One Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Rice is the perfect weeknight family meal. The secret is to marinade the chicken thighs with lots of great Mediterranean spices and then pair with rice, diced tomatoes, spinach, lemon slices and garnished with feta cheese and fresh herbs. It is such a nice filling Mediterranean meal!
ONE POT MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN AND RICE
You guys are in for a treat today with this One Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Rice.
I love the Mediterranean marinade that the recipe uses to infuse warm, rich spices into the chicken.
Whenever I think of chicken and rice, I think of my childhood.
My mom always made the best chicken and rice meals.
You might remember a couple that I have shared over the years like this Curried Chicken and Rice Casserole or this Southwestern Chicken and Rice Casserole.
There is something comforting about a hearty meal mixing flavorful, juicy chicken with rice.
Today recipe is one I make a lot for my family and I find that the leftovers are even better the next day so make a big batch and get ready to eat it all week long!
Today’s recipe uses Smart Chicken Thighs.
You might remember some of the other recipes I have created using Smart Chicken this year.
A few of my favorites are this Yogurt Marinated Chicken, Margarita Grilled Chicken, Air Fryer Mediterranean Chicken Thighs, Sun-dried Tomato Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts and this Chicken Souvlaki Recipe.
WHAT IS SMART CHICKEN?
Smart Chicken is my favorite brand of chicken to use in my recipes.
I use their chicken in so many of my recipes from these Healthy Chicken Fingers, to these Moroccan Chicken Thighs to these Grilled Chicken Thighs with Greek Marinade.
Here is a little about why I love them so much!
QUALITY: When I use Smart Chicken I can tell the difference compared to other brands, which I attribute to their organic, air chilled chicken. It really is the best chicken in my opinion.
CARE: They believe that the quality of their end product—the taste—is affected by every aspect of how the chickens are raised, fed, and handled, starting in the egg. This makes me as a consumer very happy!
LOCATION: Another thing I love about Smart Chicken is that they are located in the heart of the Midwest.
Being a Midwestern girl most of my life I am always looking for companies from the Midwest to support.
They wanted to utilize the fact that the vast majority of feed grains produced in this country are produced in the Midwest, and corn and soybeans are the dominant feed sources for chickens.
WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN AND RICE?
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SMART CHICKEN BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN THIGHS
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WHITE RICE
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CLASSIC SMART CHICKEN BONE BROTH
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LEMONS
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DICED TOMATOES
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GARLIC
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SWEET ONION
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SPINACH
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PARSLEY
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FETA CHEESE
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SPICES
HOW DO YOU MAKE ONE POT MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN AND RICE?
In a small mixing bowl combine the coriander, cumin, turmeric, sweet paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper.
Place chicken in a medium bowl or large ziplock bag.
Drizzle with the 2 tablespoons olive oil then toss to coat well. Use half of the spice mixture and add it to the chicken.
Toss to coat the marinade on the chicken.
Refrigerate the chicken for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 2 minutes.
Place the chicken in the skillet and cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned.
Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Add the rice, chicken broth, lemon juice from 1 lemon, diced tomatoes, spinach, and remaining spice mixture and stir to combine making sure the spinach is submerged under the rice and broth.
Add the chicken back into the pot on top of the rice.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cover and cook the chicken for 35 minutes.
Remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, rice is tender, and chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Remove from heat and garnish with lemon slices, fresh parsley and feta cheese.
WHAT TO PAIR WITH ONE POT CHICKEN AND RICE?
We love adding salads alongside our meals. Some favorites are this Summer Orzo Pasta Salad, Mediterranean Bean Salad, and this Lemon Arugula Salad with Pine Nuts.
Vegetables are also a nice side dish to serve with chicken and rice. I love serving these Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables, Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower or these Lebanese Green Beans.
I also enjoy potatoes alongside this meal. These Lemon Cilantro Roasted Potatoes and Spicy Lebanese Potatoes are always a hit.
One Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Rice
One Pot Mediterranean Chicken and Rice is the perfect weeknight family meal. Chicken thighs are marinated in a warm Mediterranean marinade and then paired with rice, warm spices, diced tomatoes, spinach, lemon slices and garnished with feta cheese and fresh herbs. You are going to love this filling, healthy Mediterranean meal!
Ingredients
- 1 package of Smart Chicken Thighs {between 2-2.5 pounds}
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 1/4 cups Smart Chicken Bone Broth
- 2 lemons, one juiced and one sliced
- 1 - 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small sweet onion, diced
- 1 cup of fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
MEDITERRANEAN MARINADE
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl combine the coriander, cumin, turmeric, sweet paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper.
- Place chicken in a medium bowl or large ziplock bag. Drizzle with the 2 tablespoons olive oil then toss to coat well. Use half of the spice mixture and add it to the chicken. Toss to coat the marinade over the chicken.
- Refrigerate the chicken for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 2 minutes.
- Place the chicken in the skillet and cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until they get a nice sear. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Add the rice, chicken broth, lemon juice from 1 lemon, diced tomatoes, spinach, and remaining spice mixture and stir to combine making sure the spinach is submerged under the rice and broth.
- Add the chicken back into the pot on top of the rice.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cover and cook for 35 minutes.
- Remove the cover and cook for another 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, rice is tender, and chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Remove from heat and garnish with lemon slices, fresh parsley and feta cheese.
