One Pot Greek Mediterranean Chicken and Rice

by Sabrina Snyder

Last updated on

55 Comments

5 from 13 votes
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One Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Rice made with chicken thighs and turmeric seasoned rice baked in the oven until crispy and tender.

Like our favorite Baked Chicken Brown Rice Vegetable Casserole this dish is full of incredible tender chicken with an easy baked rice side in one pan.

Mediterranean Chicken
One Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Rice

One Pot Baked Mediterranean Chicken and Rice is so full of flavor and EASY!

A couple of years ago I made a copycat version of the Halal Cart Chicken and Rice (Copycat) with all the flavors of this dish but 3 times the prep work. Instead of standing at the stovetop cooking the chicken all the way through, we brown the seasoned chicken thighs then let this oven do the rest of the hard work.

The best part of the recipe, the slightly crispy but still fluffy and creamy turmeric rice. Full of the chicken flavor, butter, onions and garlic, the rice is so flavorful you’ll find yourself going back for seconds and thirds.

Want to change things up in the dish?

  • Use chicken breast in place of the thighs (bone in and skin on)
  • Use boneless/skinless thighs (cook for ten fewer minutes)
  • Add pieces of bell peppers and red onion to the rice to cook it along with the chicken.
  • To make a meal closer to Halal Cart cut the chicken off the bone, add it to a pan with canola oil and brown in small chunks.

Chicken rice, olives and feta

Want to make the Baked Mediterranean Chicken & Rice with white meat?

From a reader, Bryce, who made the One Pot Greek Chicken and Rice recipe with boneless chicken breasts:

Just FYI for anyone in the future who was wondering if you could make this with boneless Chicken Breast–You absolutely can and it is deeeelicious! I followed the pan searing directions for the chicken but after removing them, I set them aside until 25 minutes into cooking the rice portion in the oven. After 25 minutes I added the chicken breast on top and continued cooking it for another 25 minutes. I made it for my neighbors in need, but also made it for us. We loved it and they did too! Thank you!

Other versions of this chicken and rice casserole:

Tools Used in the making of this One Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Rice Recipe:
Better Than Bouillon: I almost never buy boxes of broth because I keep the beef, chicken and vegetable version of this Better Than Bouillon.
Cast Iron Skillet: This is my most used pan in my kitchen, heavy, keeps heat well and gives the BEST sear ever.

Mediterranean Chicken
5 from 13 votes
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One Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Rice

One Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Rice made with chicken thighs and turmeric seasoned rice baked in the oven until crispy and tender.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Greek
Keyword One Pot Greek Mediterranean Chicken and Rice
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6 Servings
Calories 474 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

FOR THE CHICKEN:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 6 chicken thighs

FOR THE RICE:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 1 cups white rice uncooked
  • 1 tablespoon garlic minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • Parsley, feta cheese and kalamata olives for garnish (optional)
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Heat the cast iron skillet on high heat with the olive oil.
  3. Season your chicken with the oregano, coriander, Kosher salt and black pepper.

  4. Add the chicken, skin side down and cook until browned, 4-5 minutes.

  5. Flip and cook an additional 3-4 minutes.

  6. Push the chicken to the side (or onto a plate).
  7. Add the butter to your cast iron skillet and heat on medium-high.

  8. Add in the onions and start to cook for 3-4 minutes.

  9. Once the onions are mostly melted add in the garlic cloves and cook for 30 seconds while stirring.

  10. Add in the uncooked rice and cook for a minute.

  11. Pour in the chicken stock, add in the turmeric and cumin and put the chicken back in skin side up.

  12. Bake covered with foil for 45-50 minutes.

Nutrition Facts
One Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Rice
Amount Per Serving
Calories 474 Calories from Fat 252
% Daily Value*
Fat 28g43%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Cholesterol 123mg41%
Sodium 431mg19%
Potassium 377mg11%
Carbohydrates 30g10%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 22g44%
Vitamin A 205IU4%
Vitamin C 1.9mg2%
Calcium 32mg3%
Iron 1.5mg8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
MEDITERRANEAN-Chicken-and-Rice
Halal Cart Chicken and Rice

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  2. This has been a huge hit with my family. So much so that I am making it for my mother in law’s birthday!

    Reply

  3. I don’t have a cast iron skillet (I know, I know) I need to get one. Is there another way to do this without one?!

    Reply

    1. You can also use a dutch oven. You just need to use something that you can use on the stovetop and in the oven.

      Reply

  4. I have made this several times for my family and they absolutely love it.

    I think I made it 2-3 times before we switched out the turmeric for a Lebanese seven spice blend to avoid the yellow stains on my two-year-old. We use brown rice (which requires a slightly longer cook time) and added toasted pine nuts and garbanzo beans. I also use our dutch oven with lid rather than covering our cast iron skillet with foil.

