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!
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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!!!
Wondering if you couldn’t just finish this off on the stovetop. Does it really need to go in the oven? I see that you would adjust the amount of water, but could you just cover and let simmer/cook on the stove?
Asking because I recently gave away my cast iron pans…..
Hi Deb! I’ve had other readers asking this exact question! So I added directions in Note 5. 🙂
would it be okay to use 4 bone in skin on chicken breasts instead?
Hi Hannah – absolutely! As long as they are around the same weight as the bone in thigh fillets I use, then the cooking time will be exactly the same. If they are bigger, just cook them on the stove for a minute or two longer so the baking time is the same. 🙂
Do you recommend a certain type of skillet? The picture looks like cast iron. What did you use? Non stick, stainless steel, cast iron… or does it not matter?
Hi there! Any skillet will work as long as it is oven proof. 🙂 I typically like to cook with cast iron because it retains the heat better but I often also use my non stick too!
Excited to make this for dinner! If I want to add another half cup of rice, can I just add an extra 1 cup and 2 tbsp of water?
Hi Jennifer! I’d add one extra tbsp of water i.e. 1 cup + 3 tbsp of water. Reason being that the 1 cup of rice I use is cooked with 2 1/4 cups of liquid PLUS the reserved marinade which works out to be able 3 tbsp that is poured into the rice + the chicken juices. Hope you love it! 🙂
Hi – I made this last night and it took forever for the rice to absorb the water and chicken stock. I didn’t think too much about it when I assembled it, but are 2 1/4 cups of liquid necessary? I feel like I missed a note or something in the recipe. My rice ended up being mushy instead of wonderful, but the chicken was fantastic.
Hi there Amy! I’m sorry you had trouble with the recipe, wish I could have been there to help troubleshoot. Yes you need 2 1/4 cups of liquid to 1 cup of rice. Your right in querying that because if you cook plain rice on the stove, you need 1 1/2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice (for most types of rice). But when you bake, you need more liquid. I’ve played around with baked rice dishes a lot and tested different liquid amounts to get it 100% right.
It sounds like either your oven was too weak or the other thing is – did you bring the rice + liquid to boil before popping it in the oven? That saves around 5 to 10 minutes of baking time. If the rice took a very long time to absorb the liquid, that’s the only thing I can think went wrong. Oh and did you use ordinary long grain rice? It sounds strange to me that 2 1/4 cups of liquid would turn the rice into complete mush, even with a longer baking time. I’ve baked a lot of rice in my time and the only time rice turned into mush was when I used too much liquid i.e. longer baking time didn’t affect it as much.
Hope that helps! – N x
Hi-
I tried this recipe out last night. It was so very yummy. I found the flavour to be enough without adding more lemon zest to the finished dish. My chicken didn’t brown up as nicely as in the picture, but hey, the taste more than made up for it. I also made a side salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, feta cheese, red onion, kalamata olives and an orange pepper. I mixed the veggies in Kraft Greek dressing and served it with the chicken/rice. The meal was a hit and I will certainly make it again!
Thanks!
Hi Lorraine! I’m SO GLAD you enjoyed it! Thank you very much for taking the time to come back and let me know! 🙂 N x
Is the nutritional information for the whole pan? I didn’t see how many servings this made.
Hi Sarah – this is the nutrition per serving assuming it serves 5 people. That’s 5 big servings though as this makes quite a bit of rice! 🙂
Great. Thanks!!
Any alterations for high altitude cooking?
Hi Amy! Nope, this is pretty stock standard 🙂 Where do you live that is so high you need to check? (I understand why. Some baking recipes are drastically affected!)
Hi 🙂 I used Brown Basmati rice and the water is not soaking by 45 mins. Should I have used less liquid? thanks!!
Hi Mimi – oh dear! Brown basmati rice is quite unusual in that it takes a LOT longer to cook than other types of rice. Also you do need a touch more liquid using brown basmati rice. I will update the recipe with these notes. 🙂
I’m a little confused on the marinade recipe. It says 1-2 lemons. Does that mean 1-2 sliced lemons, whole, the juice? Just needing a little clarification. Thank you!
Hi Anna! Sorry, I know it is a but confusing. You need enough lemons to get 4 tablespoons of juice. 1 small lemon isn’t enough which is why I say 1 to 2 lemons. Then however many you use, use all the zest 🙂 I hope that clears it up!
Got it. I just made this tonight and thankfully I used the lemons correctly:) It was absolutely fantastic! Thank you for sharing your fabulous recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it Anna! Thank you for coming back to let me know! 🙂
I’m confused, do I use lemon zest in marinade or lemon pieces?
Hi Olya! You put the zest and juice in the Marinade. 🙂
I cooked this yesterday for dinner, and it came out great, just needed extra favor.
Hi Anthony! I’m so glad it worked out! what part did you think needed more flavor? I ask because I have strong tastes so if anything, I find that some people who like simple light flavours find the flavour of my food too BIG!! 😉 N x
Hi Nagi
Next time I make it, I would try cutting a bell pepper up with the onions….
Oooh, that’s an idea! Bell peppers are classic mediterranean! 🙂
This looks wonderful. I don’t see how the skin can possibly be crisp after being baked with a lid on it…even with the last 10 minutes uncovered, but I’m going to take your word for it and give it a try! There is nothing more disappointing than slimy chicken skin!
