Greek One Pan Chicken and Rice

4.48 from 17 votes

An easy one pan chicken and rice recipe made Greek style! Juicy chicken and flavorful rice make the perfect weeknight dinner that's easy yet super delicious.

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Marinating30

Total Time1 35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Servings: servings

Calories: 784kcal

Author: Shadi HasanzadeNemati

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

2 lb chicken breasts boneless and skinless
1 lemon juice of
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon oregano

Greek Chicken and Rice

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 ½ cup bastmati rice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ tsp cumin
2 cups water
1 cup olives
1 lemon sliced
½ cup parsley chopped

Instructions

Marinated chicken:

If the chicken breasts are too thick and large, cut the in half lengthwise.
Mix lemon juice, salt, olive oil, garlic and oregano in a large bowl.
Place the chicken breasts in the marinade and stir to make sure all pieces are coated.
Marinate the chicken breasts in the lemon and garlic mixture for at least 30 minutes.

Greek chicken and rice:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Heat a non stick and oven safe pan over medium heat.
Sear the chicken breasts for about 3 minutes on each side until they're golden brown. We don't need them to cook completely.
Transfer the seared chicken breasts to a plate and set aside.
In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and saute onion and garlic until golden.
Add in Mahatma rice and the spices. Stir for a couple of minutes to mix well.
Add in water and bring it to simmer.
Place the seared chicken breasts on the rice and cover with aluminum foil.
Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until the rice is cooked.
Uncover and bake for another 7-10 minutes.
Squeeze some lemon on the rice right before serving and top with olives and chopped parsley.

Notes

You can use skinless chicken thighs (bone-in or boneless) instead of chicken breasts for this recipe.
It's possible to marinate the chicken up to 8 hour. Simply cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate until you're ready to cook.
If you don't have an oven safe pan, use a regular pan to cook everything. Once the water starts simmering, transfer the rice and water mixture to an oven safe dish and top with the chicken pieces. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven.
This recipe uses chicken breasts which, if cooked properly, can be very juicy and tasty. However, you can also use bone-in skin-on or boneless skinless chicken thighs as well. I personally prefer the breast for this recipe as it tastes better with the rice and spices.
You can add other ingredients to this Greek chicken and rice dish such as chickpeas or mushrooms.
For this recipe, please use a 10" pan. I prefer using a 4 quart 10" pan as its size is perfect for this one-pan chicken breast and rice recipe.
Right before serving, squeeze a fresh lemon on the dish. This will give the dish such bright and fresh flavor.
Store the leftovers in an airtight glass container and refrigerate for up to 2 days. To reheat, you can simply heat it in a pan over medium heat and stir occasionally until completely heated through.

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