One Pot Chicken and Rice

One Pot Chicken and Rice is cozy, satisfying, and effortlessly delicious! With tender chicken, fluffy jasmine rice, sweet carrots, and a buttery finish, this recipe delivers maximum flavor with minimal cleanup.

Love More One Pot Recipes? Try My Marry Me Chicken Orzo or this Creamy Smothered Chicken and Rice next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Comforting, flavorful, and perfectly simple, this One Pot Chicken and Rice is a classic weeknight favorite. Tender chicken, fluffy rice, and aromatic seasonings cook together in one pot for a hearty, no-fuss meal. It’s wholesome, satisfying, and packed with cozy homemade flavor in every bite.

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Ingredient List

Main Ingredients:

• 4-6 tablespoons butter or vegan butter, divided
• 1 heaping cup shredded or chopped carrots
• Homemade seasoned salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 scant cups long grain white rice (Lundberg White Jasmine Rice recommended)
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 2 chicken breasts (~1 lb), cut into bite-sized pieces

Optional Add-ins:

• Parmesan cheese rind (for extra depth)
• Celery, mushrooms, or frozen corn
• Frozen peas (stir in at the end)

Substitutions:

• Use vegan butter for a dairy-free version
• Baby carrots, large carrots, or pre-shredded carrots all work beautifully
• If you don’t have homemade seasoned salt, mix regular salt with garlic powder, onion powder, and a pinch of paprika

Why These Ingredients Work

Here’s the thing about rice: cheap rice will ruin this. I learned that the hard way after serving my family what looked like wallpaper paste. Get Lundberg Jasmine or a decent basmati. Not Minute Rice. Never Minute Rice.

Stock versus broth is huge. Broth is basically flavored water. Stock has body, richness, actual taste. I save chicken bones in my freezer and make my own when I remember, but Costco stock works great too.

Butter does the heavy lifting here. First it toasts the rice and makes your kitchen smell amazing. Then at the end it makes everything glossy and rich. I use the full 4 tablespoons at the end because I’m not a monster.

The dried herbs are a lazy cook’s dream. No chopping, no prep, they just bloom in the hot stock and do their job. Carrots cook at exactly the same speed as the rice, which I swear is magic but it’s really just luck.

And cut your chicken small. Really small. Like if you’re thinking “is this too small?” it’s probably perfect. Big chunks won’t cook through before your rice turns to mush.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Large soup pot, Dutch oven, or stock pot (at least 5-quart capacity)
• Wooden spoon or silicone spatula for stirring
• Sharp knife and cutting board
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Lid for your pot

How To Make One Pot Chicken and Rice

Step 1: Cook the Carrots

Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Throw in your carrots, hit them with salt and pepper. Lid goes on. Let them cook for maybe 5-6 minutes, stirring when you remember. They should soften up but not turn to baby food.

Step 2: Toast the Rice

Rice, dried onion, dried garlic—all in. Stir everything around. The rice should get coated in butter. Let it sit there for a minute. You’ll smell it getting toasty. That’s when you know it’s working.

Step 3: Simmer

Parsley and stock go in now. All 8 cups. Turn your heat way up to get it boiling. Stir it so nothing glues itself to the bottom. When it’s bubbling, drop it to medium-low. Set a timer for 15 minutes. Stir every few minutes because rice is sneaky and likes to stick.

Step 4: Add Chicken

Salt and pepper your chicken while that’s going. When the timer goes off, chicken goes in the pot. Heat might need to go up a tiny bit to get it bubbling again, then back down. Another 7-10 minutes and you’re done. The chicken should be cooked and the rice should be perfect. Stir more as you get close to the end.

Step 5: Finish

Remaining butter goes in. I use 4 tablespoons because life’s short. Taste it. Does it need more salt? Add it. Off the heat. Let it sit for 5 minutes while you set the table or scroll your phone or whatever. It’ll thicken up and get even better.

You Must Know

I’m begging you. Do not use instant rice. I don’t care if that’s all you have. Go to the store. Get real rice. Lundberg Jasmine has never let me down. Instant rice will break your heart and ruin your dinner.

