Old Fashioned Chicken and Rice
This old-fashioned one pot Chicken and Rice recipe is pure, hearty comfort food. For this simple recipe, chicken, rice, celery, and onions are combined and steamed to perfection all in one pot. It’s a great meal to make on a weeknight or when you need something that really sticks to your ribs!
There are certain recipes that I make over and over but, somehow, never think of sharing them on the blog. They’re old recipes that I grew up with and have made all my life without ever having a written recipe. I just throw them together, and they always turn out to be delicious.
Chicken and Rice is one of those recipes. I started to make this one day recently, and it suddenly occurred to me that I had never posted this recipe. Heck, I didn’t even have a recipe for this.
So, I grabbed a pen and paper to make notes, and here we are…an honest-to-gosh written recipe, with measurements even (!), for my quick chicken and rice recipe.
Even though this recipe is high in protein, I’m not going to try to make any sort of claim that this is healthy. Or good for you. Or anything like that. What I can claim is that this is old-fashioned comfort food, pure and simple.
It’s good for cold days, warm days, and in between days. Good for when you have the sniffles or when you feel like celebrating. It’s really, really good for when you’re feeling homesick. It’s just good food.
💗 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s made with simple ingredients you can find at any grocery store.
- Made all in one pot so cleanup is easy!
- It’s high in protein but balanced with carbs from the rice.
- Simple comfort food that’s easy to work into your dinner rotation.
🥘 Ingredients You’ll Need
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- Butter (one of the main reasons this recipe is so comforting)
- Onion and celery (aromatic vegetables that impart their flavor throughout the chicken and rice)
- Boneless, skinless chicken (you can use all white meat, all dark, or a mixture)
- Chicken stock (the rice absorbs all the stock during the steaming making it flavorful and fluffy)
- Rice (adds heartiness and texture; my favorite is basmati rice but regular long grain white rice or brown rice both work well in this recipe)
- Salt and pepper (always present in savory dishes to enhance the flavors)
- Parsley (optional, but adds a pop of color and fresh flavor)
You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe at the bottom of this post.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING …
“This is by far the best chicken and rice recipe out there and I wouldn’t change a thing! Even my picky eaters love this.“
— Linda C.
🔪 How to Make One Pot Chicken and Rice
- Start by melting half a stick of butter (that’s 4 tablespoons) over medium heat in a deep sided skillet.
- When the butter has melted, add the diced celery and onion. Let it cook slowly, giving it a stir every once in a while until it has softened but hasn’t started to brown.
👉 PRO TIP: I use my chicken fryer for making this recipe. It’s about 10″ across and at least 3″ deep — the perfect size and shape. You could also use a Dutch oven or something like that. Just make sure it has a snug fitting lid.
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- Add the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken has stiffened and started to brown very slightly.
- Add the stock and stir in the rice.
- Add the salt, pepper, remaining butter, and parsley.
👉 PRO TIP: Don’t skimp on the ground black pepper! It’s very important to the flavor of this recipe.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
- Cover the pan, and cook 20 minutes or until the rice is tender.
When you’re ready to serve, use a fork to fluff the rice. Sprinkle a little additional chopped parsley over the top just to make it pretty :-)
I serve this as the main dish. Fresh green beans, broccoli casserole, or peas make an excellent accompaniment.
❗ Recipe Tips
- Cut the chicken into similarly sized pieces so that it will cook evenly.
- The vegetables should be diced small and in evenly sized pieces.
- Check the cooking time for the type of rice you use in the recipe. I used basmati and the cooking time is 20 minutes. Brown rice (or other varieties) may require more or less time.
- Let the pan sit, covered and off the heat, for about 10 minutes at the end of cooking for fluffier rice.
🔀 Variations
- Instead of chicken, substitute beef tips or your favorite ground meat.
- Add diced carrots in with the onions and celery for a naturally sweet flavor.
- Substitute brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice.
- Add your favorite herbs and spices such as thyme or rosemary with the celery and onions for a delicious herbed flavor.
- Turn it into a chicken and rice casserole — make the recipe through step 4, then stir in a can of cream of chicken or cream of celery soup. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the rice is done.
🍚 Storing and Freezing
- Storing: place cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Store in an airtight container or freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating and serving.
