooked ON TOP of the rice. So it gets the full benefit of all the juices from the chicken seeping into it while it cooks. Add the fresh flavours of lemon and boom! You will knock the socks off anyone you serve this too!
Big promises I know….but I have third party validation of this. Someone who always tells me the truth about my dishes. Especially “inventions” which I often pass on because I know I’ll get truthful feedback. I do love my friends dearly, but honestly, not everything I make them can be “OMG, this is so delicious!!” (Seriously, I love my friends, love them to bits!)
So in this particular case, her family raved about the rice so I’m just passing on that message. 🙂 (PS She was quick to point out that the chicken was lovely too, she just said that the STAR of the dish was the rice! I’m totally cool with that! 🙂 )
This is not an authentic Greek Chicken recipe (as far as I know!) but it is made using classic Greek ingredients. It uses the same technique I use for my One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice. There’s nothing tricky or ground breaking, it’s just about getting the liquid to rice ratio right. Rice baked in the oven requires a lot more water than when it’s cooked on the stove. And when you plop chicken on top of the rice, it drops liquid so you need to take that into account.
To make this Greek Chicken recipe in one pot (well, pan – why do I keep writing “pot”??!), the chicken is seared in the pan first, then the rice is added, the chicken placed back on top then it’s popped in the oven. The magic happens while it’s baking. As the chicken cooks, all the juices seep into the rice which are soaked up by the rice and add incredible flavour. INCREDIBLE flavour. It honestly is like triple strength chicken stock.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I can’t hold back any longer. I need some lunch! – Nagi
More dinner in one pot!
Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper)
Asian Beef and Ramen Noodles – made in one skillet in 15 minutes!
Browse all One Pot recipes
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
One Pot Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 5 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in (about 1 kg / 2 lb) (Note 1)
- 1 – 2 lemons, use the zest + 4 tbsp lemon juice (Note 7)
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
Rice
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, separated
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 cup (180g) long grain rice , uncooked (Note 6)
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) chicken broth / stock
- 3/4 cup (185 ml) water
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Garnish
- Finely chopped parsley or oregano (optional)
- Fresh lemon zest (highly recommended)
Instructions
- Combine the Chicken and Marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag and set aside for at least 20 minutes but preferably overnight.
To Cook
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Remove chicken from marinade, but reserve the Marinade.
- Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a deep, heavy based skillet (Note 2) over medium high heat.
- Place the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, and cook until golden brown, then turn and cook the other side until golden brown. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Pour off fat and wipe the pan with a scrunched up ball of paper towel (to remove black bits), then return to the stove.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté for a few minutes until translucent. Then add the remaining Rice ingredients and reserved Marinade.
- Let the liquid come to a simmer and let it simmer for 30 seconds. Place the chicken on top then place a lid on the skillet (Note 3). Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender (so 45 minutes in total).
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving, garnished with parsley or oregano and fresh lemon zest, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
If you like this one pot Greek Chicken recipe, you may also enjoy my ONE POT BAKED GREEK CHICKEN ORZO (RISONI)!
And if you’re after another Greek Chicken recipe (because let’s face it, the Greeks know how to make GOOD CHICKEN!), I think you’ll enjoy my GREEK CHICKEN GYROS.
The yoghurt lemon marinade for this chicken is incredible!
LIFE OF DOZER
His chest hair bursting out of his sweater…. SO CUTE!!!
Is the only liquid in the chicken marinade the lemon juice? I had a hard time (using all the juice from two lemons, more than 4 Tbsp) mixing the marinade together so added a tablespoon of olive oil. Is there supposed to be any oil in the marinade?
Either way, it was super delicious!
Hi Jenn! I find that the minced garlic is juicy and that’s what adds extra moisture. No oil needed. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it though!!
I was really excited to try this recipe because of all the great reviews, but I was disappointed. I am sure this is partly because I have a tendency to do something wrong in the simplest recipes. My rice was way too soggy and I couldn’t get the chicken to crisp up. I probably should have browned the thighs on a higher heat, but what can I do to next time to keep the rice from being so soggy? I use stainless steel pans… could this effect it?