    The only part of the dish my wife thinks could use improvement is the chicken skin. Do you think the recipe would work with a reverse braise? Cook the chicken and rice in the oven then pat the chicken skin dry and sear in a second pan before serving? I am going to try that when next I make it. Not sure if it will sear well after being in the dutch oven.

    Reply

  5. Mine is still in the oven and smells great. I can already tell I’m going to love this. HOWEVER. How the heck did you put the foil on? I know that sounds like a dumb question. But you must understand, I spent several frustrating minutes using oven gloves to put it on that hot skillet. Are you just one of those chefs that has transcended beyond getting burned when touching hot pans? I hope to one day attain such a level.

    Reply

    1. Haha, I just use oven gloves too. Next time, try pre-fitting the foil to the dish before making and crimping it down a bit to make it easier to grab and place once it’s hot. Hope this helps and that you enjoyed the dish.

      Reply

  9. Butter is listed twice in the ingredients but referred to only once in the directions. I’m confused. Do we add al 4T at once at the beginning of making the onion/rice? Please clarify. Thank you.

    Reply

  10. Just wondering If I can use Greek seasoning, instead of turmeric & cumin. If so, how much? I’m on a Greek food kick lately, so this dish seriously appeals to me. Thanks for all of your lovely recipes, which I look forward to receiving every day 🙂

    Reply

    1. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes! You can use a greek seasoning blend in place of the turmeric and cumin. I would use 1/2 teaspoon to 3/4 teaspoon to taste. Hope this helps!

      Reply

  11. Delicious! It takes a bit for my wife to say something like “really good” when I make something new but this rated a “this is REALLY good” and “save this one”. So I guess I’ll be making it again!

    Reply

  12. Omg I made this for my girlfriend last night and it was wonderful. It was so flavorful. I used Chicken breast in mine. I wished I wish I would have used the thigh due to the extra flavor that the rice woulda have gotten. 

    Reply

  13. I made this tonight, and we enjoyed it. Necessity is the mother of invention, so I had to make several substitutions: instead of chicken, i used 3 different cuts of random leftover steaks from our last bulk cow order. I treated them just like the chicken in this recipe, and they got nice and tasty and tender. Instead of white rice, I used long-grain brown and had to cook it for about 2 hours, which I expected; but it still got soft and flavorful without getting mushy or crunchy. Before transferring to the oven, I also added chopped bell pepper, jalapeño, and cauliflower to bulk it up. I also doubled all spices and added a hefty amount of salt, as we like our meals powerfully spiced. It came out great! We ate it in pita bread with tabbouleh, hummus, and lettuce. I’ll definitely make again and will try chicken when I have it!

    Reply

        1. No, unfortunately it needs heat from all sides otherwise your rice will burn on the bottom if just cooked on the stovetop.

          Reply

  14. Great recipe! I added capers, kalamata olives, and spanish olives before sticking the pan in the oven and used half the recommended amount of butter. I also used boneless chicken thighs instead. It came out delicious!!

    Reply

  15. I just made the rice today. I Stove cooked it just the rice though. I had to make a quick side dish. I added all the ingredients that went on the rice and the chicken. It smelled so good!! So much flavor.. It was delicious. Kids loved it every one wanted seconds. Definitely a keeper recipe.
    I had no time to chop garlic so I used power garlic. Tasted just as good 🙂

    Reply

    1. I haven’t tested it but I would think that would be a fine substitute to eliminate the starch. Let me know how it turns out.

      Reply

  17. Step #2 said to heat a cast iron pan on ‘high’ with olive oil, and to brown the chicken. Since olive oil has a very low smoking point, it will most likely burn. I would also add some butter into the pan, in order to give the olive oil a higher smoking point. This dish sounds very tasty, so I’ll definitely try it on our next ‘chicken night’.

    Reply

  18. What kind of white rice do you use for this? Jasmine white rice or basmati rice? Thank you, this looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it!

    Reply

    1. So sorry for the delay, your question got snagged in my spam filter 🙁 I used white basmati rice for this recipe. I think Jasmine would be too crunchy to use.

      Reply

    1. I’m still testing this to try and get it to work. Unfortunately, the rice tends to get hard in the slow cooker. Keep an eye out in the future.

      Reply

  20. Forgive me if I read this recipe wrong, but it calls for garlic cloves roughly chopped plus minced garlic; however nowhere in the directions does it say when to use the minced garlic. I’m in the middle of making this. Help!

    Reply

    1. So sorry for that. I’m not sure how the chopped amount got added it. I prefer using minced for this recipe. I updated it to show correctly….hopefully it sticks this time.

      Reply