❓ Questions About Easy Chicken and Rice Recipe
It’s very important to use a nicely flavored stock. Homemade is always best, but there are some good retail brands available as well. Choose a “stock” instead of a “broth” for best flavor and, to really bump up the taste, add a chicken bouillon cube.
Yes, you can! Sauté the chicken and veggies right in the instant pot with butter. Add the rice and chicken broth and cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. Release the pressure after 10 minutes and fluff the rice with a fork. NOTE: The amount of broth needed depends on the type of grain used.
🧾 More Recipes You’ll Like
- Charleston Red Rice
- Chicken with Mushrooms in White Wine Sauce
- Stick of Butter Rice
- Lemon and Honey Glazed Chicken Thighs
More Questions? I’m happy to help!
If you have more questions about the recipe, or if you’ve made it and would like to leave a comment, scroll down to leave your thoughts, questions, and/or rating!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
📖 Recipe
Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 ribs celery diced
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or 2 breasts), cut into 1” pieces
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 ½ cups rice (long grain white, basmati, or brown)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Instructions
- In a large deep skillet over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter.
- Add the onion and celery and cook until softened but not browned.
- Add the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken has stiffened and starts to brown very slightly.
- Add the stock, rice, salt, pepper, remaining butter, and parsley. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
Notes
- Cut the chicken into similarly sized pieces so that it will cook evenly.
- Check the cooking time for the type of rice you use in the recipe. Brown rice (or other varieties) may require more or less time.
- Let the pan sit, covered and off the heat, for about 10 minutes at the end of cooking for fluffier rice.
- Storing: place cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Store in an airtight container or freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating and serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
— This post was originally published on April 12, 2013. It has been updated with new photos and additional information.
I come back to this recipe all the time. Can’t count how many times I’ve made it and we love it every time. Easy to add in other vegetables or meats as mentioned in the introduction before the recipe. Thank you for this! The black pepper makes it!
You have no idea how much your comment made me smile! Thank you for your kind words.
I’m going to make this tonight! Hope to see a response but I’m planning on using chicken quarters with bone… how should I prepare this within steps?
You’ll need to remove the skin and de-bone the quarters. Discard both skin and bones (or save them for making stock!). Then cut the thigh and leg meat into 1-inch pieces and proceed with the recipe from there.
I made this last night. It looked great until I scooped it out. The bottom layer had burned, not terribly much, but enough to make it taste quite unpleasant. I used the time instructions very closely. I don’t really think I could have cooked less time, because the rice was just soft and done enough. Maybe lower heat? What should I do next time?
People often ask me what happened when the recipe didn’t turn out as they expected, and it is almost impossible to say what went wrong without me being in the kitchen with you watching every step of the preparation. All I can say is that I’ve never experienced a failure with this particular recipe. Your rice scorching on the bottom could be attributed to dozens of factors – a thin pan, heat too high, not enough liquid. Cooking is not formulaic as there are always variables from one kitchen to the next (even from one brand of product to the next) and overcoming those differences requires experience. My advice for next time would be to use a heavy-bottomed pan, adequate liquid, and very low temperature.
I’m having an issue with my rice not being cooked all the way through. Cooking for 25 mins and it’s still crunchy. I’m using long grain white rice. Any tips?
It’s so hard to say without being in your kitchen, but it sounds like there wasn’t enough liquid in the pot. Add another 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking on low until the rice is done.
Typo Lana not Laura. Sorry.
I made this for dinner tonight and followed Laura’s steps almost to a tee. Only difference is I boiled my 1″ chicken cubes for 10mins in water and chicken broth just before adding it and the other ingredients to the onion and celery.
The meal was absolutely outstanding and I’m not a huge poultry fan but my family and my sons girlfriend thought it was the best. I was hoping to have some leftovers but that didn’t happen so maybe nexttime.
Thanks for sharing this amazing dish for I’m adding it to my rotation for meals.
Thank you for letting me know how much you enjoyed the recipe, Mark!
I made this last night and my family really enjoyed it. I needed a little more food but didn’t want to double it so I just added one more chicken breast, another 1/2 cup of rice and another cup of chicken stock. I kept the amount of all of the other ingredients the same as in the original recipe. It turned out great. Thanks.
So glad you liked it!!
I’m making this as I write this out I used kfc in place of the raw chicken it smells really good. Added some mushrooms, onions, celery, then used parboiled rice
I just took a taste tasty. I may have added a little bit to much black pepper but believe it will be ok. Thanks for a great recipe. Family will love it. Have salad and peaches with it tonight.
