Oven Baked Chicken Thighs & Rice

Chicken & rice is quintessential comfort food! Instead of “cream of” soup in today’s Oven Baked Chicken Thighs & Rice recipe, though, some chicken broth, sweet peppers, and tomatoes add flavor and interest.

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How about a comforting one pot meal on a damp & chilly fall day? Baked chicken and rice is of course a traditional classic. In this version, though, I first browned up the chicken in today’s Oven Baked Chicken Thighs & Rice to give it some extra flavor — and then added in some sweet peppers and tomatoes to take that flavor right on over the top.

Bone-in chicken thighs stay nice and juicy here, nestling beautifully into the savory pot full of rice. Then, the sweet pops of pepper and tomatoes peek through that rice to break up all of the savory and add contrast and interest. (I used mini peppers today since that’s what I had on hand, but one of the bigger sweet bell peppers would also do nicely.)

Oven Baked Chicken Thighs & Rice

Ingredients

– for the chicken

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs (4-5 nice sized thighs)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

– for the veggies & rice

1/2 of a medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 sweet bell pepper (or 4-5 mini peppers), roughly chopped
2 tsp minced garlic (about 4 small cloves)
2 cups chicken broth
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1.5 cups uncooked long grain white rice
2 tsp parsley
1 tsp oregano

Directions

Trim the chicken, leaving some skin for browning and flavor.

Mix together the smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper, then rub those seasonings into the chicken thighs.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Brown the chicken skin-side down for 4-5 minutes, then flip and brown for another 3 minutes. Use tongs to remove chicken to a separate plate.

Meanwhile: Chop your onion, bell pepper, and garlic (if not using pre-minced).

Reduce heat to medium under the pot. Saute onion and pepper in the chicken drippings for seven minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften. Add garlic and saute briefly.

Stir the broth, tomatoes, and water into the pot with the veggies and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat under the burner.

Stir the rice, parsley, and oregano into the pot. Nestle the browned chicken thighs on top, skin side up.

Cover and move to the oven. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through to temperature and the rice has absorbed the liquid.

Stir the rice, then serve it with the chicken as a one-pot comfort food meal.

Note: You’ll want to use bone-in, skin-on chicken for this recipe rather than boneless; it has more flavor and stays juicier in an oven-baked recipe.

Warm comfort food for a chilly fall day

This one is great to enjoy on a chilly fall or winter evening. Yes, browning the chicken and sauteing the veggies before oven baking does add in some extra time — but, doing so also adds a lot of extra flavor, making it quite worth the effort.

Today’s oven baked chicken thighs & rice recipe feeds a family of four, and is naturally gluten free. Using bone-in thighs and bulking up the meal with rice also helps keep this simple family meal fairly affordable, especially if you use a cheaper-per-pound family pack of chicken. (See below the printable version of this recipe for some other ways to use bone-in thighs.)

Oven Baked Chicken Thighs & Rice, printable recipe

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Oven Baked Chicken Thighs & Rice

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Instead of “cream of” soup in today’s Oven Baked Chicken Thighs & Rice recipe, using chicken broth, sweet peppers, and tomatoes adds flavor and interest.

Course dinner

Cuisine Chicken

Keyword baked chicken, chicken, chicken thighs, gluten free, one pot meal, rice

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Author Rachel Singer

Equipment

1 dutch oven

Ingredients

– for the chicken

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs 4-5 nice sized thighs
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• Sea salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste

– for the veggies & rice

• 1/2 of a medium yellow onion roughly chopped
• 1 sweet bell pepper (or 4-5 mini peppers) roughly chopped
• 2 tsp minced garlic about 4 small cloves
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• 1.5 cups uncooked long grain white rice
• 2 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp oregano

Instructions

• Trim the chicken, leaving some skin for browning and flavor.
• Mix together the smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper, then rub those seasonings into the chicken thighs.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Brown the chicken skin-side down for 4-5 minutes, then flip and brown for another 3 minutes. Use tongs to remove chicken to a separate plate.
• Meanwhile: Chop your onion, bell pepper, and garlic (if not using pre-minced).
• Reduce heat to medium under the pot. Saute onion and pepper in the chicken drippings for seven minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften. Add garlic and saute briefly.
• Stir the broth, tomatoes, and water into the pot with the veggies and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat under the burner.
• Stir the rice, parsley, and oregano into the pot. Nestle the browned chicken thighs on top, skin side up.
• Cover and move to the oven. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through to temperature and the rice has absorbed the liquid.
• Stir the rice, then serve it with the chicken as a one-pot comfort food meal.

Notes

You’ll want to use bone-in, skin-on chicken for this recipe rather than boneless; it has more flavor and stays juicier in an oven-baked recipe.

What else can you make with chicken thighs?

Need help using up one of these larger packs of chicken? Some other favorite bone-in chicken thigh recipes include:

• Sheet pan chicken thighs with potatoes & mushrooms
• Lemon garlic chicken thighs with tomato cucumber salad
• Slow cooker garlic lime chicken thighs
• Fajita-inspired sheet pan chicken thighs & peppers
• Italian chicken thighs with zucchini & red potatoes

So many different ways to make these, but all of them tasty!

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