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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
After seeing this one on socials recently I had to try it. Marinated the chicken for around 3 hours. I was throwing it together and my device scrolled down and saw all the doom and gloom in the comments for the first time. Oh boy what were we in for? I made this almost exactly to recipe, except I used chicken bouillon in the water on the rice. I also covered it with tin foil after the first 10 min and took it off after about 25 min to help the rice cook. I think it took about 10 more minutes after that. Wife and I loved it! Very lemony rice.
Hey Jon,
I’m thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for making it and your comment!
Have the best weekend!
Loved this recipe! I marinated overnight. I used non fat Greek yogurt(I had it on hand) I lightly buttered the (glass) pan and used 2 cups of chicken bone broth and a half cup of water. I convection baked covered with foil 45 minutes and another 10 uncovered. It was divoon!
Hey Amy,
Awesome! Thanks for making this dish and sharing what worked well for you, so glad it turned out well!
I received instructions via Instagram and it calls for 1/4 cup of salt. That can’t be right, right?
Hi Tricia,
So sorry, that is in correct. You can follow the recipe here exactly as written!
I hope you love this dish!
I just made this for dinner tonight. It was delicious!!! I love one pot meals. I didn’t have broccoli but I substituted asparagus. I did cover it. I have an electric oven and have never had good luck with the rice cooking through uncovered. Thank you for this one!!
Hey Dianne,
Thanks for the thoughtful feedback after trying this recipe—happy to hear it was a win!
Enjoy your Sunday!
I’m not sure about this one. The flavour of the chicken marinade is a bit off. I’m also wondering if maybe what’s missing in the instructions is to cook, covered and then uncover the last 10 mins? Rice was reaaaaal crispy on the top.
Hi Mandy,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback! So sorry the rice was so crispy! You could definitely cover it next time to see if that helps:)
Rice doesn’t cook, needs extra liquid, chicken is soggy and overdone, ditto broccoli despite the lack of moisture– too much over time waiting for that ricd. It’s just not a method that works. Seasoning is also bland. This one just doesn’t work.
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Alicia! Very sorry to hear this dish did not turn out!
The rice was hard – even after 50 minutes. Won’t make again
Hi Anne,
Very sorry to hear your rice was hard. What kind of rice did you use? Please let me know how I can help!
I cut the recipe in half as I only needed dinner for 2. I did use chicken broth instead of water. It came out really good. It didn’t get brown like the picture, but I would definitely make this again
Hey Liz,
Happy Friday! Big thanks for making this recipe and sharing back. So glad it hit the spot!
I love HbH and usually all her recipes are great, but not sure what happened with this one. The worst one from this site I’ve ever made and kids said it was in the top 5 worst things I’ve ever cooked. Maybe it would be better with chicken broth instead of water? But the marinade on chicken was also nauseating. Would have been better off with plain grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and plain steamed rice. Rice did not finish cooking even in 40 min. Broccoli was a bad texture/hard. 0/10.
Hi Vanesa,
I appreciate you trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so very sorry to hear it did not turn out for you!
It was good but I found there wasn’t a ton of flavour!
Hi Lyndsay,
Thanks for making this dish and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you didn’t love it!