This easy chicken and rice recipe is super flavorful thanks to chicken thighs, garlicky mushrooms, butter rice, and the perfect blend of spices.
99% of this recipe is made in one pot, which keeps the dishes down and makes me very happy! We ask you to warm the broth before adding it to the pot, so technically, that’s one more dish, but you get the idea.
There are lots of chicken and rice recipes out there, but my family genuinely loves this savory stovetop version! Get ready for perfectly cooked chicken thighs, garlic mushrooms, and super flavorful, fluffy butter rice. For more, see our Mexican rice, cilantro lime rice, or this coconut rice, which you can then top with one of our other easy chicken recipes!
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: I use chicken thighs in this recipe and highly recommend you do, too! They’re much better than chicken breasts here since they’re less prone to overcooking and stay incredibly tender. I used skinless, boneless chicken thighs in the photos, but you can also use bone-in or skin-on thighs. If using skin-on, let the skin render a bit at the beginning, adding flavor to the pot and helping the skin turn golden brown. Note that with our method below, the skin will not stay crispy but will soften some as it cooks with the rice.
- Rice: For the best chicken and rice, use long-grain white rice, which cooks up light and fluffy. I love aromatic basmati rice in this recipe, but regular long-grain white rice works just fine. If you only have short-grain rice, you can use it, just know that we prefer that for other dishes like fried rice over this one. Before cooking, rinse and drain the rice a few times to remove excess starch. The rinsing makes sure that our rice turns out nice and fluffy in the end. I follow the same method when making our Mexican rice.
- Veggies: We wanted to keep this dish really simple but full of flavor, so we used yellow onion, cremini mushrooms, and lots of garlic. This combination makes the rice incredibly savory and delicious.
- Herbs and Spices: The herbs and spices really make this dish special. You’ll make a spice blend with thyme (I love fresh thyme, but dried works), dried oregano, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, and salt. Then, use it for the chicken and the rice.
- Broth: Use your favorite chicken broth or stock in this recipe. I love homemade stock, but store-bought works just fine when I don’t have it.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
Tips for Making the Best Chicken and Rice
I love how the flavor of this chicken and rice is built layer by layer, with each step adding to the last. That’s why it tastes so amazing.
Tip 1: Brown the chicken. To add an extra layer of flavor, rub the chicken with our simple spice blend and brown it in olive oil, then transfer it to a plate. This step leaves a delicious layer of flavor in the pan.
Tip 2: Add butter and mushrooms. Cook butter, onions, garlic, and mushrooms in the pan used for browning the chicken. The mushrooms pick up all the flavors from browning the chicken, making this recipe so tasty!
Tip 3: Toast the rice: Toasting the rice helps it turn out fluffy and gives it a slight nutty flavor. So, stir in the rice and more of our spice blend and toast it for a minute or two, moving it around the pan before adding the broth.
Tip 4: Cover with a lid. After adding warm broth, nestle the chicken on top, and cover the pan. Cook on low for 15 minutes. Then, turn off the heat and let it sit for another 10 minutes to finish steaming. Don’t lift the lid, otherwise you’ll lose the steam.
Tip 5: Finish with a little melted butter. This is optional, but I love drizzling the top with melted butter and scattering over some fresh parsley.
Seriously Good Chicken and Rice
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
My family loves this chicken and rice, which has 99% of the method done in just one pan. The chicken turns out incredibly tender, and the rice is packed with flavor thanks to a savory mix of herbs, spices, and mushrooms. I usually use skinless, boneless chicken thighs, but bone-in, skin-on thighs work just as well.
If you’re using skin-on chicken, be sure to render the skin until it’s golden and almost crisp before removing it from the pot and moving on to the veggies. While the skin won’t stay crispy (since the dish cooks covered), rendering it properly adds delicious flavor and a beautiful golden-brown color.
You Will Need
1 ¾ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (790g)
1 ¼ cups long-grain white rice, like basmati rice (275g)
Half of a yellow onion
6 garlic cloves
8 ounces cremini mushrooms (226g)
1 ½ tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 ¼ cups low-sodium chicken stock (530ml)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
Directions
1Rinse rice: In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse the rice with cold water to remove any excess starch stuck to the grains of rice. This will make your rice fluffier. Set aside to drain.
2Prepare veggies: Finely chop half a medium onion and mince the garlic cloves, set aside. Use a damp paper towel to wipe dirt away from the cremini mushrooms, trim the stalks, and then chop the mushrooms (about ½-inch pieces).
3Heat stock: Add the chicken stock to a small saucepan over medium and cook until simmering. Taste, then season with salt (depending on your stock, you may need ½ to ¾ teaspoon). Cover with a lid, turn the heat off. Or, use a microwave to warm the stock.
4Make spice mixture: Stir chopped thyme leaves, dried oregano, sweet paprika, and smoked paprika in a small bowl.
5Prepare chicken: Rub the chicken thighs with ½ teaspoon salt and 3 teaspoons of the spice mixture, saving the rest for later. Heat the olive oil in a wide braising pan with a lid over heat. Place the seasoned chicken thighs, smooth-side down (where the skin would have been), into the hot oil. Cook until lightly brown on that side, about 5 minutes. Transfer the partially cooked chicken to a plate.
