A delicious one-pot baked chicken and rice casserole slowly cooked with broth, lemon juice, and kalamata olives!
If we can find recipes that require minimum prep, fewer dishes and still taste awesome, then they should be filed in the "make again" section. That's exactly how I'd categorize this baked chicken and rice dish.
It's easy to prep, comes together with one pot and one plate and has a unique Greek taste to it because of the olives and lemon juice. A sprinkle of feta cheese over the top right before serving would make it even better if that's possible!
For variation you might also be interested in salmon bite recipe.
Making baked chicken and rice
I said it was easy and I meant it. The hardest part is waiting for the alarm on the oven to sound. You might be thinking, well why doesn't he just throw the whole ingredients list in the pot and be done, why dirty another dish?
I think it's important to sear any meat that you cook with. Searing the meat keeps the juices inside and creates a great tasting crust on the outside.
So the extra plate is for that reason only, to sear the chicken thighs for a few minutes on each side. Once you've taken care of that, set them aside on that extra plate and everything else goes in the pot or dutch oven starting with the onions.
Does the pot need to be covered?
Yes, you'll need to place a lid on top. The reason is that anything without a lid will lose liquid quicker due to evaporation, and you might lose your chicken stock before the rice is ready.
A lid creates a shield where the steam hits and falls back down into the pot.
Can I use any part of the chicken?
Yes, but you might have to adjust the cooking time. If you use chicken breasts make sure to chop them up into large chunks and they'll probably cook quicker than the darker meat cuts.
Tips on making the best-baked chicken and rice!
Make sure to use pitted kalamata olives. That means no pits in the olives. Give the rice a quick rinse in a strainer before you add it to the pot.
Rice has lots of starch and not rinsing it can make it turn out sticky. Test the baked chicken after 50 minutes, the rice should be soft. If it still has a bite to it, return it to the oven and check again ten minutes later.
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