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The easiest One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice. Trust me, this is going to become your new go-to chicken and rice dinner. Chicken breasts or thighs marinated with olive oil, garlic, yogurt, lemon, pepper, oregano, thyme, and paprika. All tossed together with dry basmati rice and broccoli. This juicy marinated chicken and rice is all made in one pan without even having to cook the rice separately. Simply mix, bake, eat, and enjoy! You’re going to LOVE this.
I couldn’t think of a better Monday night dinner. I can’t even begin to express to you how simple this is, but even more importantly, how delicious!
We all know the story. When I grew up our dinners consisted of beef tacos, pasta with red sauce, maybe a takeout pizza here and there, or on very special nights, BW3s. And then, of course, there was chicken and rice. So much chicken and rice. Aside from tacos, chicken and rice was the staple meal. And it was on rotation once, twice, sometimes even three nights a week.
We ate a lot of chicken and rice growing up. It was either mom’s Sunday roasted chicken with boxed rice pilaf, dad’s grilled chicken (and rice), or my brother’s favorite, potato chip chicken (and rice). Again, so much chicken and rice.
You’d think it would be a dinner that I would not want to repeat as an adult. Shockingly, I’ll revert back to our staple family meal once or twice a month. I guess it’s just my comfort food.
For the longest time, I tried to recreate the Monday night dinner my mom would often make. Roasted chicken (whole chicken or just tenders) with a boxed rice or roni-style mix. I’ve never come close, but then I made this – and this is it.
You need just one baking dish with the most minimal ingredients and almost zero prep time.
The secret to this recipe, and all the flavor, is actually the reason the recipe is so SIMPLE – cooking the rice and chicken slowly together. This creates the most flavorful, juicy, pull-apart, tender chicken, and the tastiest rice.
Sounds too good to be true, but this is one of those recipes that just works so wonderfully well.
Ingredients
- chicken thighs or breasts
- extra virgin olive oil
- plain Greek yogurt
- lemon zest
- garlic, chopped
- black pepper, using more to your taste
- dried oregano
- dried thyme
- paprika
- onion powder
- kosher salt and chili flakes
- dry basmati rice
- salted butter
- roughly chopped broccoli
Details
Start with the chicken. The greek yogurt marinade makes all the difference. Marinate it in olive oil and yogurt with lemon zest, pepper, and garlic. Then add dried oregano, thyme, paprika, and a nice helping of salt and chili flakes (if desired).
If time allows, you can marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or overnight. If you’re in a time crunch, just start cooking. I’ve now made this both ways and there’s not a huge difference.
Start off by grabbing a baking dish. Use something around the size of a 9×13-inch pan. Add the dry rice, I love to use basmati, and then add broccoli. Pour water overtop and then add a couple of salted pats of butter.
Place the chicken directly over the rice, then bake. I don’t even cover the pan or anything. This cooks up beautifully in just about 30 minutes. But the timing will depend on the size of your chicken and the size of your baking dish.
Top with any fresh herbs you enjoy most, then serve and enjoy.
As the chicken roasts, the juices drip down into the rice creating a REAL chicken-flavored rice situation. It’s so delicious!
And the chicken doesn’t dry out since it’s roasted over a bit of water. As the water cooks into the rice, the chicken slowly and beautifully roasts and gets perfectly crisp.
It’s honestly just the best. I might not go back to cooking chicken and rice any other way! Just add some 5 ingredient beer bread to really complete the Gerard family staple. A comfort meal at its best!
Looking for other easy chicken and rice dinners? Here are my favorites:
One Skillet Louisiana Style Chicken and Rice
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice Casserole
Cheesy Zucchini Chicken and Rice Bake
Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf
Spicy Sesame Chicken and Ginger Rice
Lastly, if you make this One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Why do you soak chicken in yogurt and how long can I marinate chicken in yogurt?
Yogurt tenderizes chicken and gives it that juicy taste and tender texture. You can marinade chicken in yogurt for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.
One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 593 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs or breasts (skin on or off)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2-4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1- teaspoons black pepper, using more to your taste
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- kosher salt and chili flakes
- 1 3/4 cups dry basmati rice
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cups roughly chopped broccoli
Instructions
- 1. In a bowl, toss together the chicken, olive oil, yogurt, lemon zest, garlic, pepper, oregano, thyme, paprika, onion powder, and a good pinch of salt and chili flakes (if desired). If time allows, marinate for 30 minutes or overnight.2. Preheat the oven to 400°. 3. Pour the rice and broccoli into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Pour over 2 cups of water. Add the butter. Arrange the chicken over the rice and broccoli. Add lemon wedges, if desired. Bake 30-40 minutes, until the rice is fluffy and the chicken is cooked through. If the rice is hard, add 1/3 cup water and cook for an additional 10 minutes. 4. Severe the chicken, rice, and broccoli topped with fresh basil and or thyme. And enjoy!
