This Lemon Chicken Rice Skillet is filled with fluffy and fragrant lemon rice and juicy chicken breasts all made in just one pan!
I love to pair this easy chicken dinner recipe with steamed broccoli or parmesan roasted green beans for a complete meal.
Lemon Chicken Rice Skillet
Lemon Chicken Rice Skillet is a one skillet dinner that my whole family loves. The chicken is super tender and the rice is light, fluffy and has a delightful lemon fragrance to it!
I’m all about those easy dinners, and since it’s officially Spring weather, I’m loving all things lemon!
Who am I kidding, I love lemon all times of the year. I especially love it when an easy, one skillet dinner comes together this quickly!
Ingredients Needed:
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to make this Lemon Chicken and Rice Skillet. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients in the printable recipe card below.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – you can also use chicken thighs if desired
- Garlic Powder
- Butter
- Rice – I prefer Jasmine rice, but any long grain rice will work
- Chicken Stock
- Lemons
- Parsley
How To Make Lemon Chicken with Rice
SEASON CHICKEN Start out with 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, but you can also use chicken thighs for that tender dark meat. Season both sides of the chicken with garlic powder, salt, pepper and parsley.
SEAR THE CHICKEN Add a little butter and olive oil to a hot skillet and sear the chicken on both sides until it’s golden brown, but not cooked all the way through. The butter will give it a nice and nutty flavor and the smell will be heavenly!
Once the chicken is seared, remove it from the skillet and set aside.
ADD THE RICE To the hot skillet, add the rice, chicken broth and a little bit of lemon juice. Stir it around and be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to get those browned bits. That’s where all the lovely flavor is!
RETURN THE CHICKEN Finally, place the chicken breasts back on top of the rice, cover and let cook until the rice is nice and fluffy.
My kids absolutely LOVED this dish.
My husband couldn’t get over how flavorful the rice was, and I am always happy when dinner only takes one pan getting dirty!
more easy chicken skillet dinner ideas:
- Asparagus Stuffed Chicken – quickly a fan favorite
- BBQ Chicken Pasta Skillet – all the flavors of BBQ without the grill
- One Skillet Greek Chicken – this one uses a fun pasta
- Chicken and Stuffing Skillet – the combination of flavors in this one is unreal
- Mexican Chicken Taco Skillet – turn taco Tuesday into something new and fun
With the weather warming up, it’s always nice to have a handful of easy dinner ideas that don’t require too much effort.
I’m sure you’re going to love this Lemon Chicken Rice Skillet as much as we did.
Lemon Chicken Rice Skillet
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast halves, or boneless chicken thighs, pounded to an even thickness
- salt and pepper , to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp parsley, dried
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup white rice, uncooked (I use Jasmine)
- 2 ¼ cup chicken stock, or broth
- 1 tsp lemon zest + 3 tbsp lemon juice, from one lemon
- 1 tsp parsley, dried or 1 tbsp freshly chopped
- 1 lemon, (whole)cut into slices for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet (with lid) over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and parsley. *make sure chicken breast is pounded to an even thickness for best cooking results.
- Add the olive oil and butter to the skillet and cook chicken until browned, but not cooked all the way through (about 2 minutes per side). Remove chicken from skillet to a plate nearby.
- Add the rice, chicken stock, lemon zest, lemon juice and parsley to the skillet over medium heat and use a wooden spoon to scrape the browned bits from the pan. Let rice come to a small boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Place the chicken on top of the rice mixture, cover with lid and let cook an additional 20 to 22 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Fluff rice with fork.
- Garnish the chicken with lemon slices and extra parsley if desired. Enjoy right away!
Video
Nutrition
PIN THIS IMAGE TO SAVE THE RECIPE!
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Elizabeth Schartung
I have made this dish many times! It’s a family favorite!!!! So easy too!!!! Thanks!!
Debbie K Schaefer
Very good, quick and easy! Chicken was juicy and tender, rice nicely seasoned. I love skillet dinners! It’s a keeper!
Thank you!
TINA
Made this amazing dish as per instructions and added some asparagus tips and feta cheese on top in the last minutes of cooking. Fabulous!
Kathy Collins
Can you make this in a Crockpot?
Flora
This was a quick and easy recipe to make! I used quick cooking brown rice, so had to cook it a few minutes longer, but so delicious. Will definitely make this again!
Tiffany Kopp
This was so easy and delicious, it will definitely be a staple in my house!
Thank you
Gwynne
Could I use Arborio rice?
Amanda
I have made this so many times since discovering this recipe last spring and it always turns out so good and is such a crowd pleaser! I’m wondering if I can toss some asparagus tips and there and if they would cook up well? If not I can cook them separately. I just love the one pot deal! Thank you for this recipe! love it!
Shawn
Tossing in some asparagus tips would be a great idea! Since those can cook very fast I might wait until you have about 10 minutes left of cooking before you toss them in though.
