Next Post
Simple Thai Chicken Zucchini Meatball Curry.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
The easiest One Pan Chipotle Honey Chicken and Rice, our new weeknight staple. Chicken breasts or skinless chicken thighs seasoned with olive oil, parmesan cheese, chipotle, paprika, garlic, and salt. All tossed together with dry basmati rice and sliced zucchini. Top the chicken with a spicy honey sauce just as it comes out of the oven. This juicy spicy/smoky chicken and rice is all made in one pan – no cooking the rice separately. Simply mix, bake, eat, and enjoy. You’re going to LOVE this.
I think I’m in my “quick and easy” era. One of the things that I find so inspiring about Taylor Swift is her ability to continue to recreate herself. She never stops. And because she has the ability to always be evolving and changing, she never gets boring. We always want more from her!
I hope in a way I can be like this. I definitely am the type of person that has “eras”. Periods when life looks a little different than other times. And I’m always, changing and growing, literally by the day.
The point is, right now I’m in a quick and easy era.
Because of this, I get to be creative with recipes. How can I make this taste the yummiest but also be easy? What ingredients can I use that are multi-purpose?
I think about it all. And certainly, nothing is easier than a dinner that cooks up all in one pan. Especially a one-pan chicken and rice situation. We just love a one-pan recipe that’s also filled with yummy flavor!
Onto the details
Step 1: season up the chicken
I wanted to create a spicy, smoky chicken. So I decided on honey chipotle chicken! Such a delicious flavor profile that most people love.
Take chicken breasts or thighs (or do a mix) and mix them together with olive oil, grated parmesan cheese, chipotle in adobo sauce, paprika, onion powder, and fresh chopped-up garlic.
Step 2: the rice and zucchini
Next, get a 9×13 inch baking dish, add the dry rice and sliced rounds (or chopped chunks) of zucchini. Pour over the water, which will cook into the dry rice while baking.
Place the chicken directly over the rice and set the pan in the oven to cook. The rice will get fluffy and the chicken becomes crispy!
Step 3: the honey sauce
While the chicken bakes, work on the honey sauce. This is a very simple mix of honey, hot sauces, and spices all simmered together gently on the stove.
As the chicken comes out of the oven, spoon the sauce directly over each piece.
Step 4: add basil and enjoy
Finish the dish with fresh basil. Or use parsley, green onion, thyme, cilantro, or whatever you love or have on hand. I think basil and parsley work best.
Serve the fluffy rice under each piece of chicken, then extra honey sauce on top! Oh, and a little sea salt and some lemon juice are really nice too.
As the chicken roasts, the juices drip down into the rice creating flavorful rice and roasting up the zucchini too. It’s so delicious!
And the chicken doesn’t dry out since it’s roasted with a bit of water. As the water cooks into the rice, the chicken slowly and beautifully roasts and gets perfectly crisp.
I love to serve this with my favorite loaf of 5 ingredient beer bread. This is certainly a wonderful transitional dinner that will be nice heading into September!
Looking for other easy chicken and rice dinners? Here are my favorites:
One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice
One Skillet Louisiana Style Chicken and Rice
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice Casserole
Cheesy Zucchini Chicken and Rice Bake
Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf
Spicy Sesame Chicken and Ginger Rice
Lastly, if you make this One Pan Chipotle Honey Chicken and Rice, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
One Pan Chipotle Honey Chicken and Rice
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 687 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs or breasts (skin on or off)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped chipotle in adobo
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 3/4 cups dry basmati rice
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cups sliced/chopped zucchini
Hot Honey
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2-3 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1-3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 teaspon onion powder
- sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400°.2. In a bowl, toss together the chicken, olive oil, parmesan, chipotle, paprika, onion powder, garlic, lemon, salt, and pepper. 3. Pour the rice and zucchini into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Pour over 2 cups of water. Add the butter. Arrange the chicken over the rice and zucchini. Bake 30-40 minutes, until the rice is fluffy and the chicken is cooked through. If the rice is hard, add 1/3 cup more water and cook for an additional 10 minutes.4. To make the sauce. In a sauce pot, warm together the honey, hot sauce, cayenne, chili powder, onion powder, and a pinch of salt.5. When the chicken is done, spoon half the sauce over the chicken. Serve the chicken, rice, and zucchini topped with fresh basil and extra honey sauce. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on August 16, 2023
Just made this tonight and it was a hit! I veered from the original recipe a bit. Did not have abodo chipotle, onion powder, or basmati rice. To the marinade I added red pepper flakes and one finely diced scallion instead. I used 1¾ cup Jasmine rice and juiced the lemon into a measuring cup, then filled it to 2 cups with water. I covered the pan for 40 minutes, added additional water, baked uncovered for 8 minutes then broiled for the last 2 minutes. For the honey sauce I used honey, frank’s red hot, a heaping tbsp of Cajun seasoning, and a small pinch of salt. This turned out so good, 2 of my 3 picky eaters devoured it so I call that a win. This will be added to the regular rotation.