I reviewed lots of comments, most helpful was Tamara. For the rice I sautéed 1/2 onion in 2T. butter, added 2c. stock and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a pinch of red pepper flakes. I poured this over the rice added broccoli and pats of butter. Added chicken and covered with foil. When temp reached 160*, I removed from oven, increased oven temp to 425* and added a bit more stock. I cooked uncovered for 15 or so minutes until thigh temp reach 175*. I removed from oven and covered to rest for 5 min. It was really delicious.
Hi Margaret,
Happy Monday!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and your comment, love to hear that it turned out well for you! Xx
This was good and easy. But I’d probably swap chicken broth for the water to add a little more flavor to rice
I’d make this again!
Hey Jill,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this dish was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it and your comment! xT
I’m a sucker for an easy one-pan recipe; especially when it involves protein, carbs, and veggies! I followed the directions exactly and the marinade delivered on it’s promise to keep the chicken moist, but this is where this particular recipe ceased to excite me. It was just flavorless. Every layer of this dish needs seasoning, not just the chicken, and salted butter can’t be it. I normally LOVE all of the HBH recipes I try, however, this one unfortunately won’t be in the rotation. I have several other one-pan dishes bookmarked, and can’t wait to try those.
A hard no. I should have listened to the many, many bad reviews….the rice was undercooked, chicken very bland, overall just a bad recipe; & I even used chicken broth & added shallots & mushrooms….this one is a tosser.
Hey there,
I’m so sorry to hear that this recipe was not enjoyed, thank you for trying it and sharing your feedback! xx
Is the recipe for boneless chicken or bone-in?
Hey Angela,
I used boneless chicken in this dish. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
We enjoyed this dish and will make it again. The rice was bland so next time I will use chicken broth instead of water. I had to add more water and cook for 15 or 20 minutes longer.
Hey Mary,
Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback! I definitely think the chicken broth will help next time:) Let me know how it turns out! xT
Easy and flavorful! The marinade and the light lemon flavor are onpoint!
Hey Melissa,
Thanks so much! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! xx
Took twice as long as described to cook through and was definitely pretty bland. Some extra salt and lemon juice after baking helped but probably wouldn’t make again.
Hi Allison,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx
I made this tonight and it was amazing! We both loved it. My only modification was to the baking dish. I used my dutch oven and the rice turned out fantastic. It’s going on the rotation!
Hey Krista,
Happy Sunday! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing what worked well for you, I love to hear that it was tasty! xT
All the ads on this site make it impossible to read the recipe. The screen jumps all over constantly.
Made with ingredients as written. I boiled the water for the rice and added some better than bouillon chicken flavor before pouring it over the rice. I covered the pan with foil and baked for 30 min, removed foil and turned the heat up to 425 and baked an additional 15 min. A few minutes under the broiler will help crisp up the skin if using skin on chicken.
The rice and chicken were perfectly cooked with some bits of crispy rice around the edges.
Squeezed the lemon over before serving.
The marinade flavor was good on the chicken – especially with lots of garlic and crushed red pepper. But even with the bouillon addition, the rice could use a little something to up the flavor. I think I would roast and onion or some leeks with lemon peel strips for 15 min or so before adding the rest of the ingredients next time, and maybe add some chopped fresh dill at the end.
Hey Tamara,
Fantastic! Love to hear that this dish turned out nicely for you, thanks so much for making it! Thanks for sharing your notes! Have a great weekend:)
The recipe was fast to put together but took much longer than expected to cook and the flavor was pretty meh. One of the few HBH recipes I wouldn’t make again.
Hey Amber,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx
Unfortunately, not a recipe I would make again. It took a lot longer to bake and not much flavor.
Hi Celeste,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xT
I tried this recipe — I loved the flavour of the chicken – however it took pretty much one hour to fully cook and I had to keep adding liquid to the rice at several intervals. Probably used double the amount of liquid over what was in the recipe.
Hi Lynne,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback! Glad to hear you enjoyed the flavors, next time I would try covering the pan to see if that helps with the cook time! xT
So easy and delicious! I used jasmine rice and chicken broth in place of the basmati and water respectively. Turned out perfectly.
Thanks so much, Laurel! Love to hear that this dish turned out nicely for you! I appreciate you making it! xT