Our easy chicken and rice recipe is super flavorful thanks to mushrooms, garlic butter rice, and a perfect blend of spices. The chicken tastes incredible, and the rice turns out so fluffy! This one is a keeper!
My family loves this savory chicken and rice made with mushrooms. Chicken and rice is such a classic dish, and we’ve seen many flavor variations of it out there. It’s so versatile that we could probably start a whole new category just for chicken and rice recipes! This stovetop version, made with garlic butter, mushrooms, onions, and savory herbs and spices, is one of my favorites. I think you’ll love it, too.
99% of this recipe is made in one pot, which keeps the dishes down and makes me happy! We ask you to warm the broth before adding it to the pot, so technically, that’s one more dish. If you use a microwave to warm it up (which I often do), it still feels just as easy as a true one-pot meal. For more rice recipes, check out 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. 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.
How to Make Chicken and Rice
I’m a big fan of the method for making this chicken and rice. Each step builds on the last, which is why this dish tastes so incredible. The first layer is the chicken, which you’ll rub with our simple spice blend and then brown in olive oil. When it’s lightly brown, transfer it to a plate and toss in butter, onions, garlic, and mushrooms.
When the mushrooms have reduced in size, you’ll add the rice and more of our spice blend. Then move the rice around the pan for a minute or two so it toasts a little bit.
From there, add some warm broth, nestle the chicken on top, cover, and cook on low for 15 minutes. After that, turn off the heat and let it sit, still covered, for another 10 minutes to finish steaming.
You can serve right away, or for a little pop of color, add some parsley mixed with melted butter and drizzle it over the top. And that’s it, my current chicken and rice obsession. Hope you try it soon!
Seriously Good Chicken and Rice
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
My family loves this chicken and rice recipe, 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 (790g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 ¼ cups (275g) long-grain white rice, like basmati rice
Half a yellow onion
6 garlic cloves
8 ounces (226g) cremini mushrooms
1 ½ tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 ¼ cups (530ml) low-sodium chicken stock
1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
Directions
1Rinse rice: In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse 1 ¼ cups long-grain white 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 6 garlic cloves, set aside. Use a damp paper towel to wipe 8 ounces of cremini mushrooms, trim the stalks, and then chop the mushrooms (about ½-inch pieces).
3Heat stock: Add 2 ¼ cups chicken stock to a small saucepan over medium and cook until simmering. Taste, then season with salt (depending on your stock, you may need 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon). Cover with a lid, turn the heat off. Or, use a microwave to warm the stock.
4Make spice mixture: Stir 1 ½ tablespoons chopped thyme leaves, 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, and ½ teaspoon 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 1 ½ tablespoons of 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.
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