6Prepare mushrooms: With the pan still over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the onions and garlic. Use a wooden spoon to scrape stuck bits of chicken from the bottom of the pan, then add the mushrooms. Stir well and cover with a lid. Cook, occasionally checking on them, until the mushrooms have reduced by about half, about 5 minutes.
7Add rice: Uncover the pan and add the rinsed rice and toast for one minute, stirring as it toasts. Add the remaining spice mixture and add hot chicken stock. Stir well and place the chicken thighs browned side up on top of the rice.
8Finish: Turn the heat to low, and cover the saucepan with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes, turn off the heat, and let stand with the lid still on for 10 minutes. Uncover and test a grain of rice. If the rice is still a little hard or the chicken is not cooked through, put the lid back on and cook over low heat for another 5 minutes. If the chicken is cooked, but the rice is not quite there, transfer the chicken to a plate.
9Serve: Transfer chicken to a plate, fluff the rice with a fork, and then return the chicken with any juices collected on the plate and serve family-style.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Store leftover chicken and rice in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Dried thyme: Use 1 teaspoon dried thyme instead of the fresh thyme called for above.
- Optional topping: Melt 2 tablespoons of butter, then stir in 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley.
- Nutrition facts are estimates.
Except for baking time, I followed this recipe to a T, even though I thought it was a lot of extra steps like heating the broth and toasting the rice. Whatever the reason, it turned out fantastic. My husband and SIL really loved it and so did I. It’s an atypical recipe for me in that I would usually do something with lots more butter and maybe cream or cheese. This was healthier and used spices I seldom use. I did use bone-in thighs with skin on because I think they make a moister chicken. I did have to increase cooking time by around 20 minutes and add another cup of broth, and it was perfectly cooked at that point.
Love your personal touches and we are so happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
This is the most delicious chicken and rice recipe! I didn’t change a thing-even used fresh thyme-and it turned out so good!!! I will definitely be fixing this again!
My family loved it! I was wondering however, if there’s a variation to add heavy cream? And what would that do to the overall dish?
Hi Lynn, You should be able to add a splash to the cooking liquid (I’d remove 2 to 4 tablespoons of the broth and replace with the same amount of cream). Then add your chicken, the lid, and cook.
Delicious! The chicken was so moist. The spices were perfect!
That’s wonderful, Carla! Thank you for coming back!
This is delicious chicken. I used wild rice instead of the white it was tasty and easy. No need to change a thing
Hi – Q for you,
I need to make this ahead for supper for my son and family. Have you ever finished this in the oven and if yes, what temp do you recommend?
Thanks!
Hi Lynn, I’d use a 375F oven and let it cook for 20 to 30 minutes. I would still keep it covered.
Thanks! I actually put it in a super slow oven; 230 temp as they weren’t going to eat it for a couple of hours. Still turned out great according to my D-in-law!
We really enjoyed this using skin on chicken thighs. The rice was flavourful too. A “make-again” recipe.
an easy recipe that tastes delicious. I will be making again. This makes a lot of rice, I might reduce the amount of rice next time. All the recipes I’ve tried so far from Inspired Taste have been delicious!
I love mushrooms. But not my kiddos. May you suggest to omit or another veggie?
Hi there, feel free to omit (or half the amount and chop them really small so you still get their flavor).
Prepared this recipe last night. Used chicken breast, we like white meat, don’t like dark. The seasoning was on the meat for about 1 hour before I cooked it. Cooking was easy.
The rice turned out to be delicious, the chicken did not have as much flavor. Wondering if using more of the spice rub on the chicken would help – what do you recommend? Definitely making this again. Also, when there was about 10 min left in the cooking I put asparagus on top of the rice/chicken to steam it. Turned out great.
I haven’t made this yet. It looks like the perfect dish. Have a question (I always do!!!) I only have Diamond Chrystal Salt. What would be the alternate measurement for salt for this recipe? Would it be possible to add the different salt measurements. Sure would help me. Thank you.
Hi Sunny, In general, you will need close to double the amount of fine salt called for in our recipe when using Diamond Crystal salt, but we always recommend to add to your tastes.
Definitely gonna try it! It’s close to chicken pulao Pakistani recipe.
The recipe calls for boneless skinless thighs, yet you say to cook skin side down. ??
Hi Michele, We simply mean the side of the chicken where the skin would have been. I’ve edited the recipe to be more clear to prevent further confusion.
I made this the same day that I got the email! it’s absolutely delicious I love all the recipes from inspired taste they’re always yummy, comforting and the directions are so easy to follow!
Yay! You have made our day with this comment 🙂
looks great
Have tried many of your recipes and they were all very good. I will try the. Chicken and rice in the near future, it. Looks yummy
Can you use crean of chicken soup?
Hi Nossie, I’ve never tried! I love this recipe as written, but if you try it, let us know how it turns out.
You two do us a solid with your recipes. Thanks!
You are so welcome! We are thrilled that you love our recipes 🙂
Easy and delish
Please tell me the potassium and phosphorus number in your recipe. I have a diabetic and ckd husband. This sounds delicious but I need that info first. Thanks
Hi Brenda, Unfortunately, we do not have this information for you. You may want to copy the ingredients and then paste them into a nutritional counter to determine this yourself. The nutritional info provided in our recipes are estimates and the software we use does not provide what you need.