Cut the chicken into actual bite-sized pieces. Not hunks you have to saw through with your fork. Not chunks that require a steak knife. Pieces you can pop in your mouth. This is how the chicken cooks through right when the rice is ready.

Personal Secret: After the 5 minute rest, I let it sit another 10 minutes. Sometimes I forget about it honestly, but it always turns out better. It thickens more and the flavor settles in. Hot food right off the stove is overrated.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Stir this more than seems necessary. Every time you walk past the stove, give it a stir. Rice will stick and burn if you ignore it.
• Don’t cheap out on the final butter. That’s what makes it taste restaurant-good.
• Got a parmesan rind in your fridge? Throw it in with the stock. Fish it out before you serve. Your family will ask what you did different.
• Buy the pre-shredded carrots from Trader Joe’s. Saves time, works perfectly, nobody knows.
• Heavy pot helps. My Dutch oven never burns the bottom. My cheap thin pot always does.

Flavor Variations / Suggestions

I’ve dumped frozen peas in at the end. I’ve added mushrooms with the carrots. I’ve stirred in a glug of cream because I felt fancy. All of it worked.

Lemon juice squeezed over individual bowls makes it brighter. Red pepper flakes if someone wants heat. Fresh thyme instead of dried parsley completely changes the vibe in a good way.

My neighbor makes this with brown rice but it takes forever—like 50 minutes—and she adds extra liquid. I haven’t tried it because I’m too impatient and white rice is perfect.

Make-Ahead Options

Chop everything the night before. Chicken in one container, carrots in another, measure out your rice and spices. When you get home from work, just dump and go.

This freezes really well. I portion it into those glass meal prep containers. Three months in the freezer, no problem. Thaw overnight, reheat with a splash of stock. Easy lunches for a week.

Made it and have leftovers? It’s actually better the next day. The flavors do that melding thing that makes leftovers sometimes taste better than the original meal.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

• Rice gets thicker as it cools. This is fine. This is normal. This is good. If you reheat it and it’s too thick, add stock or water until it looks right.
• “Scant 2 cups” just means slightly less than 2 cups. Like, don’t heap them. Keep it just under. This ratio is perfected through many batches of trial and error.
• Seasoned salt is salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika mixed together. I keep a jar by my stove. Use it on everything.
• Pot size matters. Too small and it’ll boil over and make a mess. At least 5 quarts.

Serving Suggestions

This One Pot Chicken and Rice is a complete meal on its own, but here are some ideas to round it out:

Pair with roasted broccoli or green beans on the side

Serve with a simple green salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette

Add a side of crusty bread or garlic bread for soaking up any extra sauce

Top individual bowls with freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Garnish with fresh parsley or chopped green onions for color.

How to Store Your One Pot Chicken and Rice

Refrigerator: Put it in a container with a lid. Four days, maybe five if you’re brave.

Freezer: Freeze it in portions. Three months. Label it or you’ll forget what it is and think you’re eating something else.

Reheating: Stove with a splash of stock. Or microwave with a spoonful of water on top, covered, stop and stir every minute.

Allergy Information

Contains: Dairy (butter), chicken

Dairy-free option: Vegan butter works exactly the same.

Gluten-free: Yep, as long as your stock is gluten-free. Most are. Check the label if you’re not sure.

Vegetarian option: Skip the chicken, use vegetable stock, add extra mushrooms or a can of chickpeas.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

My rice is sticking to the bottom of the pot—what am I doing wrong?

You’re not stirring enough. Or your heat’s too high. Probably both. Stir more. Keep it at medium-low, not medium, not medium-high. And get a better pot if yours is thin and cheap.

The dish seems too thick/dry—how do I fix it?

Add liquid. Stock, water, whatever. Start with a quarter cup, stir, see how it looks. Add more if you need to. Rice is a sponge and keeps soaking up moisture even after you turn off the heat.

Can I make this in a rice cooker or Instant Pot?

I mean, maybe? But I’ve never tried and this recipe is specifically for stovetop. The timing would be completely different. I’d just make it in a pot.

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