We affectionately call One Pot Chicken and Rice “gruel” at my house.
“KIDS!” I’ll yell at dinnertime, “Come get yer gruel!” and they come running. What can I say, it makes me laugh and it’s the little things.
This easy, gluten free recipe was born from Lincoln’s love of Easy Chicken and Rice Soup and Cam’s deep desire to wear his dinner every night. Part risotto (without all the stirring) and part soup, this creamy chicken and rice recipe is simple and comforting, made in one pot, and easy enough for a 2 year old to eat. Lucky for you and me, it tastes nothing like gruel!
Watch How to Make It!
One Pot Chicken and Rice
Sliced carrots are sauteed in butter and homemade seasoned salt then simmered with dried minced onions and garlic, white rice, diced chicken, and rich chicken stock until thick and irresistible. THEN it’s finished with a couple pats of butter. Did I mention it’s irresistable? This recipe makes enough to feed a crowd and anything we don’t finish reheats wonderfully, too. It is not an understatement to say that my entire family LOVES this dish!
Recipe Tips
- I’ve been making this recipe regularly for the past year or so but have never measured the ingredients until now so I could share it with you. That said, make any adaptations you like – it’s hard to screw up! Use fresh onions and garlic instead of the dried versions. Add more or less butter to your liking. Throw in some celery or leeks if you please!
- Use good quality rice or you actually WILL end up with mushy gruel. Please no par-boiled or minute rice. I use Lundberg White Jasmine Rice.
- I have not made this recipe with brown rice though if you do, you will need more chicken stock and will also need to increase the cooking time considerably.
- Since this dish has just a few simple ingredients, I like using gluten free chicken STOCK vs broth for maximum flavor.
- This easy chicken and rice (and the soup it’s adapted from) really benefits from being seasoned with my homemade seasoned salt. It’s just 4 ingredients that I can almost guarantee you have in your cupboards right now, and really adds a ton of flavor to each bite.
How to Make This Recipe
Start by adding sliced carrots to melted butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Season with homemade seasoned salt and pepper then place a lid on top and saute until the carrots are tender, 5-6 minutes.
Next add good quality long grain white rice, dried minced onion, and dried minced garlic then stir to coat the rice in the butter and saute for one minute.
Again, if you don’t use the right rice you’ll end up with mush, so I recommend using good quality rice like Lundberg.
Add dried parsley and chicken stock to the pot then bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low then simmer for 10 minutes. Next, season chicken breasts that have been chopped into bite-sized pieces with seasoned salt and pepper then add to the soup pot and continue to simmer until the rice is al dente and the chicken is cooked through, 10-15 additional minutes.
Last step is to remove the pot from the heat, place a lid on top, and let sit for 5 minutes. Finally, stir in more butter (follow your heart!) and season with additional seasoned salt and pepper if necessary.
One Pot Chicken and Rice will thicken a bit as it cools – and tastes best warm vs piping hot – so give it a little rest then scoop into bowls and call in your crew. I hope you love this easy and comforting dish as much as we do – enjoy!
More Easy Family Favorites:
- Gnocchi Chicken Pot Pie
- Easy Chicken and Rice Soup
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Skillet
- Easy Chicken Fried Rice
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One Pot Chicken and Rice
Description
One-Pot Chicken and Rice is part soup, part risotto, and wholly comforting. Your family will ask for this easy yet irresistable gluten free dinner recipe again and again.
Ingredients
- 4 - 6 Tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 heaping cup chopped carrots (from 1 cup baby carrots or 2 large carrots)
- homemade seasoned salt and pepper (see notes)
- 2 scant cups long grain white rice (I like Lundberg White Jasmine Rice)
- 1 Tablespoon dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
- 2 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes
- 8 cups gluten free chicken stock
- 2 small chicken breasts (14oz), cut into bite-sized pieces
Directions
- Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add carrots, season with seasoned salt and pepper, then place a lid on top and cook until carrots are tender, 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add rice, dried onions and dried garlic then stir to coat in butter and saute for 1 minute. Add dried parsley and chicken stock then turn heat up to high to bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to ensure rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot as it comes to a boil.
- Turn heat down to medium-low then simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season chicken with seasoned salt and pepper then add to the pot, turn heat up slightly to bring back up to a bubble, then turn back down to medium-low and continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through and rice is al dente, 12-15 more minutes, stirring occasionally and more frequently near the end.
- Place a lid on top of the pot then remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 - 4 Tablespoons butter (however much you like!) then season with additional seasoned salt and pepper if necessary. Scoop into bowls then serve. Note: dish will thicken as it cools.
- Leave a comment and star rating if you loved the recipe! Thank you for considering!
Notes
- To avoid ending up with mush, use good quality rice - no Minute Rice, please! I use Lundberg California White Jasmine Rice.