Hi Megalena! I hope you aren’t disheartened, everyone has bad days in the kitchen, me included! If your rice was soggy, it sounds like you measured the liquid wrong 🙁 The rice should definitely not be soggy – I’m Japanese by background and am very particular about ensuring rice is not soggy! Stainless steel pans should be ok, it will probably take a wee bit longer in the oven because it doesn’t retain heat quite as well. Certainly not the reason behind soggy rice. Hope you try it again!
I love this site!! Always mouthwatering recipes. ?
Thanks so much Cindi! 🙂 N x
This recipe was a big hit, but everyone clamorred for more rice. Can the rice measurements be doubled? What else would have to change?
Hi Chuck! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed the rice so much!! Yes you can double the rice if you use an extra large skillet. 🙂 Or make it in a dutch oven – that will retain plenty of heat so it will work with just perhaps an extra 10 minutes of cooking time!
Dutch oven it is! Will all ingredients need to be doubled?
Hi Chuck – yes, all the rice ingredients. 🙂
This looks delicious! I will have to try this soon.
Hope you do Shae, this really is so delicious!
Hi Nagi! My mom and I made this dish today. Everyone loved it! My family ate every last grain of rice; it’s all gone!
Thank you so much for such an amazing recipe!?
Hi Zainab! I’m so glad you and your mom enjoyed this, thank you for letting me know! N x
I’ve made this recipe twice now and I love it. First time with boneless skinless chicken breast and second time with drumsticks (bone in, skin on). It was good both ways. I took the advise of some others who had made it before me and I also added capers and olives. In addition, both times I made it I happened to have a jar of artichoke hearts in oil in the fridge and added some of them too. I also used 1/4 c. of key lime juice instead of the lemon since since my tree in the back is dripping with them right now. First time I made it I used brown rice, and second time I used a mixture of white rice and thai red rice. It was excellent both ways. I also increased the amount of rice; first time I used 1-1/2 cups of rice and second time 2 cups rice total, with liquids increased proportionally. I would have never thought to use lemon and so much oregano in a chicken and rice recipe, but this is the best chicken and rice I have ever made and I make it a lot. It was delicious.
Thanks for trying my recipe Marianne, and I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Love your variations too 🙂 N x
So I just made this tonight for dinner and it was awesome! Super pleased and my boyfriend swore it was my best dish yet, hmm not sure about that (my dry rub Cajun fish is to die for) but I did love all the compliments. I did the stove top option and it came out great, chicken thighs are super flavorful I recommend them since I also used skinless chicken tenders and they weren’t as good flavor-wise. I recommend adding red chili powder to the tops of the chicken skins the last minute or two on the stove, I thought it was a fabulous kick of spice. My rice seemed to be lacking salt although I salted it like I always do, no clue what happened but next time I will do one thing different: I will add some bouillon cube to the rice when it cooks. I guess my chicken stock wasn’t as salty as I thought it would be! Thank you for this recipe I’m going to dig through the rest of your posts for more gold haha <3
Woo hoo! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this Levi, thank you so much for letting me know! N x PS I bet your Cajun rub is a killer, your BF needs to be careful when he is complimenting! BA HA HA!!
Hi, is there any possibility of making this dish into a vegetarian dish? I just love the thought of lemon & rice!
Hi Jo! How about some big chunks of cauliflower? 🙂 They would roast up beautifully!
Hi Nagi,
How DO you do it??? This was SO good. Kids ate it up pronto ? I didn’t get time to marinade and chicken was semi defrosted – it’s been cold here in Perth! But browned 4 chicken pieces in my big pan and used other half pan to fry up onion/garlic then added in the rice ?. squeezed half a lemon and put in home made stock (didn’t measure, I’ve gotten away with it so far!) threw it all in oven and it was soooo delicious. Everything over in just 1 hour and I threw in broccolini on top last 10 mins. Fantastic!! Have memorised it now for future quick, yummy dinners! ??????
