Savory baked chicken and rice is a casserole dish baked with rice pilaf and seasoned chicken thighs. This tasty casserole is perfect for family dinners or for serving to guests.

Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 110 minutes Total Time: 140 minutes Servings: 6 Calories: 607 calories

Ingredients

Chicken

• 6 chicken thighs - bone in skin removed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme

Rice

• 2 cups long-grain rice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ medium sized onion finely diced
• 2 carrots finely diced
• 1 stalk celery finely diced
• 1 clove garlic finely minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Casserole

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon salt if using unsalted chicken broth

 

Instructions

Chicken

• Combine salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon salt,½ teaspoon paprika,¼ teaspoon garlic powder,¼ teaspoon onion powder,¼ teaspoon dried thyme,½ teaspoon pepper

• Rub the spice mixture onto both sides of the chicken. Set aside.

• 6 chicken thighs - bone in

Rice

• Add one tablespoon of olive oil to a hot saucepan.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• Sauté onions, carrots, and celery together until softened (3-5 minutes)

• ½ medium sized onion,2 carrots,1 stalk celery

• Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Turn the heat to low.

• 1 clove garlic

• Add a tablespoon of olive oil and add rice. Stir until every grain of rice is covered with the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix.

• 2 cups long grain rice,½ teaspoon salt,½ teaspoon pepper

Casserole

• Spray the casserole dish with a nonstick spray. Pour the rice mixture into the bottom of the casserole dish.
• Place chicken thighs on top of rice

• Carefully pour chicken broth around chicken thighs

• 4 cups chicken broth

• Sprinkle broth with salt (if using unsalted chicken broth) and add bay leaves

• 2 bay leaves,½ teaspoon salt
• Cover tightly with foil and place the casserole on a baking sheet
• Place in a preheated 350-degree oven for 1 hour
• After one hour, carefully pull out the rack with a baking sheet and casserole dish. Remove foil to check on rice. Use a spoon and carefully stir or push the rice down so the rice on top makes contact with any remaining liquid. Replace the foil and return to the oven for an additional 30 minutes.
• Remove foil and continue baking for 10 minutes to allow the chicken to brown slightly and the top of the rice to crisp.
• Remove from oven and gently place foil over top of casserole. Let set for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve.

Notes

Tips

• Remove skin from chicken thighs. I buy with the skin on because they are cheaper than with the skin already removed. The skin can easily be pulled off by hand.
• Place the casserole dish on a baking sheet (or cookie sheet) to catch any overflow. Even with using a smaller casserole dish, my dish did not overflow. However, when placing in the oven, I did jiggle too much and had a bit of broth drip onto the baking sheet. The baking sheet is much easier to clean than the oven!
• Keep the casserole dish sealed with the foil until the final few minutes of cooking.
• Don't be worried if you check your casserole and it seems like the rice isn't cooking! The rice is slow to cook in the oven and will expand and absorb the liquid towards the end of the cooking time.
• Remove bay leaves before serving
• This recipe can be easily reduced to feed a smaller crew. Add as many chicken thighs as desired and maintain rice to liquid proportions at 1 part rice to 2 parts liquid. Baking time will decrease with less liquid and chicken.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 thigh and rice | Calories: 607kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 142mg | Sodium: 1483mg | Potassium: 602mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3630IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 2mg

Source