- Click here for my 4-ingredient homemade seasoned salt recipe >
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Video
So good! I made this today with some leftover smoked turkey. It was perfect on a day with blizzard conditions outside!
YUM! Yes, perfect kind of day to enjoy this dish!!
So, so, so good!!! Thank you for a comforting and eat mealN
My pleasure! So glad it was a hit – thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
No one in our house is gluten free but I found your blog a year or two ago when I wanted to BBQ some pork tenderloin. Love your dishes (though I do sub gluten items in). I tweaked this one a little. I used fresh chopped onion and started them in butter just before the carrots and I also used jarred minced garlic as well. Was sooooo good.
I’m so glad to hear that, Jared!! And I love that you are loving the recipes even though you don’t need to eat gluten free. That is the ultimate goal – GF recipes that don’t *taste* GF – so happy to hear that’s coming through. :) Thank you so much for your feedback and star rating!
This did not turn out well for us at all. The rice to broth proportions were totally off despite following the recipe and it turned out like super super dry fried rice. Sad we wasted so much food.
Hi Sara, I’m sorry to hear this! Is it possible any of the ingredients were mismeasured? I have never received this or similar feedback!
Great recipe. I accidentally used 1 tbsp of dried minced onion, instead of 1 tsp. Also, only had 3 14.5 oz cans of chicken broth, so I used a small can of condensed chicken soup in substitution of the 4th can and it turned out great. Also seasoned the chicken with garlic and herb pre-made seasoning in addition to the seasoned salt and just normal pepper. Hubby liked it, would make again!
That sounds awesome, Tiffany! I love the idea of extra creaminess from condensed soup. Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
It came out a little bland when I made it, what kind of chicken stock do you use?
I use Kirkland brand chicken stock, or homemade. Did you use the seasoned salt? That really adds a lot of flavor!
Hi this recipe is great but you may want to edit it with instructions to cover the pot when simmering the rice. Otherwise it will not properly cook.
Hi Sam. You don’t want to cover the pot on this recipe because the rice isn’t cooked as it would be if it were served as a side dish. The lid needs to remain off so that the dish simmers like a soup.
This was so tasty!!! I scaled down the rice to 1 1/3 cups/ water to 5 1/3 cups. And added a chopped onion to the carrots and about 1/2 cup frozen corn atthe end . The rest was left the same. It came out great! I just wanted more chicken to rice ratio.
So glad you were able to make it your own, Traci! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
I didn’t have carrots so I used broccoli florets — deliciousness!! One pot meals are awesome!
Delicious!! So glad you enjoyed, Carrie!
I have tons of leftovers but can I freeze this? This was very good.
I’m so glad you loved it, Nancy! I don’t recommend freezing cooked rice dishes because they can become mushy once thawed. This dish does reheat very well with an extra splash of broth or water though!
Do you have a printable version? When I try to print it is 32 pages
Hi Carmen! Are you pressing the pink “print” button either at the top of the page, or within the recipe card? That will print just the recipe. If you try and use your browser’s print feature, it will print the entire post.
I have made this before and it’s a favorite. I am just wondering if it loses anything if I make ahead and reheat? Thanks!
Hi Shannon! I think re-heating individual portions for leftovers is great, and we do that often. That said. I don’t think reheating the entire pot would work too well – I envision the rice breaking down and getting pasty.
Can you use basmati rice
You bet – long grain white rice like jasmine or basmati both work in this recipe. :)
Husband said he thouroughly enjoyed this :) thanks for the recipe
Fabulous!! So glad to hear it – thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Yummy! I added half an onion and 3 cloves of garlic to the first step and sautéed it with the carrots then skipped adding the powders. Sooo good!
Love that you were able to make this your own, Lauren!! So glad you enjoyed. :)
Have you ever made this in the instant pot? If so, can you post instructions for cook times and steps/altered ingredients? Thanks!
Hi Jessica! I have not made this recipe in the IP!
Such a simple recipe, but it packs big flavor! The seasoned salt adds a lot to the recipe! I added celery to put a more veggies in there. I also halved the recipe since this was my first time making it. It still makes plenty
I’m so glad you loved the dish, Sara! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Absolutely delicious chicken and rice casserole!!!!
Woo!! So glad it was a hit, Shirley!!
This is going to be my new fall/winter staple in our home. It is fantastic and so delicious!
I’m thrilled it was a hit, Sarah! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
This was not bad. It needs some creaminess. I do love how simple and easy if was to make. Rice is my favorite food so this caught my eye. IGE has many great recipes I’ve tried in the past. If I make this again I’ll try to add some more depth to it.
Thanks.
Hi Gwyn! Is it possible that the broth was mis-measured? This dish is very, very creamy and I haven’t received similar feedback. Anxious to get you the dish that you thought you were going to get!