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
This is a fabulous, sturdy recipe. Once I got started I realized I didn’t have any chicken broth (or any broth for that matter), and no long grain rice. I was still committed so I used one can of condensed cream of chicken soup and about 7.5 cups of water, medium grain Japanese rice, salt free seasoning and also added a diced onion and celery to clear out the fridge.
The results were really delicious and the texture was very nice… I love finding recipes that can be done creatively when in a pinch and this was the perfect starting point for what I had one hand. Thing is definitely going into our dinner rotation.
I’m so glad you were able to make this recipe work with what you had on hand, Claire! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
So good, my family and I love it, thank you for another great recipe!
I’m thrilled this recipe was a hit with you and your family, Kristina! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
We have been eating this recipe for a few years now and it never disappoints! My husband is Ukrainian and it reminds him of plov, which is a staple for them. Absolutely delicious and easy!
Aww – I’m so glad this dish hits the spot for your family, and is reminiscent of a dish from your home that your husband loves!
This was easy and delicious! Another weeknight dinner in my recipe arsenal!
I’m so glad you love it, Nicole! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Delish!! I made this and the recipe was very easy to follow and LOVE that it was risotto-esque without all the stirring! However, I used to much of the seasoning salt and it was too salty. Will be making it again tonight with lighter on the seasoning. Very good dish, easy!!
Hi there.
Your One Pot Chicken and Rice is to die for. I will be
making this often.
This was really good. I added celery, because we like it. This was very tasty. Will make again. Thanks
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Joanne, and I love the addition of celery. :)
What did i do wrong????
There is sooooo much liquid left. It’s soup! Not happy
I’m so sorry to hear that, Becky! Is it possible that the broth or rice were mis measured? I haven’t received this type of feedback for this recipe before.
I’ve had a family recipe for chicken and rice that I’ve used for about 20 years now. After trying this recipe, I am now throwing away my old one. This was fantastic and this is my new chicken and rice recipe. Thank you!
I found this recipe by chance and tried it out. It tastes great! I topped it with parmesan cheese and the kids cleaned their plates. Thank you for sharing!
Love to hear that, Emily – so glad you gave it a go! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
This recipe is rather plain. I made this using a mirepoix of onions, carrots, and celery. The celery real shines in any chicken dish.
Great recipe! Simple and delicious,
Really delicious. I followed the recipe exactly except substituting olive oil for butter in the initial stage. We are lactose intolerant. A fabulous, hearty, comforting meal!
Just made this on the whim this evening because I was in the mood for chicken soup, but found this instead and it was amazing!!! It’s a keeper thank you
This was delicious! Making it again tomorrow and we are going to add some broccoli along with the carrots!
This was delicious and comforting on a cold winter evening. I added a bit more chicken breast and it worked wonderfully. I love the homemade season salt.
I’m so glad this recipe was a hit, Amy!! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
I made this delicious dish and used smoked paprika instead of regular because it’s all I had. Super easy and quite tasty. Love your homemade season salt.
I’m so glad you loved it, and the seasoning salt, Linda! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
This recipe is so tasty and quite easy to make.
I’m so glad you loved it, Renee! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
I love this recipe! I will happily eat it a few nights in a row. That said, as a single person I’m wondering if anyone has tried to freeze it and any hints. Thanks.
I’m so glad you loved it, Sue! I don’t find that cooked >> thawed rice holds up very well, but this recipe is super easy to halve or quarter to make a smaller batch. :)
My daughter and I love this. It is the only recipe we use now. Making it again tonight!
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Kelli! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Do you by any chance know I could convert this recipe into an Instant Pot version? I am dying to make this but I lost all my cookware in a fire recently so I’m having buy pots and pans as I can afford them and unfortunately I don’t have a pot big enough to make it on the stove. I opted to buy an instant pot because of the versatility of meals I can cook in it until I can get my cookware collection built up again.
Oh that’s terrible, I am so sorry to hear that, Janey!! :( I don’t have experience cooking rice in the instant pot, so unfortunately I can’t make a recommendation for cooking this dish via pressure cookier. What you could do though is use the saute setting on the IP to essentially make the dish the same way as you would in a pot on the stove. Let me know if that helps!!