Quick and Easy Greek Lemony Chicken and Rice Skillet
Hi, everyone. Yes, that’s Kekella. Today, I’m going to teach you how to make a quick and easy Greek lemony chicken and rice skillet. Everything comes together in one pan, much like our easy one-pan ground beef and rice.
Why You’ll Love This
It’s a delicious crowd pleaser that the whole family will love, making it a perfect quick weeknight dinner, just like our easy garlic butter steak bites recipe. And as always, very simple to make with just basic ingredients and tons of flavor.
It keeps them nice and juicy.
It gets more flavor. All of the edges get a little bit crispy. The lemon slices are going to get roasted. It’s just going to be so good.
This meal is so delicious. It’s going to be lemony. You’re going to have all the flavors of the herbs that are in there. That garlic is so good together. I think everyone is going to love this.
I love cooking which it can thymate because it stays really moist and juicy. You really can’t overcook it and that’s why I love it.
So much flavor that lemon is really shining through and just freshening up the rice. It’s so good.
Ingredients
- about two and a half pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs
- salt and pepper
- two cups of basmati rice or your favorite long-grain rice
- an onion, a large onion
- five garlic cloves that I’ve grated
- two cups of broth. This is chicken broth
- two teaspoons of salt
- a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes
- a teaspoon of dried oregano
- a teaspoon of ground coriander seeds
- a quarter of a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- some lemon slices
- some finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- trim off as much of the fat as I could the excess fat
- season them with salt and pepper on both sides and just toss everything all together.
- rinse and soak the rice before you begin.
- Put it in the bowl and rinse it a few times under cold-running water. Four or five times is what I do.
- let it soak in cold water
- finely chop an onion, a large onion.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat
- add the chicken
- cook it in a few batches. About two minutes on each side, two to three minutes until it’s nice and golden.
- transfer it onto a plate
- add it to the skillet right now
- turn the heat off
- turn the heat back on about medium
- let the onions cook for about eight minutes or so until they’re nice and soft and golden.
- add five garlic cloves that I’ve grated.
- warm them through until they’re fragrant.
- drained all of the water from the rice
- add the rice to the pan along with two cups of broth. This is chicken broth, two teaspoons of salt, a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes, a teaspoon of dried oregano, a teaspoon of ground coriander seeds.
- add all of the chicken back right over the rice and all of the juices
- add a quarter of a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice. For another flavorful meal, consider our easy baked salmon with garlic lemon parsley glaze.
- top the chicken with some lemon slices.
- once the rice and the liquid all comes to a boil it’s going to go in the oven.
- preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
- put the pan on the center rack uncovered.
- let it bake in there for 30 minutes.
- sprinkle it with some finely chopped fresh parsley
If you prefer to cook this on the stovetop:
- bring it to a boil then reduce the heat to a very low or a simmer.
- Cover the pot with a lid and let it cook for about 15 to 18 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked
- then you would go in and gently fluff everything up all together.
- You can take the chicken out and then fluff everything all together and it’s ready.
- You would just garnish it with parsley and it’s ready to be served.
Cooking Tips
I trimmed off as much of the fat as I could the excess fat because there’s lots of fat on the chicken thighs and fat is flavor. So I did not take all of it off. It keeps them nice and juicy.
If you’re using chicken breasts, it’s going to come out a little dry. So I do recommend the boneless skinless chicken thighs or you can use the bone-in chicken thighs or even drumsticks will work for this. For another delicious poultry option, check out our easy crispy air fryer fried chicken.
This recipe moves really quickly. So you want to have all of the ingredients ready.
you’re going to need to rinse and soak the rice before you begin. So you can salt and pepper the chicken and then take two cups of basmati rice or your favorite long-grain rice. Put it in the bowl and rinse it a few times under cold-running water. Four or five times is what I do. And then I let it soak in cold water so that way that excess starch will be released and the rice will be nice and light once you cook it.
I didn’t finely chop it. I just roughly chopped it but it’s going to work for this recipe so don’t worry about it.
I like to line at least part of my stove top with aluminum foil. The part where the oil is going to splatter all over because it just I just hate cleaning the stove top up. So aluminum foil is the way to go. I reuse it until it’s dirty enough to not reuse again. I just fold it up and keep it in a cabinet or in a drawer and it just it’s just a lifesaver.
I also like to use this green guard thingy. It really helps with preventing a lot of mess.
I did turn the heat off. I’m going to keep the heat off for a few seconds just because the pan has gotten so hot and I don’t want the onions to brown too quickly. I want them to cook and get nice and soft.
You don’t have to add too many.
You can definitely finish this off on the stove top. If say your oven doesn’t work or you don’t want to heat up your house.
I’m going to do this in the oven because it gets more flavor. All of the edges get a little bit crispy. The lemon slices are going to get roasted. It’s just going to be so good.
You don’t cover it.
Definitely wrap if you put it in the oven. You want to wrap the handle up with a towel because it has happened to me so many times where I’ve been busy doing things and I forgot that it came out of the oven and I went and I touched, grab the the handle and you just get really nasty burns. You want to prevent all of that.
I love cooking which it can thymate because it stays really moist and juicy. You really can’t overcook it and that’s why I love it.
If you’re going to use breasts, you’re going to have trouble. It’s going to get really not really dry. So don’t use breasts for this recipe. Use either like I said quarters or drumsticks or the chicken thighs with the bone in. All of them will work.
I would even add a little more lemon juice.
Serving Suggestions
Definitely serve this with some zatziki, some feta cheese and olives. A perfect accompaniment would be our easy homemade garlic bread recipe, and you’re going to have a meal that everyone is going to love.
You can go on over to the website to print this recipe out. Thank you so much for spending time with me today. I’ll see you all next time. Yes, sis.
Quick and Easy Greek Lemony Chicken and Rice Skillet
A delicious, crowd-pleasing Greek lemony chicken and rice skillet that comes together in one pan. Made with simple ingredients, this dish is packed with flavor from fresh lemon, garlic, and herbs, keeping the chicken thighs wonderfully moist and the rice light and fluffy with crispy edges.
- 2.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups basmati rice or your favorite long-grain rice
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons salt (for rice/broth)
- A little bit of crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Lemon slices, for topping
- Finely chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- Trim off any excess fat from the chicken thighs. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper, then toss to ensure even coating.
- Rinse the basmati or long-grain rice thoroughly under cold running water, about 4-5 times, until the water runs clear. Let the rice soak in cold water while you prepare other ingredients.
- Finely chop the large onion and grate the five garlic cloves.
- Heat a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned chicken thighs (you may need to cook in batches to avoid overcrowding). Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until nice and golden brown. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate.
- Turn off the heat for a few seconds to allow the pan to cool slightly, then turn the heat back on to medium. Add the chopped onions to the skillet.
- Cook the onions for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are nice and soft and golden.
- Add the grated garlic to the skillet and warm through until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Drain all the water from the soaked rice. Add the drained rice to the pan along with the chicken broth, 2 teaspoons of salt, crushed red pepper flakes (to your preference), dried oregano, and ground coriander seeds. Stir to combine.
- Return all the cooked chicken thighs, along with any accumulated juices from the plate, back into the skillet, arranging them over the rice.
- Pour the 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice over the chicken and rice. Top the chicken with fresh lemon slices.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Bring the liquid in the skillet to a boil on the stovetop. Once boiling, carefully transfer the uncovered pan to the center rack of the preheated oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked and the chicken is tender and cooked through.
- Carefully remove the skillet from the oven (remember to use a towel or oven mitt to protect your hand from the hot handle).
- Garnish generously with finely chopped fresh parsley before serving.
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