Succulent chicken thighs with a crispy paprika flavoured skin on a bed of buttery, garlic flavoured rice combine to form this garlic chicken ovenbake. This is the ideal no fuss supper the whole family will love. It cooks in half an hour and because it’s made in only one dish, there’s less washing up!!!!
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Garlic chicken ovenbake
Buttery, garlic-flavoured rice and succulent chicken thighs are the stars of the show in this quick and easy supper. And because this garlic chicken ovenbake is made in one pan in the oven, there’s minimum fuss and minimum washing up afterwards.
The chicken bakes to juicy, fork-tender perfection, with a deliciously crispy skin. The rice is fluffy and light, with buttery, garlic flavour, and crunchy bits around the edges, which to my mind is the best bit!
Now you could just mix all the ingredients in the roasting pan and put it straight into the oven. It will still taste good, but there are two things I do that make all the difference to the taste, and elevate it from just nice to simply amazing.
What are the secrets?
The first secret to this dish is in the butter. The onions are fried in butter until they are golden. Then the rice is mixed in and coated with the onion-flavoured butter before the rest of the ingredients are added. Believe me, this makes all the difference and gives the rice its lovely buttery taste. Of course, you could fry the onions in a pan on the stove first, but then you’d have an extra pan to wash up 🙂
The second secret is the spice rub. The chicken pieces should be liberally coated with a mixture of spices. This not only flavours the chicken and gives it a lovely crispy flavoured skin, but it also soaks into the rice for extra taste.
And as this chicken ovenbake contains not only chicken and rice but also peas and onions, you won’t be needing any side dishes. If you do want to make extra vegetables, a helping of steamed broccoli makes a nice accompaniment, or you could just serve the chicken with a fresh green salad.
In case you are wondering about cooking rice in the oven, this dish was actually inspired by my oven-baked rice. Rice cooks perfectly in the oven, and turns out fluffy and light, with every grain perfectly separated.
So without further ado, let’s get on with the recipe for my garlic chicken ovenbake.
What you will need
Equipment
I normally use my cast iron Dutch oven to make this garlic chicken ovenbake because it has a nice tight-fitting lid and I can also use it for frying the onions on the stovetop. If you don’t have a Dutch oven you can use a metal baking dish and cover it with a sheet of tinfoil instead.
Ingredients
**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making garlic chicken ovenbake on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
This recipe will feed a family of 4, and you can easily adapt it to feed more by just increasing the amount of rice and chicken. I’ve allowed 2 thighs per adult and 1 thigh per child, just add more or less meat according to your needs.
You will need 6 chicken thighs with all excess skin and visible fat removed. Just leave the top piece of skin on the chicken.
You will also need a couple of finely diced medium-sized onions, and 2 cloves of minced garlic. You can use garlic from a jar if you don’t have it fresh. And don’t forget the butter for browning the onions.
I used white basmati rice, but you can use any long-grained rice. Just don’t use the quick-cook rice because it will go stodgy due to the time this dish takes to cook. You want rice that will cook at the same time as the chicken takes to cook. One cup of dried rice is enough for 4 people. If you increase the quantity of rice you should also increase the stock accordingly. You need 2 cups of stock for every cup of rice. If you use salt in your diet, you can also add 1 teaspoon of salt to the rice.
For the spice rub you will need dried onion flakes, garlic granules, and paprika.
A cup of frozen pea should be stirred through the rice once it is cooked.
The final ingredient is the chicken stock. I like to add teaspoon of dried chilli flakes to the stock for a touch of heat, but you can leave these out if you prefer.
What to do
Mix all the spices together in a dish and coat each piece of chicken on both sides. Rub the spices well into the skin of the chicken.
Melt the butter in your Dutch oven and fry the onions and garlic on a low heat until the onions start to turn translucent.
If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can fry the onions and garlic in a frying pan, or bake them in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes at 180C / 360F.
Keep your eye on them so they don’t burn.
Once the onions have softened, add the rice and stir well to coat each grain with butter.
Mix the chilli flakes into the stock (along with salt if you are using it) and pour it over the rice and onions. Arrange the chicken pieces on top, with the skin side facing upwards.
Cover the pan with a lid and bake in a hot oven (200C / 400F) for 30 minutes until the liquid has all been absorbed into the stock. If you don’t have a lid, cover the dish tightly with a sheet of tinfoil.
Do not leave for longer or the rice will be overcooked and become mushy.
Remove the chicken pieces and stir in the peas. Replace the chicken with the skin side facing upwards.
Turn the oven on to grill, and place the dish on the middle rack in the oven to allow the chicken skin to crisp and brown.
Don’t place the dish too close to the heating element or the skin will burn.
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Tips and hints for best results
- Be sure to get the ratio of rice and stock correct or the rice will not cook properly in the oven. You need 2 cups of stock for every cup of rice. It doesn’t matter what size cup you use, but use the same cup to measure both the rice and the stock. I use a 240ml US standard measuring cup.
- Be careful when adding salt. If you use a chicken stock cube to make the stock you may find that you won’t need any additional salt.
- The chicken should be placed SKIN SIDE UP onto the rice and onion mixture.
- Make sure to cover the dish tightly with either a lid or a sheet of tinfoil to keep all the moisture in the dish. If the lid doesn’t fit tightly you run the risk of the liquid evaporating and the rice won’t cook properly.