Joyce Hurt from Shreve Ohio
I’m glad that you were inspired by this post to make a completely different recipe. I’m quite sure it will be tasty, but it won’t be old-fashioned chicken and rice.
Lana,
First off thanks for sharing this delicious recipe. My husband was having a upset stomach and I was looking for a recipe that I could cook rice with because it is supposed to help and ran across yours. I didn’t have enough Chicken Broth so I used 1 cup of Beef broth and it was still good we enjoyed it and it helped him I will make this in the future hopefully just as a dish not for a upset stomach LOL.
Thanks, Wendy from Colorado
That’s great! I’m glad you enjoyed it and it was helpful for your husband.
I make this but always add poultry seasoning to it. Such comfort food!
This dish is just delicious. It tastes like something you would find when you sit down to dinner at your grandmother’s house. I am not a person who alters recipes but I did taylor this to my needs. Because of high blood pressure, I used only 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter instead of 6 and I used unsalted chicken stock. I only added 1 teaspoon of salt instead of 2. The flavor is wonderful and I’ll be making this again and again.
Thanks for this great recipe.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Jamie.
I am going to make this recipe, today. I would like to know, I want to add carrots to it. Can I cook the carrots with the onions, and celery?
Hi Dolores. I don’t add carrots to this recipe, but that would probably work fine. Old Fashioned Chicken and Rice doesn’t contain any carrots. That makes it into some other recipe 😊.
I have some leftover cooked rice that I would like to use. Would I just use less stock in this case?
I wouldn’t use cooked rice in this recipe. The additional cooking time will make the rice overcooked and very mushy.
Hello, Lana,
I’m from Bulgaria in Eastern Europe and I’m a big fan of Southern culture and cuisine. It all started with my infatuation with country music and developed into an interest in all things Southern. Southern ladies remind me so much of women in my country, and by the way you remind me of my mum (visually and not only)! This recipe is a popular one here in Bulgaria and I swear we use exactly the same ingredients with the only difference that it’s oven baked! Sending hugs and thanks for teaching this Bulgarian girl how to cook Southern food!
How interesting! It really is true that food is the universal language, isn’t it?
All I have on hand is salted butter and salted broth. Would I still add 2 teaspoons of salt? And is it regular salt or kosher? Thanks.
I’d suggest that you use what you have on hand and taste the recipe to see if you think it needs more salt. If it does, then add some. Just FYI – I only use salted butter, salted broth, and kosher salt in my cooking. I taste and add salt if needed. Rice is bland so it typically needs salt to bring out the flavors. You do what you like.
Excellent meal. I used leftover chicken which worked great. I also added in carrots, peas, and mushrooms which all blended well. The entire meal worked wonderfully. My husband said this recipe is a keeper! Yummy.
Great! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe.
This was very good! I made it pretty close to the recipe but added about a half teaspoon of dried thyme leaves and a pinch of powdered bay leaf. My hubby really loved it – he loves anything made with rice. Next time I think I will add some Peas and Carrots to give it some color and make it full one dish meal. I’m going to make this for my Granddaughter – I know she will love it as well! Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you liked it, Jane! This is the classic way of cooking it, but it’s always fun to come up with new variations, right?
This recipe is exactly what I was looking for . Used to eat this regularly growing up and man is it still as good as I remember . I threw in some carrots and I also like to add some peas at the end for some extra greens . Love it
Definitely an all-time favorite comfort food for us, too!
I made this last night with leftover roast turkey. You know how you get the feeling that something is going to be delicious even if it is the first time you’re making the dish? It was wonderful! Many thanks for an easy, flavorful recipe!
It makes me really happy to know how much you enjoyed this recipe! It’s an old favorite in our home.
I made this tonight and used mushrooms instead of celery and onion, and it was amazing! It tastes just like the chicken and rice I ate when I was younger. Definitely using this recipe again!
I’m so glad you liked it!
I was looking for a quick chicken and rice recipe. I stumbled upon your recipe. I had all the ingredients to make this. The only thing i did was add some Slap Ya Momma seasoning…..HOLY COW this recipe is the bomb!!! It will be added to my rotation for lunch/dinner!! Highly recommended! Thank you for sharing your recipe
So glad you like the recipe! It’s one of my family’s all-time favorites as well.