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.
We affectionately call this One-Pot Chicken and Rice dish “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, it’s creamy and made in one pot like porridge or “gruel”, but is absolutely delicious and super comforting. Plus it’s easy to eat – even for 2 year olds. ;)
Sliced carrots are sauteed in butter and homemade seasoned salt then joined by dried minced onions, garlic, parsley, rice, diced chicken, and rich 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!
Now, a couple notes:
- 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 very 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! Point being, this isn’t fancy or fussy cooking – use what you’ve got and follow your heart.
- 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 might need more chicken stock and of course will need to increase the cooking time.
- Since this dish has just a few simple ingredients, I like using gluten free chicken STOCK vs broth for maximum flavor.
- One-Pot 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 One-Pot Chicken and Rice:
Start by adding 1 heaping cup sliced carrots (from 1 cup baby carrots or 2 large carrots) to 2 Tablespoons butter that’s been melted 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 2 scant cups good quality long grain white rice, 1 Tablespoon dried minced onion, and 1 teaspoon 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.
Side note: I use their wild rice for my Crock Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, their short grain brown rice for my Pesto Rice, and their arborio rice for all of my risottos.
Add 2 Tablespoons dried parsley and 8 cups chicken stock to the pot then bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low then simmer for 10 minutes. Next, season 2 small 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 2-4 additional Tablespoons 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 – enjoy!
50+ Freezer Friendly Recipes
Cute Spring Fashion FindsOne-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 or vegan 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
More Gluten Free One Pot Recipes:
Cheesy Chicken Burrito Skillet >
Crispy Chicken, Bacon, Pesto Gnocchi Skillet >
Next time I will halve this recipe. It made way too much for our family of 4. Also, I used mahatma jasmine rice and it came out a bit mush. I will try lundberg as suggested.
Hello, can you use frozen cauliflower rice instead?
I made a few changes and loved the outcome. I used a Ninja Foodi (similar to Instant Pot). I sauteed some mushrooms with the carrots and used fresh onion and jarred minced garlic. I sauteed the chicken until it was about half cooked, as I wanted to do only a short cycle on pressure cooking. I used 2 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of rice (parboiled – it was all I had on hand – bought a giant box in bulk at the beginning of the pandemic). Pressure cooked for 4 minutes, did a 10 minute natural release, then quick released the rest. I forgot to add more butter or the parsley. It tasted a lot like Rice-A-Roni (I think – haven’t had that since college). The rice was not mushy at all – I actually think it was less creamy than the Kristin’s pics and more like a regular rice dish. Will definitely make again, but may add a bit more broth to get closer to the semi-risotto texture in the pictures. It was so quick, including the prep, and definitely tasty.