Hi Elle! It is DEFINATELY not slimy, I can’t stand slimy skin! The trick is the crisping up in the pan before baking it with the lid on. A lot of the fat is rendered out (melted) before the skin goes crisp which makes it crisper than usual. You’re absolutely right, it gets wet during the baking period with the lid on but it dries out quickly for the 10 minutes when baked without the lid because it’s already browned. 🙂
Hope you love it as much as I do! 🙂
This looks delicious! Chicken thighs are my favorite. If you don’t have a skillet that’s deep enough, can you use a Dutch oven? Thanks!
Hi Katherine! You absolutely can. It will probably cook quicker because it will retain more heat so check the rice a little earlier than what the recipe says. 🙂 Hope you love it!
Well, I do really love this recipe and the concept of it, I’d really like to point out how dangerous it is to re-use marinade that has been in contact with raw chicken. It’s always advised that you discard the remainder of the marinade, and even if you do plan on cooking with it, you need to bring it to a full boil for at least 5 minutes to try and kill the bacteria. Where this recipe only calls for a simmer. I’d really recommend for you to re-do your recipe for this, whether you just create extra marinade for the rice, or you do a full boil. I’d just hate to hear someone getting sick.
Hi Kristen! You are absolutely right. But actually, the marinade is mixed in with the rice and baked 🙂 So any bacteria is well and truly killed! N x
I agree on the dangers of this recipe. It is recommended NOT to re-use maranade that has touched raw chicken even if it is boiled. I plan to make extra maranade for this recipe.
Hi Mary! I promise that if marinade is cooked past boiling point, as this is, then it is absolutely fine to eat. Marinade must never be reused or frozen, but it can be consumed as a sauce or part of a stock, as is this case, if it is boiled. The cooking time in the oven is far beyond what is required and in fact, the marinade benefits from extra flavour from the chicken juices extracted during the marinade time. 🙂 This is a method that is used in many restaurants and by top chefs around the world. 🙂 I hope that alleviates any concern you have!
OH and I added a good handful of green olives. Yum yum.
GAH! I should have done that!! 😉
lovely. But sacrilegious to wipe away all those lovely juices. Leave out the oil then cook onions in the juices. I also used brown rice worked a treat.
Hi Tracie – I agree it’s such a shame to throw away the flavour! The reason I do it for this particular dish is because there are so many black bits in it which cooked in the rice and those bits had a little burnt flavour 🙂 But I agree, it kills me to throw away the flavour! You didn’t find that to be a problem?
I can imagine how nice this is with brown rice. I love that slightly nutty flavour!! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it Tracie, and thank you for your tips! N x
Made this tonight and MAN was it good! Thank you for the recipe! We LOVE rice in our family and this reminded me of the best Rice-A-roni times 1000! And that was with chicken breasts; I can’t wait to try it with thighs! This will be a recurrent recipe for the archives. 🙂
I am SO GLAD you enjoyed this! I really love rice too – being of Japanese background, I grew up with it!! Thank you for coming back to share your thoughts! 🙂
Hi Nagi. I’m currently in between moving and I’m using just portable skillets. Is there any way I can just do this on the burner and not bake at all?. This really looks wonderful and I’m dying to have it, but I’m lost without an oven. Please reply!!
Hi Katie! Yes, it is possible! (PS I feel your pain, my oven was dead for a couple of weeks, it killed me!) There are two options: a) Cook the chicken completely on the stove, set aside and cook the rice on the stove (reduce the liquid by 1/2 cup). To cook the rice, just follow the recipe directions up to the point just before putting it in the oven. Instead of doing that, put the lid on and cook on medium low until the liquid is absorbed. When the rice is almost ready, pop the chicken back in on top of the rice to warm up. This will yield a chicken with crispier skin than the second method. b) The 2nd method is to sear the chicken but not cook it through, then pop it on to of the rice to finish cooking while the rice cooks. This method is easier and you will get the benefit of the chicken juices mixing in with the rice while it cooks but you will lose the crispiness of the skin.
What I would suggest is using skinless, boneless thigh fillets instead, that way you don’t have to worry about the skin crispiness but you get all the flavour!
Hope that helps!!
Can’t wait to try this! Thank you for leaving detailed notes for substitutions, pan size, etc – that really helps 🙂
No worries Billie! Happy to be of help 😉
Oh Nagi!! You did it again! This is just as good as your rotisserie chicken and potato gratin all in one pot meal. The flavor was amazing. I was afraid the lemon and oregano might be overpowering but it was perfect. And the rice heavenly. Thank you again!!
PS: I also wanted to tell you I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs and it was delish!
Oooh, so glad to hear that! I haven’t made it with breast (yet)… N x
Jan! I am so happy that you enjoyed it!! I know what you mean about the oregano – the first time I made it, I used half the amount but couldn’t taste it at all! So I cranked it up, 🙂 Thank you for coming back to share your thoughts on this! N x
I have never commented on a blog before but I had to with this… Wow! Threw it all together and I went to the kitchen for some more after. I Sprinkled some veg stock/seasoning over the top which browned the chicken some more and added salt while I was eating (clearly a problem for me!) but I am going to make this again and again!!!!!
Hi Amy! WOW I am so honoured that this is the first comment you’ve left on a blog! I’m so glad you enjoyed this. I really love this dish! I’ve made so many variations of it – really, you can go wild with the rice and chicken flavourings!! Veg stock / seasoning? You’ve totally taken this to a new level! Thank you again for coming back to share your thoughts on this dish!! N x