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One Pan Roasted Herb Chicken and Wild Rice. I turned my family’s favorite dinner into an easy and delicious one-pan recipe that makes weeknight cooking easy and delicious! Wild rice is cooked together with vegetables, chicken, and herbs. This oven-roasted chicken dinner is the coziest thing you’ll make this week. And also, the simplest and most delicious! The trick is a few slices of butter over each piece of chicken. The butter drips down over the chicken and creates the most flavorful all-in-one recipe! So easy to prepare and enjoyed by all.
It’s always the simplest of recipes that I end up loving the most. This chicken and rice dish is just that, and I’m so excited to share it. I hope the recipe finds its way into your kitchen all fall and winter long – it’s that perfect.
I love creating more one-pot, sheet pan, or crockpot recipes for you all. Anything simple and easy is what I’m all about. When I was dreaming up this recipe, it started out a little more complicated than the recipe I’m sharing today.
After making this twice, I was actually going to move on. The dish just wasn’t working the way I had envisioned in my head.
And at the time, I didn’t feel it was special enough to share. So I left the recipe alone for a bit. But then it was my mom who reminded me how delicious this sounded on paper. She is a sucker for any chicken and rice style dish. Actually, I guess I am too.
I decided to give the recipe one more try, but this time I simplified the process and made the dish even easier. It turned out so delicious, and pretty. I quickly fell in love with it.
I’ve now made this multiple times since. And just like Monday’s pot roast recipe, it’s almost effortless, and a dish that everyone in my family really enjoys.
Here are the details
Step 1: the ingredients
This is not my first one pan chicken and rice, but it’s my simplest to date, and yet still so flavorful. You’ll of course need chicken. I love to use a skinless chicken thigh in this recipe since the dish will cook for a longer period of time. You can use thighs, breasts, or even a mix of the two.
You’ll need shallots, garlic, fresh and or dried herbs, your favorite Italian seasoning blend, a touch of chili powder, wild rice, orzo, mushrooms, and celery.
You’ll also need some gouda cheese, cider or white wine, broth, and butter.
Step 2: mix everything
Now, working in a large casserole dish with a lid, or oven-safe skillet with a lid, toss the chicken with olive oil, shallots, garlic, thyme, sage, Italian seasoning, and chili powder. Then season very well with salt and pepper.
Mix in the wild rice, orzo, mushrooms, and celery.
Add apple cider, or if you don’t have cider, try using white wine. Then add bone broth (or chicken broth). Now arrange pats of butter all around the chicken.
Step 3: bake
Slide the entire dish, covered, into the oven. Now bake for a good amount of time. The wild rice takes a little longer to cook. This needs about 45 minutes with the lid on.
After 45 minutes, I remove the lid and continue to roast the chicken until it’s browned and golden on top, the rice is fluffy, and the liquid in the pan has mostly cooked into the rice.
And that’s simply it, the dish is done.
Step 4: serve
There is not one fancy finishing step or detail. I scoop the rice and veggies up and serve them underneath the juicy herb butter chicken.
Totally no fuss and so delicious. I know this is a recipe I’ll be coming back to time and time again. Perfect dinner to make for family and friends in the next few cozy months ahead!
Looking for other weeknight meals? Here are a few ideas:
Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Rice
One Pan Chipotle Honey Chicken and Rice
Creamy White Bean Noodle Soup with Rosemary Bacon
Mustard Herb Chicken and Creamy Orzo
Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch
Slow Cooker Saucy Sunday Bolognese Pasta
Crockpot Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bolognese
Crockpot Herb Butter Chicken and Wild Rice
Lastly, if you make this One Pan Roasted Herb Chicken and Wild 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 Roasted Herb Chicken and Wild Rice
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 679 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 (skin on or off)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups dry wild rice
- 1/2 cup dry orzo
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup cubed gouda cheese
- 1 cup apple cider or dry white wine
- 2 cup chicken or chicken bone broth
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400°. 2. In a 9×13 inch baking dish or oven-safe skillet with sides, toss together the chicken, olive oil, shallots, garlic, thyme, sage, Italian seasoning, chili powder, and season with salt and pepper. Add the wild rice, orzo, mushrooms, celery, and cheese. 3. Pour over the apple cider and broth. Position the chicken pieces over the rice. Add slices of butter. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 15-20 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 and rice topped with fresh thyme. And enjoy!
Notes
Trouble Shooting the Rice: some are having issues with the rice cooking properly. Wild rice takes longer to cook than white, it’s also a bit tricker. If you are having issues, you can start with pre-cooked wild rice (Trader Joes and Whole Foods sell cooked, frozen wild rice) and cook the entire dish, 30-40 minutes. Or, add 1 cup of additional broth, plus 20-30 extra minutes of cooking time. My rice cooks perfectly as directed, but ovens and wild rice brands all vary.
This post was originally published on October 25, 2023
I added seedless Kalamata olives to this recipe and it was REALLY GREAT.
