Description
A flavorful one pot Greek chicken and lemon rice dish featuring tender bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs marinated with lemon, garlic, and oregano, cooked together with aromatic rice for a deliciously comforting meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken and Marinade
- 5 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in (about 1 kg / 2 lb)
- Zest of 1 to 2 lemons plus 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
Rice
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, separated
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 cup (180g) long grain rice, uncooked
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) chicken broth/stock
- 3/4 cup (185 ml) water
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Black pepper, to taste
Garnish
- Finely chopped parsley or oregano (optional)
- Fresh lemon zest (highly recommended)
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: Combine the chicken thighs with lemon zest, lemon juice, dried oregano, minced garlic, and salt in a ziplock bag. Seal and set aside for at least 20 minutes, preferably overnight, to allow flavors to penetrate.
- Preheat the oven: Set the oven to 180°C (350°F) to prepare for baking the dish later.
- Sear the chicken: Remove chicken from marinade but reserve the marinade. Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a deep, heavy-based skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken skin side down and cook until golden brown, then flip and brown the other side. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Prepare the rice base: Discard excess fat from the pan and wipe clean with paper towel. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the skillet. Add diced onion and sauté until translucent. Stir in the uncooked long grain rice, chicken broth, water, dried oregano, salt, black pepper, and the reserved marinade. Bring to a brief simmer for about 30 seconds.
- Bake the dish: Place the seared chicken on top of the rice mixture in the skillet. Cover with a lid or foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake for an additional 10 minutes until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, a total of 45 minutes baking time.
- Rest and garnish: Remove skillet from oven and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley or oregano and fresh lemon zest before serving.
Notes
- Using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs adds more flavor, but skinless, boneless thighs or breast can be used—adjust cooking time accordingly.
- A 26cm (10 inch) diameter, 6cm (2.4 inch) deep pan is ideal for this recipe.
- If you don’t have a lid for the skillet, use foil or a baking tray as a cover during baking.
- Optional: after cooking chicken, you can sear lemon slices in the pan to garnish and add extra lemon flavor.
- This recipe can be adapted for stovetop cooking by either cooking chicken separately or partially cooking it with rice—see detailed notes for options.
- Other rice types like jasmine, medium grain, short grain, wild rice, or normal basmati rice can be used, but brown rice requires longer cooking and risotto or paella rice are not recommended.
- Ensure you have approximately 4 tbsp lemon juice which usually comes from 1 large or 2 small lemons; use the zest of the same lemons for enhanced flavor.
- This recipe does not use marjoram despite some online confusion; use oregano as specified.
- Nutrition values assume trimmed, bone-in skin-on chicken thighs with some fat discarded after searing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
