This Parmesan Chicken & Rice is the perfect one pot meal to warm you up on a chilly winter night. It’s filled with pantry staples & a few simple, fresh ingredients making it easy to have dinner on the table in less than an hour!
Cold Weather Cooking
This time of year always has me yearning for warm & comforting dinners. When it’s cold outside all I want is a bowl of hot, soul warming food. Parmesan Chicken and Rice is definitely one of those soul warming meals! Winter time is all about easy comforting dinners that keep you out of the kitchen & spending time with friends & family. This dish is not only quick to assemble but it also only requires one pot! This recipe came to be out of necessity when I was in college. I was looking for something easy I could whip up for dinner that was comforting & reminded me of home, but was also simple enough that I could get back to studying (partying) as quick as possible.
What You Need to Make Parmesan Chicken and Rice
- olive oil
- butter
- onion
- celery
- carrot
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- chicken thighs
- white wine
- garlic
- rice
- chicken stock
- parmesan cheese
- parsely
The ingredient list for this recipe seems exhaustive, but most of these ingredients are common ingredients you probably already have on hand! This is a dish I make often because I usually only need to pick up some chicken before I can get cooking!
How to make Parmesan Chicken and Rice
Begin by heating a large Dutch Oven, to cook the vegetables. I like to use a mix of olive oil and butter for this step because the oil has a higher burning point, but the butter has more flavor. The butter also helps to add browning when it comes time to cook the chicken. You want to cook down the vegetables until they are nice and soft, before moving to the next step.
One of my favorite parts of this dish is how easy it comes together. When its time to cook the chicken, you can either remove the vegetables, or leave them in. Removing the vegetables helps to develop better color on the chicken, but it’s just as delicious even without the extra browning. I also love not having to wash an extra dish, so I often opt for leaving the vegetables in the pot.
Once the chicken is browned (it will continue cooking so its okay if its not cooked through at this stage), it’s time to add remaining ingredients. Turn the heat to medius high and add the wine. Let it bubble up and reduce. Then, to the pot, you’re going to add: garlic, rice, and stock. Give it a good stir and bring it to a boil. Cover the pot and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until the rice has fully absorbed the stock and is tender.
Once the rice is cooked, finish with butter, parmesan cheese and parsley. Give it a good stir and dinner is ready!
Parmesan Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter divided
- 1 cup Yellow Onion medium diced
- 1 cup Celery medium diced
- 1 cup Carrot small diced or shredded (I prefer shredded for this recipe)
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 ½ lb Chicken Thighs cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 oz White Wine
- 3 cloves Garlic smashed or grated
- 1 cup Basmati Rice or Jasmine
- 2 ½ cups Chicken Broth
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese
- ⅓ cup Parsley roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the oil & 1 tablespoon butter.
- Once butter has melted, add onion, celery & carrot. Season with salt & pepper. Stir to combine. (It may seem like a lot of seasoning but it will also season the chicken & the rice)
- Cook the veggies over medium heat until they become soft & begin to brown, about 5-7 minutes.
- At this point, you can remove the veggies before cooking the chicken, but it's not necessary. Cook the chicken over medium high heat until browned & mostly cooked, about 10 minutes.
- Once the chicken has cooked, turn the heat to high & add the wine. Mix in the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits that have formed. Let the wine bubble & reduce by half, about 2 minutes.
- Next add in the garlic & rice. Stir to combine.
- If you removed the veggies earlier, you can return them to the pot now. Pour in the broth & stir to combine everything.
- Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to simmer & let it cook, covered, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes the rice should have absorbed all the broth & be tender. If there is still broth & the rice is not fully cooked, continue cooking another 5 minutes.
- Lastly, add the cheese, remaining butter & parsley. Mix for a minute or two until everything is combine & the cheese has melted. Serve with crusty bread or salad.
By far one of my favorite meals I’ve made by Ashley aka Millennial Kitchen! I devour this anytime it’s made or within my view, I highly recommend checking this out & making it!!
Thanks so much! It’s one of our favorites too!
Love that you get to put a lid on this recipe & walk away for 20 minutes! This recipe is so delicious! Definitely a favorite in our rotation of meals.
It’s perfect for a simple weeknight meal!
This chicken and rice comes together easily with ingredients I pretty much always have in the house. Paired with a bright green salad, this is good, old fashioned comfort food!
That’s what I love most about this recipe too!
I grew up eating a very similar dish and like to make this dinner for my fiancé. It’s simple and delicious, you can’t go wrong 😊
That’s what I love about it! SO easy but so comforting!
I am a struggling new mom cook! I have never had the ability to cook but I am slowly learning and getting a little better every day so that my family doesn’t have to suffer. This recipe was so helpful! It is delicious, easy to follow, and the clean up is simple because I just used my Le Crueset. It was an easy weeknight meal because I had everything in my kitchen!
I love to hear that! It’s also super adaptable, so you can take this concept & swap ingredients for a different flavor!