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!!!
Hi- made this recipe and LOVED the flavors! However, I substituted long grain brown rice and couldn’t get the rice to soften up. Think I need to put the rice in for like an hour before adding the chicken. Any advice on using brown rice specifically?
Hi Lori! Brown rice takes longer than white rice to bake in the oven. So you’ll need to make a few adjustments! So bring the rice and liquid to a simmer on the stove, per the recipe. DO NOT put the chicken in, just cover the rice and bake for 20 minutes. THEN put the chicken in, cover again and bake for 40 minutes. Then remove the cover and bake for 10 minutes to make the chicken nice and crisp. Total bake time for the chicken is 50 minutes which is longer than using white rice because the chicken will cool down more while the rice bakes for the first 20 minutes.
Hope that helps! N x
This is a recipe after my own heart, Nagi 😉
Aw, thanks Suzy!! Glad to hear YOU approve! 😉
This is amazing! My family of fussy eaters loved it, wanted seconds and they never want to try anything new! Will be a regular on our menu now
I’m SO HAPPY you loved it as much as I do!!! Thank you so much for coming back to share your thoughts!! N x
Gosh Nagi! This one pot dish looks amazing and I have to try this asap. Pinning it right away
Aww, thank you so much for your kind words! 🙂
Can’t wait to make this next week. I’ve already done my menu planning for this week and will be cooking 3 of your recipes. This one is being added to next week, especially after hearing from a good friend of mine who made this dish tonight: “There is one word to describe this dish… orgasmic.” 🙂
3?? Eeek!! I’m so honoured!!! I hope you love this as much as I do. Seriously, the rice…..it’s ALL about the rice!!! 🙂 Please pass on my thanks to your friend for trying this!! 🙂
I just made this dish and it was PHENOMENAL! It was SO quick and easy to make – this is my new favorite weeknight meal! I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs so I didn’t quite get that gorgeous browning on the outside, but the meat was so incredibly tender it practically FELL apart! And as good as the chicken was, the rice was where it was at! I literally stood over the stove just spooning mouthfuls of rice into my mouth! Oh, and did I mention it made my entire house smell of lemon and garlic!? I wish I could bottle that smell!
I’d give this recipe 6 stars, if I could!
Eeek! I am SO GLAD you enjoyed this!! It is quite a co incidence (again!), I made your Thai soup yet again on Thursday night (seriously, it is becoming my “show off” dish – “look how easily I can make a Thai curry”!!):)
I have a go-to chicken recipe that has the same flavor profile. The lemon, garlic and oregano are really nice together. I usually cook the white rice on the side. Then, scoop the sauce over. I love your one pot meal verson! The rice can absorb all the wonderful flavors. Sounds soooo good! Just to think about it makes me hungry!
I remember when I first tried this, I was skeptical about whether it would work. I was concerned the rice would get mushy, because I grew up in a household where rice is king and my mother was always very critical about rice that was not perfectly cooked! But this works really well! Even my mother approved!
I love one pot meals and this looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it.
Hi Amy! So glad you like the look of this 🙂 Be sure to shout out if you have any questions!
Rice is my weakness. I can literally eat it all day long. SO BAD. I can’t wait to try this. One pot meals are the best!
Rice, bread, pasta….any carb is my weakness!!
My goodness this looks fabulous! With how amazing that chicken looks, it’s hard for me to believe that rice could be the star. I guess I’ll have to do a first hand investigation. 😉
Thanks Marissa!! You know what, the chicken really is yum too but the RICE is just soooo crazy delish!
Beautiful! (making this tonight!)
Hope you do give it a go!! It really is super duper tasty 🙂
Is it ok to use bone in chicken breasts instead of thighs? Just not a big fan of dark meat. Looks yummy! Love the one pot meals!
Absolutely Lisa! Just cook them on the stove a wee bit longer – may an extra minute on each side. Because bone in breast is thicker than bone in thigh. I love one pot meals too!! Especially ones that are a bit different, like this one! 🙂
Do you think you can make this with orzo pasta instead of the rice?
Absolutely! A few adjustments need to be made though. Cook the chicken almost all the way through on the stove (i.e. for 3 minutes longer). Reduce the water to 1/4 cup (because orzo doesn’t absorb as much liquid), use all the chicken broth per the recipe + Marinade liquid. The liquid should just cover the orzo. Bring it to a simmer on the stove, plonk the chicken on top then bake for around 15 minutes. The pasta will be saucier than the rice you see in the photo because orzo absorbs less liquid than rice. It’s really yum saucy!! Hope that helps!
Thank you!! I made it with the rice tonight it was delicious. I also added some baby kale and spinach. Next time I’m going to make it with the orzo.
I’M SO GLAD you enjoyed it!! You’ve made me curious about orzo, I’m going to make a one pot meal with orzo soon, thanks for the idea!! And yes, kale + spinach are fabulous additions. More nutrition! Thanks for coming back to share your feedback Kelly!
This looks killer! Love the one pot (pan) dishes and I am a BIG rice fan. This double dipping of stock and the chicken baked on top definitely adds flavor big time.
Oh and I really love the rustic table top. The boards and nails… love it. I live with a General Contractor so nothing gets old around here, he just builds a new one. I have a few boards nailed together as a prop table base outside. I am giving it the full weathered/reclaimed look.
Thanks Kevin! Actually, it is an old wooden box I trend upside down. 🙂 Tell that Contractor of yours to pick up some old wood to make a “new one” for you!
Oh yes, long time ago, it is a simple one pot easy chicken rice pilaf, ( just search for chicken rice pilaf 🙂 It’s meant to be a weekday fast meal to feed an army. But the flavors, oh my !!
Gorgeous dish, Nagi! I’m just crazy about the flavors. So nice for spring. And one pot meals are totally my salvation these days!
Thanks Allie! Me too, for midweek, definitely!
First of all, this dish got me drooling all over my keyboard. Nasty I know LOL. It actually reminds me of the chicken pilaf my mom used to make, and your friend is right, it is about the rice. Those flavors are all in the little grains. P.S. Love the shooting surface wood/table/plank/whatever looks great!
Oooh, have you shared your mum’s pilaf on your blog?? Popping over to find out!
It’s in the oven now,and smells great. I’ve added chopped coarse spinach and olives, to up our veg intake a bit.
Oooh, you will have had dinner by now! What did you think?? I hope you liked it!! Love the addition of spinach. I really should share a version loaded with veg so it’s truly a one pot complete meal!
Oh, man. You are really speaking to me with this recipe! I do a lot of Greek cooking at home and have been playing around with different rice pilafs, but I’ve never made a one pot chicken and rice with these flavors combined. This looks amazing!
Same! i.e. playing around with Pilafs! I really want to start trying some Indian ones, they have the BEST flavours! I adore biryani! 🙂
Nagi, that rice, along with the chicken looks phenomenal!!! Dude, seriously, you have a way with recipes and capturing food. . looks so damn good!
No better than you Alice! You’re food is AMAZING! Your family is so lucky 🙂