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The easiest One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice. Trust me, this is going to become your new go-to chicken and rice dinner. Chicken breasts or thighs marinated with olive oil, garlic, yogurt, lemon, pepper, oregano, thyme, and paprika. All tossed together with dry basmati rice and broccoli. This juicy marinated chicken and rice is all made in one pan without even having to cook the rice separately. Simply mix, bake, eat, and enjoy! You’re going to LOVE this.
I couldn’t think of a better Monday night dinner. I can’t even begin to express to you how simple this is, but even more importantly, how delicious!
We all know the story. When I grew up our dinners consisted of beef tacos, pasta with red sauce, maybe a takeout pizza here and there, or on very special nights, BW3s. And then, of course, there was chicken and rice. So much chicken and rice. Aside from tacos, chicken and rice was the staple meal. And it was on rotation once, twice, sometimes even three nights a week.
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs or breasts
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Lemon zest and fresh lemon juice
- Garlic
- Black pepper
- Dried oregano
- Dried thyme
- Paprika
- Onion powder
- Kosher salt
- Chili flakes
- Dry basmati rice
- Salted butter
- Roughly chopped broccoli
- fresh herbs
We ate a lot of chicken and rice growing up. It was either mom’s Sunday roasted chicken with boxed rice pilaf, dad’s grilled chicken (and rice), or my brother’s favorite, potato chip chicken (and rice). Again, so much chicken and rice.
You’d think it would be a dinner that I would not want to repeat as an adult. Shockingly, I’ll revert back to our staple family meal once or twice a month. I guess it’s just my comfort food.
For the longest time, I tried to recreate the Monday night dinner my mom would often make. Roasted chicken (whole chicken or just tenders) with a boxed rice or roni-style mix. I’ve never come close, but then I made this – and this is it.
You need just one baking dish with the most minimal ingredients and almost zero prep time.
The secret to this recipe, and all the flavor, is actually the reason the recipe is so SIMPLE – cooking the rice and chicken slowly together. This creates the most flavorful, juicy, pull-apart, tender chicken, and the tastiest rice.
Sounds too good to be true, but this is one of those recipes that just works so wonderfully well.
Ingredients
- chicken thighs or breasts
- extra virgin olive oil
- plain Greek yogurt
- lemon zest
- garlic, chopped
- black pepper, using more to your taste
- dried oregano
- dried thyme
- paprika
- onion powder
- kosher salt and chili flakes
- dry basmati rice
- salted butter
- roughly chopped broccoli
Details
Start with the chicken. The greek yogurt marinade makes all the difference. Marinate it in olive oil and yogurt with lemon zest, pepper, and garlic. Then add dried oregano, thyme, paprika, and a nice helping of salt and chili flakes (if desired).
If time allows, you can marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or overnight. If you’re in a time crunch, just start cooking. I’ve now made this both ways and there’s not a huge difference.
Start off by grabbing a baking dish. Use something around the size of a 9×13-inch pan. Add the dry rice, I love to use basmati, and then add broccoli. Pour water overtop and then add a couple of salted pats of butter.
Place the chicken directly over the rice, then bake. I don’t even cover the pan or anything. This cooks up beautifully in just about 30 minutes. But the timing will depend on the size of your chicken and the size of your baking dish.
Top with any fresh herbs you enjoy most, then serve and enjoy.
As the chicken roasts, the juices drip down into the rice creating a REAL chicken-flavored rice situation. It’s so delicious!
And the chicken doesn’t dry out since it’s roasted over a bit of water. As the water cooks into the rice, the chicken slowly and beautifully roasts and gets perfectly crisp.
It’s honestly just the best. I might not go back to cooking chicken and rice any other way! Just add some 5 ingredient beer bread to really complete the Gerard family staple. A comfort meal at its best!
Looking for other easy chicken and rice dinners? Here are my favorites:
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 Lemon Pepper Yogurt 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!
Why do you soak chicken in yogurt and how long can I marinate chicken in yogurt?
Yogurt tenderizes chicken and gives it that juicy taste and tender texture. You can marinade chicken in yogurt for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.
One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 593 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
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2-4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1- teaspoons black pepper, using more to your taste
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- kosher salt and chili flakes
- 1 3/4 cups dry basmati rice
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cups roughly chopped broccoli
Instructions
- 1. In a bowl, toss together the chicken, olive oil, yogurt, lemon zest, garlic, pepper, oregano, thyme, paprika, onion powder, and a good pinch of salt and chili flakes (if desired). If time allows, marinate for 30 minutes or overnight.2. Preheat the oven to 400°. 3. Pour the rice and broccoli into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Pour over 2 cups of water. Add the butter. Arrange the chicken over the rice and broccoli. Add lemon wedges, if desired. Bake 30-40 minutes, until the rice is fluffy and the chicken is cooked through. If the rice is hard, add 1/3 cup water and cook for an additional 10 minutes. 4. Serve the chicken, rice, and broccoli topped with fresh basil and or thyme. And enjoy!