Thanks so much David! xT
I worked on an Indian reservation where wild rice is harvested. Their wild rice is delicious, tender, nutty tasting and the grains have popped open, kind of looking like a lily in bloom. The difference is they cooked it much, much longer than it’s cooked here OR soaked it overnight in water (enough to cover). Another problem could be the rice is old. When I make wild rice dishes, I bake a minimum of 2 -3 hours
Thank you so much for this comment Lisa! I appreciate it! xT
Hi! How much can you taste the apple cider? We don’t like anything sweet with our savory dishes, so I’m just curious about how much the apple cider comes through. Thanks!!
Hi there! I wouldn’t say it’s a super strong flavor! You can use broth if you’d like! xT
The rice was CRUNCHY even after the additional cooking outlined in the recipe. Was this actually tested? The flavor was fine, though I’m a bit confused how a dry white wine can be used in place of a sweet apple cider. I went with wine.
Hi Marlene! I’m so sorry about that! Yes, this recipe has been tested multiple times. I can look back into the amount of liquid needed! xT
As stated in the notes, different varieties and different brands cook vastly different. I’ve made this 3-4 times and have had to alter liquid and time ratios for each time & brand I’ve used. I found that I prefer one from Amazon sold under Asian best premium red. It’s the most consistent and makes this recipe delish!
Hi! Such a fan of your recipes! I just made this and I am honestly so confused ab what I did wrong. I did everything exactly as it was explained and used the proper size dish. My rice is completely uncooked even after trying the 1/3 cup of water trick. My broth mixture also dripped over the side even with the lid on the whole time! I feel certain this was probably because of mistakes I made, but I was wondering if you have any tips to avoid this if I were to try again! Thank you:)))
You did nothing wrong, Sarah. It’s the recipe. Wild rice is never going to be fully cooked after an hour in the oven. Chicken will be dry after that time, and orzo would be mushy. I’m beginning to wonder if this was even tested. There are multiple “rice was crunchy” comments. Keep a positive attitude and find a new recipe!
Hi Sarah! I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you! Hmmm I would maybe try turning up the heat to get the rice cooked? xT
Seriously?? You’ll just burn the rice. Maybe want to look into retesting this recipe. The orzo is mush and the wild rice will never be properly cooked in this time.
You rated this recipe five stars when it turned out like that?
It’s definitely not you, it’s the recipe. Just read the other reviews and you will see the issue.
Tasty but my wild rice was chewy. I would premake the wild rice and reduce the chicken broth.
Thanks for the feedback Jamey! xT
Hi Bone in or Boneless
I usually use boneless! xT
I prefer chicken breasts. Should I use bone in since it bakes longer?
Sure, that should work just fine! xT
Tis looks awesome but what would you suggest as a gluten free substitute for orzo? Quinoa seems a little odd with wild rice. Thank you!
Jovial brand makes a grain free gluten free orzo. You may have to just watch/adjust cooking time a little so it doesn’t get mushy.
Has anyone tried this with kids?
We don’t love the sour taste of cider/vinegar, does the wine reduce that flavor or is there another substitute? Sounds delicious! Really want to make this tonight!!
The recipe calls for cider or wine but not cider vinegar.
Hey Liza! I’m so sorry for the confusion, but this recipe doesn’t call for apple cider vinegar, it calls for apple cider! That should definitely improve the flavor! Hope this helps 🙂 xT
I would love to make this but two questions: can I omit the mushrooms ir sub them with something else?
If I use chicken breasts instead of thighs, will they dry out since this dish is baked for so long?
Thank you!
Does this recipe use boneless chicken or bone-in? I didn’t see this detailed in the description or in the recipe ingredient list.
Why give it a single star?? I think the reviews are meant to be posted after making this recipe and how you liked it or your family liked it. Be kind.
I see you rated it 4 stars , Katrina. How was it?
I see you rated it 4 stars, Katrina. So how was it? Did your family like it?
Katrina, I wouldn’t worry too much. Recipes here are listed as 4—5 stars regardless of how people actually rate them.
Hi there! Chicken breasts should work just fine! I would maybe use some zucchini instead of mushrooms! xT
Can the cheese be omitted?
I’d use if a Violife plant based cheese if dairy is your concern, but yes, you could omit it.
You can omit the cheese if you’d like! xT
Can I switch the orzo/wild rice ratio? My fam isn’t a huge fan of the wild….
Hi Leslie! I haven’t ever tried this with orzo before so I can’t say for sure! So sorry! xT
But you listed orzo in the ingredients?
Did you actually develop and test this recipe? Orzo is one of the ingredients. Would love some clarification.
Sorry for the confusion, I just meant to say I haven’t tried this recipe using all orzo since they were asking about switching up the ratios! Sorry about that! xT
Hey Leslie, I didn’t have enough wild rice so I reversed the ratios. I added 1/2 cup wild rice and 1 1/2 cups orzo and it turned out great. Everything was cooked. Rice wasn’t crunchy. I didn’t have enough mushrooms so I added small diced carrots (pulsed in processor) along with the celery and also added leeks. I didn’t have enough white wine so added a bit of sherry to make up the difference. It’s pretty versatile. The only thing I would do differently next time is remove the boneless chicken breast after 20-30 minutes so it doesn’t dry out. Also everything was fully cooked after 45 minutes so I didn’t cook additonal time. But that is probably because I only added 1/2 cup wild rice. Hope this helps. 🙂
If I were to sub the mushrooms, what would you suggest?
Maybe some zucchini? xT