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!!!
Hi Nagi, can I use instant pot for this recipe? Thanks.
Wonderful recipe. But PLEASE add to step 1 of the written instructions to marinate “in the refrigerator” (not just “set aside”). If you’re an experienced cook, you know this, but a novice may not.
😘
You can leave chicken (and other proteins) outside of the refrigerator if you’re going to cook it within two hours.
Tasty and fresh recipe! I love the simple flavours and I love anything including lemon. I halved this recipe and everything balanced out perfectly. Would definitely make again!
Absolutely fantastic! Everything turned out perfectly and the house smells amazing!!
I did marinate the chicken overnight and used jasmine rice. Very happy with this and will be making again!
5 stars for this one!
I made this today (halved the recipe) after marinating the chicken overnight. The chicken had the skin removed but it still worked very well and was scrumptious! Thank you Nagi. I bought the book and found the recipe there. Easy to make and without too many ingredients. 😊
Hi Nagi, I am going to try the full stove top option for this recipe. When you say reduce liquid by 1/2 cup, are you referring to the chicken stock or the water? Thanks!
Hi Nagi, I just made your fried noodles with cabbage and bacon from your cook book. It is so delicious and easy. I love cooking and eating your recipes. Thank you so much!
Can I transfer rice and chicken to glass baking dish, and bake that way? I don’t have a skillet that is oven-safe.
Hi – I have a question before I make this dish. The chicken marinade is just lemon juice+zest+oregano+garlic+salt? No olive oil or broth? Thanks
This is so so good. Really easy to make. I followed the recipe as is, and finished with a little feta. Thank you! Will definitely make again.
Delicious and greatly enjoyed by all! Used short grain brown rice and loved the ease of this recipe. Thank you again and again Nagi.
I make this recipe about once a week. I am obsessed with it! Tonight I made it with boneless, skinless thighs and it was good, but not quite the same. Definitely recommend sticking with bone in, skin on!
It is a good recipe but don’t understand why you add the garlic at the beginning and let it burn. Why not add it later after the onions?
The garlic is only in the marinade
Made this last night and must say, thought this was going to just be sustenance rather than a wow dinner. Your friends and commenters are bang on, the rice, OMG! Thanks again Nagi. Sx
My partner likes red meat and root vegetables. He ate this and asked if we could have this again soon 😍 Yet another winning recipe.
I made this tonight and it was a hit! I discovered that I only had whole-grain rice when it was too late to go shopping, so I adjusted the recipe to accommodate it and cooked it on the stovetop because it was just too hot to light the oven. My family loved it!
I didn’t sear the chicken or use any olive oil. I don’t like crispy skin, and I didn’t see the point of adding a fat when the chicken provided enough fat to cook with. Worked fine. Only thing is, the first time I made it, it tasted like biting into a strong lemon the way you’d bite into an apple. Exactly. The second time, I accidentally stored the lemons in the refrigerator and the taste was lemony, but not “bite into a lemon” lemony. Overall loved it both ways… because I actually like eating lemons…. but for the members of my family who don’t just eat lemons, it was a bit much. Maybe because the rice was soggy-ish??? Could that make it more lemony? Idk. I never get rice right in one-pot dishes…
Can anybody tell me whether the 180 C oven temperature is for a fan-assisted oven like mine or if it is for a conventional oven and I should lower the temperature to 160 C?
I have found all of Nagi’s recipes delicious and foolproof..until this one! I foud a tablespoon of dried oregano in the rice made the dish very bitter and inedible (the chicken was perfect, just the rice)…maybe my tbspn measurement is too big? Do you have the oregano measurement in grams? Next time I will reduce the amount, or would fresh oregano be less bitter? TIA!