Easy One Pot Middle Eastern Chicken and Rice

This One Pot Middle Eastern Chicken and Rice is about to become your new favorite weeknight dinner! The tender chicken thighs, fragrant rice, and warm spices come together to create a delicious and comforting meal! All you need is a large skillet and some simple ingredients and you will have a filling meal ready in under 40 minutes!

This One Pot Middle Eastern Chicken and Rice is a delicious meal made with juicy chicken and white rice and is seasoned with rich spices like turmeric and cumin!

Ingredients You Will Need

• Chicken Thighs: I used skinless, boneless thighs but you could also use bone-in thighs. You could swap these out for chicken breasts but will have to reduce the overall cooking time so they don’t get dried out!
• Rice: You could use any type of rice you have on hand for this recipe. Long grain basmati, brown rice or Jasmine rice. I used Jasmine rice!
• Spices: I used ground oregano, turmeric, cumin, pepper, and salt in this recipe. You could add cayenne pepper and paprika for more spice if you want!
• Chicken Stock: Chicken broth will make the rice super fluffy and make this a savory rice dish. You could also use beef or vegetable broth too!
• Onion and Garlic: I used half of a yellow onion and four fresh garlic cloves for this recipe to add extra flavor but you can adjust the amounts based on your preference! Red onion would also work well in this recipe!
• Lemon: Lemon juice helps balance the flavors of this dish and is great for the chicken marinade. You could even slice some to use for garnish as well.
• Fresh Herbs: Garnish with fresh parsley for a pop of color and bright flavor.

How To Make One Pot Middle Eastern Chicken And Rice Recipe

1. First, dice your onion and grate your fresh garlic. Combine the chicken thighs with the garlic, turmeric, cumin, salt, pepper and lemon juice and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. Soak your rice in water for 15-30 minutes so it will cook faster later on!
2. Warm up a cast iron skillet, dutch oven, or a stainless steel skillet on medium-high heat and add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Sear the chicken thighs for about 6-7 minutes on each side until a 75% cooked and golden brown. You want them to get browned at this stage for maximum flavor!
3. Remove chicken from the pan and set chicken aside. In the same pan, add the diced onion with a splash of chicken stock. Cook until translucent and scrape the bottom of the pan until its clean. Now, you can add the drained white rice. Toast the rice until fragrant and add the same seasonings you put on the chicken thighs.
4. Add the 2 cups of chicken stock and 1/2 cup of water to mixture and raise the heat to high. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil and let the rice cook for about 8-10 minutes.
5. Remove lid and add the thighs (with the chicken skin side up) on top of the rice. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover with lid. Cook for another 10-15 minutes until the water is absorbed and the chicken’s internal temperature is at about 170 degrees Fahrenheit (it may need longer cooking time depending on your stove).
6. Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon slices and serve warm with a fresh side salad!

This One Pot Middle Eastern Chicken and Rice is such an easy recipe that the whole family will enjoy! This one-pan dinner will make busy days a little bit easier and means LESS DISHES! Who doesn’t love that? 

The flavors in this one pot dinner compliment each other perfectly! Chicken and rice are always such a great comfort food and the Middle Eastern spices mixed with the juicy chicken and flavorful rice make this a go-to weeknight dinner! I came up with this recipe one busy day where I didn’t know what to make with chicken thighs. I got the inspiration for the seasonings from my butter chicken recipe! This recipe is pretty forgiving and very customizable. Feel free to add more veggies to this and as always, poftă bună!