One pan Greek lemon chicken and rice made with pan-seared chicken, lemon, and herbs. Easy and healthy dinner recipe, loaded with authentic Greek flavors, comes together in 30 minutes.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Total Time40 minutesmins
Course: Main
Cuisine: Greek
Servings: 4people
Calories: 316kcal
Author: Preeti
Equipment
Pan or Skillet
Ingredients
For chicken
2large chicken breastsliced in halves
salt to taste
½teaspoonminced garlic
½teaspooncrushed black pepper
½teaspoonpaprika (optional)
½teaspoonoregano
½ teaspoonthyme
2teaspoonlemon juice
½teaspoonoil
For rice
3teaspoonolive oil
1.5cupslong grain basmati rice rinse it well and soak for 30 minutes before adding it
1onionfinely chopped
1teaspoonminced garlic
½teaspooncrushed black pepperadd as per taste
½ teaspoonthyme
½ teaspoonoregano
2 and ¼cupschicken broth
1tablespoonlemon juice
½cupfrozen green peas (optional)
1tablespoonfinely chopped cilantro
lemon zest (garnishing)
Instructions
Preparations
Slice the chicken breast in halves or you can pound it.
Marinate the chicken with salt, pepper, paprika (optional), thyme, oregano, lemon juice, and oil. Set it aside for 30 minutes.
Rinse the rice with water 2-3 times until the cloudiness of water is gone. Drain off the water. Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes.
Chop the onions, and garlic. Slice lemons. Set these aside.
Making Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice
In a large skillet or pan, heat 3 teaspoon of oil over high heat.
Place the marinated chicken on the pan. Cook it for 2-3 minutes on both sides. No need to cook the chicken completely at this stage. Remove it to a plate. Cover to keep it warm.
Add onion in the same pan. Cook until onions are translucent.
Add garlic, stir and cook for 30 seconds.
Next, add the chicken broth, lemon juice, pepper, oregano and thyme. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to remove browned bits.
Taste it and add salt and pepper as per taste.
Add rice and green peas. Gently stir to combine.
Let the chicken stock come to a boil.
Once it comes to a boil, add the chicken back to the pan.
Cover with a lid and cook it on low heat for 15-20 minutes or until the water is absorbed by rice.
Remove from heat. Keep it aside for 10 minutes.
Garnish with the lemon slices and coriander leaves.
Video
Notes
Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes. It will make the chicken tender and juicy.
Rice to liquid ratio is important. Add water as per the brand of rice you are using. There will be instructions on the package for the rice to water ratio.
Use a tight-fitting lid to cover the pan. If the steam escapes from the lid then you have to add more water to cook the rice. Alternatively, you can cover it with aluminum foil if you do not have a tight-fitting lid.
Do not stir the rice when it is simmering or just cooked. It will break the rice grains and rice will become mushy. You can use a fork to fluff the rice.
I added green peas to the recipe. You can skip it or add any other greens like broccoli.
For garnishing, I have panfried the lemon slices with little salt and pepper, after pan-searing the chicken. This is optional.