This Chicken and Rice recipe is so delicious and perfect for any night of the week since it’s all made in one pan in under 35 minutes.
This delicious chicken and rice dinner recipe takes the flavors of Chicken Cordon Bleu and turns them into an easy skillet meal. It’s a perfect weeknight meal, because not only does it cook in about 35 minutes, but it’s also really easy to play around with which vegetables and cheeses you include.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Video: Making Cheesy Chicken And Rice
Type Of Chicken To Use
I like to use cut up boneless skinless chicken thighs for this skillet recipe because they end up so juicy and delicious. If you prefer chicken breasts, you can use them. I find they’re a little drier in this kind of recipe, but they will cook in the same amount of time and can be substituted.
Have leftover cooked chicken? You could use that too! Just stir it into the rice mixture for the last 5 minutes of cooking time, just to heat it through instead of searing at the beginning of the recipe.
Type Of Rice To Use
This chicken and rice recipe calls for long-grain white rice. A shorter grain like arborio, the rice typically used for risotto, or bomba rice, used for paella, would work in a similar way.
Jasmine rice and basmati could also be substituted but may need a few minutes shorter cooking time. Check on it at 18 minutes to see if the rice is fully cooked. Just give it a stir and then taste some rice to see if it’s tender.
Brown rice is not ideal because it takes longer to cook and will require more liquid. The best thing to do would be to check it after it has been cooking for 20 minutes and then add more hot water every now and then as needed while it continues to cook covered over low heat.
Play With Flavors
When I was coming up with this cheesy chicken recipe, I used the basic amounts of meat, rice, and liquid from my very popular Ground Beef and Rice Skillet Recipe. But I used chicken here, and the flavors of Chicken Cordon Bleu with the ham and Swiss cheese. The point is though that once you know how to make a rice skillet like this, and once you know the amounts of liquid and rice, and how long it needs to cook, you can switch it up in all kinds of ways. Different meats, different seasonings, different veggies, different kinds of cheese – anything is possible!
Want to go more Tex-Mex? Use some chicken taco seasoning, Cheddar cheese, and bell pepper or corn instead of the mushrooms. You’ll get a Mexican Skillet Dinner like this.
How about Greek chicken? Use tomatoes and olives along with feta cheese and some lemon juice.
Love Italian seasoning? Pair it with fresh and sun-dried tomatoes and use Parmesan cheese along with the mozzarella for Italian chicken.
It’s so fun to play with the ingredients and flavors. I suggest making it as written the first time, then switch it up. (And let me know your favorite combos in the comments below.)
Oh, and if you want to try a different carbohydrate, you can go learn how to make this Ground Beef and Potato Skillet, and then you can try customizing that as well.
More Delicious One-Pan Meals
Browse my full collection of one-dish dinner recipes or try one of the great options below.
Podcast Episode: Making One-Pan Cheesy Chicken and Rice
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this chicken skillet, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
One-Pan Cheesy Chicken and Rice Recipe
- Prep Time: 6 minutes
- Cook Time: 28 minutes
- Total Time: 34 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This One-Pan Cheesy Chicken and Rice is so delicious and perfect for any night of the week. Use as written or adjust to your taste by switching out the veggies, cheese, and seasonings.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 4)*, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tsp. salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 pint mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup finely chopped ham (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
- 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
- 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives (optional)
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken in a single layer. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and all of the pepper. Allow it to cook until browned underneath, 3-4 minutes. Flip it all over and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Stir in the onion, mushrooms, ham (if using), and garlic. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are starting to get tender, 4-5 minutes.
- Stir in the stock, rice, mozzarella, Worcestershire, thyme, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir. Reduce to a simmer, stir and then cover the skillet.
- Cook covered over low heat until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir gently to fluff rice. Sprinkle on the Swiss cheese. Cover and let stand off the heat until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle with the chives (if using) and serve.
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Notes
*Boneless skinless chicken breasts can be used instead. They will be a little bit drier than the thighs but cook in the same amount of time and so they are interchangeable here. You’ll need 2-3 chicken breasts to make up the pound of poultry needed for the recipe. I suggest cutting them into 2 inch pieces instead of 1-inch, so that they dry out less.
This was soooo good! I made it just like the recipe, but may try some of the variations you mentioned in the future.
I hope you do, Sandy! It’s really easy to switch up the ingredients.