This post was originally published on May 22, 2023
The dish was okay. Like a lot of other people here, I followed the recipe and found the rice to be bland, and needing more time than just 40 minutes.
Hi Theresa,
Thanks for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it wasn’t enjoyed! xx
I followed the directions and after 20 minutes, both rice and broccoli were still raw. I covered it and cooked it another 15 minutes and the broccoli still wasn’t cooked, although the rice was somewhat close to being done. I left it in the oven until the rice and chicken were cooked, but the broccoli was still only partially cooked. By this time, the yogurt sauce had dried up. Not a success. Perhaps it might have worked with pre-cooked broccoli.
Hi Judith,
I appreciate you trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it didn’t workout for you! My guess with the broccoli is that it needed to be chopped smaller. As for the rice, what kind did you use? Please let me know how I can help troubleshoot! xx
I gave this recipe 4 stars because the chicken turned out delicious. I marinated boneless chicken breasts for 30 minutes and followed the recipe’s directions. As others commented, the rice was very dry. I added some chicken broth (I used water, as the recipe states in the beginning) and baked it a little longer. The chicken was amazing, tender, and flavorful. The rice and broccoli were bland and didn’t have any flavor. I love a good chicken and rice dinner, but this didn’t deliver- I will make the delicious chicken again but do something else for the side dish.
Thank you so so much for the feedback Lynn! xT
Just made this – absolutely loved it! Used a bit more yoghurt than recipe stated and covered for the first half of cooking. Will definitely be a winter staple – and ordered the cookbook after tasting it
Thank you so so much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you’re having a lovely week! xT
I’m an experienced and confident home cook but I know to follow a recipe exactly the first time especially if it is from a new to me creator. That’s just what I did, with high hopes as I’ve followed for a while and seen so many great results from others! However this was a miss and seemed like it wasn’t adequately tested. Took over an hour to cook and the rice was still crunchy despite adding more water. The rice is also quite bland as others have noted. I like the chicken marinade and would likely double or triple it and incorporate everything together so the flavors infuse into the rice and broccoli
Hey Sarah! I’m so sorry this didn’t turn out for you! Thank you for the feedback! xT
I love many of your recipes but this one was lacking. I was quite disappointed.
Hey! I’m really sorry about that! Is there anything I can do to help? xT
For my leftovers from night before I made a batch of your marinade with the extras of lemon juice and a bit of wine. Toasted that right in to the reheat at 350 – with a dish of extra broccoli having a dash of the marinade on top too! My fam adores!! Will make again! Love your spice mix and the idea of the thyme on top! Thanks!
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Have a great day! xT
Ok so, I didn’t exactly stick to the recipe I sautéed an onion and a cup or so of dined carrots for the rice and broccoli . ThenI added roughly 2oz Marsala wine and 2 oz lemon juice and increased the recipe by 1.5 (I needed left overs for the next night). I used the remaining marinade to pour over the chicken and rice in my larger pan – but my oh my this turned out wonderful!
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Have a great day! xT
The chicken thighs had good flavor but it did not absorb into the rice whatsoever and was very bland. Maybe if I cooked it in chicken broth instead of water it would have come out a bit more flavorful. The chicken marinade is fantastic though!
Thanks for the input Hailey! I appreciate it! xT
I haven’t tried yet but do you cut your chicken breasts in half?
I usually just try to use thin chicken breasts! But if your chicken is super thick then I would slice it in half!
Super easy and delicious. I needed a bit more salt but compliments all around! Even my somewhat picky 9 year old enjoyed it!
Sounds like you nailed this recipe! Thanks for trying it out! xT
I love this recipe and have made it a couple times. I used chicken stock instead of water. 4/5 only because I find myself having to cook this significantly longer than the recipe suggests each time. But I still love it!
Thank you Julianna! I appreciate the feedback!
Loved. Had to use regular rice because I did not have basmati, but it was still yummy. Thank you!
Hi Joy! Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Have an amazing week! xT
I love HBH and use these recipes almost exclusively for my dinners! This one was a bit of a miss for me. The rice was really bland (maybe chicken stock would be better)? The chicken was good but maybe could’ve used a bit more depth of flavor and it took much longer than the 40 minutes to cook my rice and broccoli. I will give it another try maybe or curious to hear how others modified as it seems like it should be great (and could be this human’s error)!
Hey Hilary, I appreciate you trying out the recipe! I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out for you! xT
I used boneless chicken thighs marinated int the yogurt mixture for about an hour. Toasted the rice in olive oil in a cast iron pan before layering in the bottom of baking dish. Substituted chicken broth instead of water. Cooked for 40 mins and all rice, broccoli and chicken cooked through.
Did you cook the casserole covered?
I did not cook it covered.
Thank you Lisa!