- If the rice hasn’t absorbed all the liquid at the end of the 30-minute cooking time, replace the dish in the oven and cook for a few minutes longer.
- Keep your eye on the chicken when it is under the grill so that the skin doesn’t burn.
Serve this garlic chicken ovenbake with steamed green vegetables, or a fresh green salad.
Variations
You don’t have to use chicken thighs if you don’t want to. This dish will work just as well with chicken drumsticks, or even chicken breast. However, if you are making this dish with skinless chicken breasts it would be best to leave it in the oven for 5 minutes longer and skip putting it under a hot grill (because there is no skin to crisp).
You can also vary the vegetables.
- Add a handful of sliced button mushrooms along with the stock.
- Swap the onions for leeks, or even add chopped red peppers with the onions. Chicken and leeks go so well together. If you enjoy leeks, you may enjoy this chicken and leek pie.
- Instead of peas, why not add broccoli florets to the stock or some chopped green beans. You can add any vegetable, as long as you are sure it will cook in 30 minutes, which is the length of time the dish will be in the oven.
Can I freeze this chicken ovenbake?
Rice freezes really well. Pack any leftover rice into freezer containers or Ziploc bags and freeze for up to six months.
Store any leftover chicken in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Pin for later
Why not pin this garlic chicken recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily. Just click the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Other recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe you may like to take a look at some of my other chicken recipes:
- Sticky orange chicken traybake
- Chicken and mushroom quiche
- Honey Lemon Roast Chicken
- Easy Chicken a la King
- Chicken and Mushroom puff pie
- Crispy air-fryer chicken wings with blue cheese sauce
- Chicken Diane with brandy sauce
Recipe – Garlic chicken ovenbake with rice
Garlic chicken ovenbake with rice
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Dutch oven OR
Ingredients
- 6 large chicken thighs 900g or 2 pounds
- 2 medium onions chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 25 g butter for browning the onions
- 1 cup / 200 grams uncooked white basmati rice
- 1 cup / 150 grams frozen peas
- 1 teaspoon salt optional
- 2 cups / 480 ml chicken stock
- 1 to 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules
- 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes optional
Instructions
- Wash the chicken thighs and trim them to remove any exess skin and visible fat.6 large chicken thighs
- Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F
- Peel the onions and garlic and chop them finely.2 medium onions, 2 cloves garlic
- Melt the butter in a casserole dish and add the chopped onions and garlic. Stir for 5 minutes on a low heat until the onions start to soften and turn translucent.25 g butter
- Once the onions are translucent stir in the rice. Stir well to coat each grain with butter.1 cup / 200 grams uncooked white basmati rice
- Add the chicken stock, dried chilli flakes and salt (if you are using salt).1 teaspoon salt, 2 cups / 480 ml chicken stock, ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- Mix the spices together in a small bowl and coat the chicken on both sides, rubbing the spices well into the chicken skin.1 to 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic granules, 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
- Arrange the chicken, skin side UP, on the rice/stock mixture.
- Cover the roasting pan tightly with tinfoil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven and transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Stir in the peas and then replace the chicken (still skin side up) on top.
- Change the oven setting to grill, and place the chicken in the centre of the oven, under the grill for about 5 minutes until the skin is crispy.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately with additional steamed vegetables or a fresh green salad.1 cup / 150 grams frozen peas
Notes
- Be sure to get the ratio of rice and stock correct or the rice will not cook properly in the oven. You need 2 cups of stock for every cup of rice. It doesn’t matter what size cup you use, but use the same cup to measure both the rice and the stock. I use a 240ml US standard measuring cup.
- Be careful when adding salt. If you use a chicken stock cube to make the stock you may find that you won’t need any additional salt.
- The chicken should be placed SKIN SIDE UP onto the rice and onion mixture.
- Make sure to cover the dish tightly with either a lid or a sheet of tinfoil to keep all the moisture in the dish. If the lid doesn’t fit tightly you run the risk of the liquid evaporating and the rice won’t cook properly.
- If the rice hasn’t absorbed all the liquid at the end of the 30-minute cooking time, replace the dish in the oven and cook for a few minutes long
- Keep your eye on the chicken when it is under the grill so that the skin doesn’t burn.
- Add a handful of sliced button mushrooms along with the stock.
- Swap the onions for leeks, or even add chopped red peppers with the onions. Chicken and leeks go so well together. If you enjoy leeks, you may enjoy this chicken and leek pie.
- Instead of peas, why not add broccoli florets to the stock or some chopped green beans. You can add any vegetable, as long as you are sure it will cook in 30 minutes, which is the length of time the dish will be in the oven.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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When do you put the chopped garlic in.??
My apologies. The garlic goes into the oven with the onions. I have updated the recipe accordingly. Thanks for pointing this out.
400C, is this the oven from hell?
Oops! Thank you for pointing it out. Sometimes gremlins slip in. It was actually correct on the recipe card though. I’ve corrected it in the post. I’m pleased that you read through the post though – some people just skip straight to the recipe. 🙂
This is right up my alley for ease and flavours – love crispy paprika flavoured skin, love buttery, garlic flavoured rice and love using only one dish! 🙂