I want to say the star of this dish is the chicken. But that would be lying. Because this, my friends, is all about the RICE! People have said this One Pot Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice is the best chicken and rice recipe they’ve ever had (their words not mine!). I hope you feel the same when you try it!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Chicken and rice – elevated!
What makes this lemon rice so special, you might ask? Well, it’s like cooking the rice in triple strength chicken stock because the chicken is cooked ON TOP of the rice. So it gets the full benefit of all the juices from the chicken seeping into it while it cooks. Add the fresh flavours of lemon and boom! You will knock the socks off anyone you serve this too!
Big promises I know….but I have third party validation of this. Someone who always tells me the truth about my dishes. Especially “inventions” which I often pass on because I know I’ll get truthful feedback. I do love my friends dearly, but honestly, not everything I make them can be “OMG, this is so delicious!!” (Seriously, I love my friends, love them to bits!)
So in this particular case, her family raved about the rice so I’m just passing on that message. 🙂 (PS She was quick to point out that the chicken was lovely too, she just said that the STAR of the dish was the rice! I’m totally cool with that! 🙂 )
This is not an authentic Greek Chicken recipe (as far as I know!) but it is made using classic Greek ingredients. It uses the same technique I use for my One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice. There’s nothing tricky or ground breaking, it’s just about getting the liquid to rice ratio right. Rice baked in the oven requires a lot more water than when it’s cooked on the stove. And when you plop chicken on top of the rice, it drops liquid so you need to take that into account.
To make this Greek Chicken recipe in one pot (well, pan – why do I keep writing “pot”??!), the chicken is seared in the pan first, then the rice is added, the chicken placed back on top then it’s popped in the oven. The magic happens while it’s baking. As the chicken cooks, all the juices seep into the rice which are soaked up by the rice and add incredible flavour. INCREDIBLE flavour. It honestly is like triple strength chicken stock.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I can’t hold back any longer. I need some lunch! – Nagi
More dinner in one pot!
Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper)
Asian Beef and Ramen Noodles – made in one skillet in 15 minutes!
Browse all One Pot recipes
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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One Pot Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 5 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in (about 1 kg / 2 lb) (Note 1)
- 1 – 2 lemons, use the zest + 4 tbsp lemon juice (Note 7)
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
Rice
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, separated
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 cup (180g) long grain rice , uncooked (Note 6)
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) chicken broth / stock
- 3/4 cup (185 ml) water
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Garnish
- Finely chopped parsley or oregano (optional)
- Fresh lemon zest (highly recommended)
Instructions
- Combine the Chicken and Marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag and set aside for at least 20 minutes but preferably overnight.
To Cook
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Remove chicken from marinade, but reserve the Marinade.
- Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a deep, heavy based skillet (Note 2) over medium high heat.
- Place the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, and cook until golden brown, then turn and cook the other side until golden brown. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Pour off fat and wipe the pan with a scrunched up ball of paper towel (to remove black bits), then return to the stove.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté for a few minutes until translucent. Then add the remaining Rice ingredients and reserved Marinade.
- Let the liquid come to a simmer and let it simmer for 30 seconds. Place the chicken on top then place a lid on the skillet (Note 3). Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender (so 45 minutes in total).
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving, garnished with parsley or oregano and fresh lemon zest, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
If you like this one pot Greek Chicken recipe, you may also enjoy my ONE POT BAKED GREEK CHICKEN ORZO (RISONI)!
And if you’re after another Greek Chicken recipe (because let’s face it, the Greeks know how to make GOOD CHICKEN!), I think you’ll enjoy my GREEK CHICKEN GYROS.
The yoghurt lemon marinade for this chicken is incredible!
LIFE OF DOZER
His chest hair bursting out of his sweater…. SO CUTE!!!
Only two of us, so halved it. Used skinless, bone it chicken thighs and chicken nibbles (wings). Served it with lightly fried zucchini, added broccoli and then red capiscum. You are right Nagi, the rice is the hero. YUM! 😋
I love this recipe! My favourite meal! I’m wondering can I make it in the crockpot or instant pot? Thanks!
Winner winner chicken dinner. My family loved this meal. The chicken was cooked perfectly as was the rice. It had great flavor. Served it with roasted brussels sprouts. If you prep all the ingredients ahead of time, it comes together easily and quickly. Will be adding this to the rotation.
Winner winner chicken dinner. My family loved this meal. The chicken was cooked perfectly as was the rice. It had great flavor. Served it with roasted brussels sprouts. If you prep all the ingredients ahead of time, it comes together easily and quickly. Will be adding this to the rotation.
Wonderful!! I added roughly chopped artichoke hearts and olives to the rice mixture just before putting in the chicken. Topped with feta cheese. Fantastic!!
This was a massive hit tonight, thank you so much. I made a double (2kg of chicken thigh) portion and so there will be enough for tomorrow’s tea too. Served it with kale, carrots and broccoli and it was wolfed down by all the family. Hope it doesn’t dry out too much when I reheat, but I plan to add a bit more water. Fingers crossed it’s just as good tomorrow. Very cheap family meal too, so a bonus!
This “so easy” recipe is another absolute favourite. I have never tasted one of Nagi’s meal I don’t love mind you, but this is so easy and so good!
I am cooking this dish in my slow cooker for just an hour & a half. It has an option for searing, so it is a one-pot dinner. It smells fantastic.
“This recipe has NEVER had Marjoram in it! Please use the recipe as it is written.”
I’ll do exactly what I want to do. Don’t lecture me.
Okay…
🙄
This is our favorite of all the recipes (although very hard to choose one) Why? Because it is a great family dinner or good enough to have at a dinner party.
I love this recipe!! I’ve made it many times but for once I have fresh oregano so I’m wondering how much would you use instead of dried oregano?
Yum!! We all really enjoyed this meal. Always so nice to have a recipe that you generally have all the ingredients. Tasty and easy.
This is so delicious and so easy to make too. Have made this twice when I have a few people to feed and have also done it with boneless thighs. Soooo good!!
Hi. I am going to make this recipe looks amazing. But there are only 2 of use. Can I freeze excess marinated chicken before I cook it? Thanks
Recommend that the directions say “shake off marinating liquid before frying”. I didn’t do that and the thighs kind of stewed too much to get crispy
I added diced green pepper, but otherwise followed the directions. This was delicious. Thanks for sharing this!
Made this last night for an easy Friday night meal. And it was fabulous. My 14 yo said the rice was even tastier than the chicken. I did use skinless boneless thighs and her timing worked for that too. Cheap especially if you have some lemons and parsley to use up and if you used chicken drumsticks too.
I’ve made this recipe twice in 1 month. We love it! Such fresh whole food flavors. Will make again and again.
Delicious! I made this tonight, followed the recipe as is and my husband and I both thought it was wonderful. The rice was SO good and the chicken thighs cooked perfectly. This will be on my go-to list!
I have cooked this before but at that time, I scaled up the recipe for dinner and the next day’s lunch. Somehow the pan was too small. Anyway, today, I realised that I had diced up chicken thigh instead of chicken in bone (which I used to cook Thai Turmeric Chicken the other night). I used the chicken dice and it solved the problem of my pan being too small.
It was a very hot day today (39 degrees celsius). I didn’t want to use the oven to contribute to the heat in the house, so I cooked everything on the stove using method 2. It was yummy. I think that I’ll use the stove and diced chicken thigh next time. It was a good mistake. Haha. 🙂