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!
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.
Oh my gosh, yum. Ok, let’s get this grue-, I mean One Pot Chicken and Rice on the table!
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!
Similar Recipes
- Easy Chicken and Rice Soup
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Skillet
- Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs and Rice
- 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.
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
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Made this tonight and absolutely loved it!! Thanks for such a great recipe!!
Thanks for the seasoned salt recipe!
Thank you for the great recipes! You’re hands down my favorite recipe blogger to follow. Thanks for making your blog so visually appealing and for the super yummy meals! :-) You’re doing a great job.
Who else tried this 2020 during quarantine ❣️
I LOVE this recipe and was so proud of myself when it turned out amazing. My kids that are 9 and 13 loved it! It goes well with white wine for all of us adults! ?
It made a lot so I can eat leftovers this week and it was just a family friendly meal.
I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be soupy at first but it did thicken after ten minutes and was great either way!
What is the calorie content per serving? Thanks
I’m stocking my freezer to use during knee surgery recovery. This looks delicious, can it be frozen?
I made this tonight for dinner. My family really liked it! ? But, not the reference to gruel.? I served it with buttered yeast rolls-delicious!
Can I use long grain brown rice??
Made this tonight- so good! I added a cup of frozen baby peas in the last 5 mins when it was covered off the heat. We also had Siracha that we drizzled on top after serving. Definitely going to be an addition to our rotation, especially in the winter months. Thanks!
At the risk of being boring, redundant and unimaginative, let me say that this is delicious and a total hit. 22 year old son actually asked if there were leftovers that he could have for lunch tomorrow (this NEVER has happened before). Hubby who could be on Chopped and always tries to be polite about my cooking, had three helpings and told me over an over how good it was. This is just fabulous. Thank you so much, though I think he might head east to see if he can find a new wife in Iowa.
Made this last night. It was great. Even my picky eater went back for more! I was wondering if I want to add celery or broccoli to it when would those need to be added?
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This was yummy, just like everything on Kristin makes. But, pro tip……don’t use purple carrots, it will turn your whole dish a purple brown. SMH! ??♀️
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Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! My youngest child is allergic to dairy and soy, and I’ve been maintaining a strict diet in order to nurse her for almost 2 years now. I’ve been itching for some real comfort food and this was spot on! I used our favorite soy free stock (Pacific Organics) and used our preferred butter alternative (Miyoko’s cultured vegan butter), and it came out so great! Thank you again!!!
Oh I’m so glad this recipe hit the spot, Kristin! I use the Miyokos butter for this recipe too, on account of my daughter’s dairy allergy!
Can I have the Nutritional facts on this dish
I made this today and it’s very good! I used brown rice since that’s all I had. I had to cook it an extra 10-15 minutes to get the rice to cook through, but otherwise I think it turned out great. I’m going to portion it up and freeze it for fast lunchtime meals.
How can I make this and adjust to using my instant pot?
Hi with this recipe do you brown the chicken pieces first or do you put them
in raw? Thanks
You put them in raw.
This looks delicious. Will definitely have to try this. I have been eating an Asian version of this since I was a kid. Instead of carrots and onions, I use lemongrass to flavor the broth when boiling the chicken, then add in soy sauce, oyster sauce, cilantro and green onions at the end. Sometimes even Sriracha. I also add in some wide rice noodles if I have any. This is my ultimate comfort food.