YES YES YES! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Evangeline!!!!
Evangeline,
Did you cover the pan when you put the broccolini on top?
I made this tonight and loved it. I didn’t wipe out the skillet after browning the chicken. Instead I sautéed the onions, then added a splash of white wine and scraped up the browned bits for more flavor. Then I added small diced zucchini, sliced olives and capers before adding the chicken back in and adding it to the oven
I’m so glad you love this too Bev! Thank you so much for letting me know! N x
This was really yummy! I tried it with chicken breasts (since it was what I had on hand), but your pictures look so tasty, I can’t wait to try it with the thighs.
WOO HOO! So glad you enjoyed this, thanks so much for trying my recipe! N x
Made this tonight with breasts as its what I had on hand. Tossed the breasts on the grill for some browning per side & additional flavor. My wife said it was delicious, restaurant quality taste. Outstanding recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for trying my recipe, and I’m SO GLAD you enjoyed it!! N x
I made this last night. I loved it. I didn’t wipe out the skillet. Instead I scraped up the bits on the bottom after I added the liquid to help flavor the rice. I also stirred in some capers. chopped olives, and diced zucchini before I added the chicken back in and transferring it to the oven. I will definitely make this again.
This recipe is delicious! As I didn’t have the right pot I made it in an electric frying pan with a lid. It worked perfectly and the rice at the bottom of the pan went a little bit crisp and had a real lemony flavour. Thank you for sharing, I have made it twice now and it will become a regular in our family!
Thanks for trying this recipe Kathryn! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!! N x
Really good recipe!
Thank you!
That’s so wonderful that you enjoyed this Bla bla! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know! N x
Made this for the second time tonight, so easy and delicious! I used medium grain rice this time and basmati the first time. Both were perfect. Ran out of oregano this time so used fresh thyme instead and it was fine. Also used a mix of thighs and drumsticks. Kids loved it too = winner all round. Thanks Nagi your website is the best ?
WOO HOO! So glad you enjoyed this – AGAIN! And thank you for your lovely message about my site – I’m so glad you enjoy my recipes!
This recipe is great! I actually did use brown basmati rice, but I learned quite a while ago to soak the rice in water for about an hour before using. It turns out perfect in this recipe or if you make rice in a rice cooker.
Thank you so much Elizabeth! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve been wanting to try your recipe as this looks amazing but I don’t have a cast-iron skillet. I saw the stove top directions but I was wondering if this could be done with a glass baking dish? Taking it through step 7 but then transferring to the baking dish in the oven? I’d love to get it as close to your original. Do you think this might work and would the baking time/temp change at all with glass bakeware?
Hi Jackie! I think it will work just fine if you pop the baking dish in the oven so when you transfer it from the stove top into the baking dish, the temperature doesn’t drop. 🙂 Does that make sense? Because the cook time in the recipe – as well as the rice/water ratio – assumes it goes from the stove to oven without transferring into a cold baking dish. I am confident it will work if you preheat the dish though!
That makes sense. I tried it in a glass baking dish, but didn’t think about it not being hot. I did have to add an additional 10 mins to get the rice fully cooked. Still turned out amazingly!
🙂 N x
I love this recipe. It has amazing flavour. I double all ingredients (except for the chicken thighs) because we love the rice and found there wasn’t enough with only 1 cup of rice.
Glad you loved it as much as I do Maria!!! Thank you very much for coming back to let me know! N x
I made this dish for my family and it was delicious and my family wanted more, so for the four of us we gobbled it down and would have to dble the recipe next time.. I used chicken broth for the xtra water and added 2 tsp of bouillon for xtra flavour. I was very surprised that the rice was very lemony and flavourful.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Amy, thank you for letting me know! N x
Has anyone tried this with breasts instead of thighs? Thought that might cut the calories down a bit…
Hi Deb! Yes, plenty of readers have tried this with breast 🙂 This works just fine with breast, it just isn’t the best cut for this type of dish because baked breast is not as juicy as baked chicken thighs. 🙂