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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
This was AMAZING! Followed the recipe except I left out the celery because somehow I forgot it😆 I have picky eaters too that just avoided the mushrooms but cleaned their plate. Definitely a do over!
Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! So glad you enjoyed it! Have a great Halloween 🙂 xT
Made this afternoon and it was wonderful!! The only adjustment I made was an extra 10 minutes of cooking time as I almost doubled the recipe. Used my Staub Dutch oven and the dish was cooked to perfection. Oh, and I also added chopped carrots (had them on hand and needed to use). Used a wild rice blend with the orzo and had no issues. Will definitely be making again- super easy and delicious!
Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! So glad you enjoyed it! Have a great Halloween 🙂 xT
I made this tonight and the recipe worked perfectly!! Used apple cider option and shredded Gouda cheese in mind. Recipe was a great way to warm a fall rainy night.
Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! So glad you enjoyed it! Have a great Halloween 🙂 xT
Overall I liked this one and think came out well. Tastes good, creates a lot of food, cooked well.
Variations:
I used Hinode Black Rice because my local grocery store was out of wild rice. The cook time here is 30-40 minutes and it came out well using as this recipe instructed (make sure to wash well before cooking).
I used white wine.
I only used four bone in thighs, so I cut the rest of the recipe by approx. 1/3 (ex: 1 cup of rice, less broth & wine).
I seared the chicken thighs in oil in the skillet before cooking.
The downsides here:
I felt it could have used a little more flavor, probably more salt and garlic next time. The rice mixture was a little oily, probably because of the oil used to sear the chicken before baking. The celery feels a little out of place, maybe remove them or add other veggies they pair well with (some carrots or something).
Thank you so much for all the input Sam! xT
Firs of all, the flavor of this is absolutely delicious, but I had a few issues. My rice was not fully cooked after 45 minutes covered, and 25 minutes uncovered. We ended up eating it with slightly undercooked rice because the liquid was gone and I didn’t want the chicken to dry out. Could I maybe just use all orzo and no wild rice???? I only used four good sized breasts, six would not have fit in the 9×13 pan. I also don’t understand the cubed gouda – I don’t think it added much flavor-wise, I would probably omit it to save calories and fat next time or grate it to distribute it more evenly. Lastly, please modify the directions to put the rice/orzo in the pan first, or to season the chicken and place it in the dish last – it was very awkward to have to jiggle the chicken out from under everything else after being told to put it in the dish first with everything else, and THEN put it on top after it’s buried!
Hi Rebecca! Thank you so much for this input, I really appreciate it!
I loved this! Definitely recommend trying this recipe. Bummed to see that others didn’t enjoy it.
I used a wild rice blend and made sure to use thighs as I know breasts would dry out in my oven in that time. I also swapped out the celery for some green beans, just as a preference. It was a very cozy autumn dinner!
Did you use boneless or bone in thighs?
Thank you so much Madison! 🙂 xT
Not sure why others experienced issues with this one. Mine came out perfectly. The rice was fluffy and flavorful and the chicken was cooked perfectly. Another hit from half baked 🙂
Amazing! Thank you Samantha! xT
Okay. Maybe she adjusted the time or the recipe but this turned out incredibly! SO good. My husband RAVED but it would also make a great company dish. The rice was cooked to perfection! Not sure what the commenters were talking about but wild rice isn’t meant to be mush. It’s not an “already chewed” for you kind of texture like white rice, if that all you’re used to. It is chewy and nutty. That’s exactly how it’s meant to be. The flavors were absolutely Devine. I will be keeping this one on my rotation. Especially for fall!
Hey Jodie! Thank you so so much! So glad you loved this one pan dish! xT
Very delicious! I modified the recipe for two. I would make it again! Again
Thank you Susan!
It’s snowing here in MN, soI made this for Sunday dinner. My wild rice was harvested by my dad which made it extra delicious! I doubled this recipe because I have a lot of big eaters and hoping for lunches this week for me. Thanks for another awesome recipe.
Sounds like such a cozy day! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
I had to add an extra 20 minutes (10 uncovered and 10 covered). It tastes GREAT and the the thighs stayed moist, not too dried out. It tastes like a rich risotto. 🙂
Thanks so much Tracy! So glad to hear you enjoyed this dish! xT
Followed recipe exactly… except used dried herbs (so less)… phenomenal!
We both loved it!
Hey Tracy!Thanks so much for trying out the recipe! 🙂 xT
Epic fail and I am a very good cook. The timing is completely off. By the time the rice actually cooks, the chicken is completely dried out. Took the entire pan and dumped it in the garbage can. I think more attention needs to be paid to the timing of recipes.
Thanks for the heads up warning! I was going to serve this to company so I would have been annoyed if it was terrible! I precooked the rice mixture and then separately cooked the chicken then warmed them together with the cheese. Hopefully that will be good.
This one didn’t work for me either. The rice remained uncooked and when I gave it extra time (and liquids) under a cover, the meat dried out and the rice still didn’t soften. No idea what I did wrong, your recipes usually usually work out perfectly.
Hey there! I am so sorry about that! Thank you for letting me know! xT
I followed the recipe as instructed. The wild rice and celery were not cooked, making an unappealing texture. The chicken was so moist. I kept the chicken for leftovers but got rid of the rest. I wish I had just used orzo and no celery ( distracted from the dish).