Judy
Can i use instant Rice?
Natalie
When you say chicken breast halves, what is the weight? Do you filet a chicken breast to get a thinner chicken breast?
Shawn
Yes, you’ll want to filet the chicken breasts in half. Or you can use a whole chicken breast and just pound it thin with a heavy rolling pin. Either way will work.
Diane
I was excited to see a one-pan dinner with no oven. Unfortunately, I must have done something wrong. It wasn’t a hit with our family. The chicken ended up too dried out yet the rice was gummy. Sorry, but we won’t be making it again.
Shawn
Hi Diane, I’m so sorry you didn’t get great results with this. Honestly it sounds like something went wrong in the cooking process, because this dish always comes out great for me. Here are some tips that might get you better results – all you need to do is sear the chicken before adding in the rice. If you cook the chicken too long it’ll end up being dry. If the rice is gummy it sounds like there is too much starch in there. I prefer to use Jasmine rice for recipes like this, but if you’re using a different kind, make sure you rinse your rice before adding it to the skillet to remove excess starches. Hope you give it another try!
Regina Rios
I have made this 3 times and I love it its my new addiction!! So good
Shawn
Awesome! I’m so glad you have been enjoying the recipe Regina!
Laura
Do you cook the ride before putting it in the pan or does it cook from raw in the pan?
Shawn
You’ll use uncooked rice for this recipe, it gets cooked right in the pan with the chicken!
Alyssa B.
This was delicious! I didn’t use chicken broth, because I had all the ingredients except that, but I didn’t miss it. It’s plenty flavorful all on its own. I replaced the white rice with brown, and a note to those who decide to do this: you do not need to add extra liquid. I find that brown rice tends to need more liquid, so I added an extra 1/4 cup or so and it was unnecessary. I took the chicken out and left the lid off for the last five minutes to let it evaporate. I steamed some Brussels sprouts to go with it and it was amazing. It’s going in my recipe rotation.
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Alyssa!
Nancy Dunlap
What did you use instead f chicken stock?
Alyssa
I just used water. I’ve made this recipe 3-4 times since I originally tried and I love it every time. 🙂
Shawn
Awesome! I’m so glad you have enjoyed it.
Sharon
I was looking for a quick easy one stove top meal tonight. This was perfect! Used up some of my frozen Meyer lemon slices instead of juice. Flavorful and a keeper. Thank you!
Janet Quilligan
This was VERY tasty! My only caution – be careful not to use too much salt. I overdid it a little. The rice was quite flavorful with a subtle lemon flavor.
Kellye
I made this for supper tonight, it was really good, thanks for sharing!
Katie
This was AMAZING. My only complaint is that I waited so long to try it!! Super simple and excellent flavor!
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed it Katie!
mark
I followed your recipe totally. I did use arborio rice. This was GREAT.!!!!! My wife and I couldn’t get enough of it…
Sufika
Hi! I’m wondering can I use brown rice to cook with the chicken?
Erin
Did you try it with brown rice?
Lisa
This was so easy to make and tastes fab, I take any leftovers to work and still tastes as good
Shawn
That’s awesome! So glad you are enjoying it!
Pat Simonton
Thank you for this recipe. We had this for dinner replacing the rice with quinoa. Was absolutely delicious. I will make it again very soon and will use rice. One of the best recipes I’ve gotten from FB!
AMY VAN DAM
Do you think this would save and reheat well for a meal I’m taking to someone else? I don’t want it to be overcooked.
Shawn
I’ve eaten this as a leftover and it’s just as delicious!
Learn Tally in hindi
Look simple and delicious!!
Emily
I love all of your posts but I wish you include the nutrition information!
Brittany
OMG this looks to die for! I HAVE to make this dish this week!
Julie Grey
Just asking is a skillet and frying pan the same thing,or would a skillet be deeper
Shawn
You’ll want a skillet that is at least 2 inches deep and has a lid for this recipe. 🙂
Rolling Sky
Wow, it looks delicious, thanks for sharing the recipe, it’s useful!
Julia
Question: I have 4 teens, so I usually have to double a recipe. If I use a large cast iron skillet, do you think that I can safely double to rice? Or will it most likely boil over? I”m wondering if I would need to make the rice separately and then try to combine everything at the end? Thanks!
Shawn
If I were to double it, I would just make sure you have a very large (and deep) skillet. You may have to cook the chicken in two batches, but just place the chicken back on top once you get all the rice in there. I’m thinking you’ll need at least a 12″ skillet that is between 2″ to 3″ deep. Hope this helps!
Mary
Hi,
This recipe sounds absolutely delicious and easy to make. Thank you for sharing it with all of us. Smile BIG! 🙂
Mary from NH
Shawn
Thanks Mary! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Diana Maycott
I wanted to prepare it for a family going through some rough times. Will it still taste good if they reheat it or will the chicken dry out.