Thanks for trying out the recipe!!
This dish is amazing and packed with flavor!!
Thanks so much!
The recipe itself needs changed- in the chicken part it says to use chipotle powder when I think you mean the actual peppers in adobo sauce. I followed the recipe and realized after everything was made I didnt use the peppers! Hopefully it tastes the same with the powder on the chicken instead of the peppers/sauce!
Is it possible to make this in advance in the morning and then bake in the evening?
I haven’t ever tried that before so I’m not sure! So sorry!
This was good, I didn’t have the chipotle in adobo so I omitted it and I think the flavor profile needed it. The other problem I had with it was that my chicken didn’t get crispy AT ALL and my zucchini was pretty pale, but they were definitely cooked through. Not sure how to remedy that since everything was cooked well and I wouldn’t want to dry the chicken out.
Hey Georgia, thank you for letting me know!
Was this supposed to be cooked covered? I did not cover it and my rice did not cook nor my chicken, the water did not evaporate either.
I cook uncovered!
” I didn’t have the chipotle in adobo so I omitted it and I think the flavor profile needed it. The other problem I had with it…”
So, you omitted a part of the recipe that she told you to add, and then it’s a “problem” that the flavor profile needed it? That’s probably why the Tieghan put it in there in the first place.
I made this tonight for our Monday Night Dinner club. It was so easy and delicious! When I pulled the dish from the oven, I didn’t put any sauce on top. I have some that don’t care for a lot of spice or heat. Personally, I liked it with the honey sauce across the chicken and rice. I will definitely be making this one again! Thanks for another great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed this Joy!
Wow, this is so good! I didn’t have parsley or basil so I used cilantro, and it was delicious. I’ve been trying to create a collection of core dinner recipes, and I am so happy I decided to give this one a try. Into the core collection it goes!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Have a great week! xT
I’m making this tonight and wondering if there’s a typo in step 2 in the instructions did this mean to say the chopped chipotles from the chipotle in adobo ingredient or actually powder? I added 1-2 tablespoons of chipotle powder than was like wait I didn’t use a whole ingredient I bought.
Unfortunately I had done the same thing. Please update so we follow the correct instructions! Thank you!
I substituted two boxes of Near East Rice Pilaf Original instead of basmati rice to give the rice a little more flavor. It all came out really good!
Thanks so much Susannah! xT
Great quick weeknight dinner. Substituted the zucchini with eggplant and it was delicious.
Thank you Aniko! xT
Loved this recipe! I did not have the chipotle Chile powder but used Tajin instead and it was still great! Even my
picky eater like it! Will become a staple! Thank you!
So happy you enjoyed this recipe! xT
Do you have any other honey sauce recommendations for this dish? My kids won’t eat spice but I love honey garlic! Just unsure what to sub to still make it as delicious without the smoke/heat.
Hi! You could omit some of the spices to have more of that honey garlic flavor! xT
This was absolutely delicious and so easy. To make it even easier, I used Mike’s Hot Honey instead of the hot honey sauce, just squirted some on the serving plate to use for dipping. Great flavors – thanks, Tieghan!
Thank you so much Amy! xT
Very good! Made this tonight, and my boyfriend and I loved it. Only changes were 1.5 cups of jasmine rice (not 1.75 basmati) and omitted the cayenne powder because we used hot smoked paprika instead of regular. We used Buffalo sauce for the hot sauce. Beautiful presentation. Thank you! We’ll make it again.
Thanks for trying out the recipe! xT
Soo tasty! We made this today and it was a family hit! -followed the recipe and the only thing I may do differently in the future is to make more of that wonderfully sweet/spicy honey sauce! I don’t think you could go wrong with more of it.
Thank you Glenda! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! xT