This Easy One Pan Chicken with Turmeric Rice is the perfect super easy weeknight dinner! It’s family-friendly and on the table in 30 minutes!
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If you know me you know I’m always looking for new ways to re-invent the “easy weeknight meal”. And if you’re anything like me you probably also struggle some days with getting a family meal on the table that’s quick and easy, but also healthy and wholesome. This Easy One Pan Chicken with Turmeric Rice is a total kid-pleaser and it’s super filling! It’s become one of my go-to family meals.
Looking for MORE family meals? You’ll love this One Pan Spanish Style Chicken and Rice, or this French Onion Stuffed Chicken!
There’s nothing like prepping dinner, putting it in the oven, and walking away for awhile so you can get other things done. There’s no standing at the stove for hours with this recipe – just a few minutes to brown the chicken and then into the oven it goes for just enough time to throw together a side salad or some veggies, set the table and round up the family for dinner, of course!
Making rice in a cast iron pan
I love making this Easy One Pan Chicken with Turmeric Rice in my tried and true Cast Iron Pan (affiliate link)! It sears the chicken just perfectly and has such even heat distribution, which cooks the rice in the oven evenly. And it’s easy on the budget too, which any family would love. It’s one of my most loved kitchen tools!!
LOOKING FOR MORE EASY WEEKNIGHT MEAL IDEAS?
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How to cook rice in the oven
Cooking rice in the oven, especially in a cast iron pan, can seem intimidating. It’s truly so easy – just build some flavour by frying some onions, bell peppers, or other veggies until slightly softened, add a bit of butter or oil (for flavour!), some spices or herbs, toast the rice just a bit on the stovetop, add the liquid and throw it in the oven! It’s that’s simple and you can prepare it in minutes!
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I hope you love this Easy One Pan Chicken with Turmeric Rice as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite one-pan oven-to-table weeknight meal? I’d LOVE to know!
Kitchen Products I recommend:
Looking for even more delicious recipes? You’ll LOVE these ones I’ve linked below!
-
Creamy One Pot Chicken Enchilada Pasta
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Thai Chicken Spiralized Zucchini Salad
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Ginger Soy Grilled Chicken
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White Wine and Herb Marinated Chicken
-
Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
-
Skillet Pesto Caprese Stuffed Chicken
-
Honey Garlic and Lime Chicken
LOOKING FOR MORE EASY WEEKNIGHT MEAL IDEAS?
Get my Quick and Easy 4-Week Meal Plan Guide!
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Easy One Pan Chicken with Turmeric Rice
Recipe: Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 6 chicken thighs (bone in, skin on) Use boneless, skinless if desired
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
- 1 1/4 cup long grain white rice
- 4 cups chicken stock I use low fat, low sodium
- fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish
Recipe: Instructions
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add the oil. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper and garlic powder on both sides.
- Add the chicken to the skillet and brown on both sides until golden. Don't worry about cooking the chicken through at this stage - just focus on getting that crispy brown crust on the outside.
- Remove the chicken to a plate once it's browned and set aside.
- Add the onion and garlic to the skillet, and turn the heat to medium.
- Saute the onions and garlic until the onions begin to soften. Add the turmeric and rice and stir everything together well, letting the rice toast just a little bit.
- Add the chicken stock and stir well to combine. Turn off the heat under the skillet.
- Nestle the chicken pieces into the liquid-y rice mixture in the pan, making sure the tops of the chicken pieces are sticking out of the liquid just a little bit.
- Place the skillet in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 Fahrenheit (75 Celsius) and the rice is cooked.
- Serve with a sprinkling of freshly chopped cilantro or parsley for freshness, and serve with a side salad or some veggies.
Recipe: Notes
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Wow! Really yummy! I made this for dinner tonight cause I happened to have chicken thighs as well as chicken stock simmering in the crock pot! Our whole family enjoyed it! My pickiest eater downed the rice without a complaint. My 3 year old was offended by the onions but gobbled it down once I removed the “offenders” haha! Next time I’ll have to dice them smaller. This was a very forgiving recipe time-wise too. I accidentally let it bake about 7-8 minutes too long and everything was still perfect!
I should also point out that I have a 2 week old baby along with 3 and 6 year old boys, and this was actually an attainable weeknight dinner! 🙂 thumbs way up!
SO glad you liked this one!! Gotta love easy weeknight dinners that go over well with the family! 🙂
Omg, this looks SO delicious!! I have recently discovered how good turmeric can be in chicken soup and other chicken dishes, and I love that this is all made in one pot. And that it encourages me to use my cast iron skillet, which usually sits in my cupboard because I never know quite what recipe to make with it, LOL. I definitely will be trying this recipe for dinner soon!
Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Hi Crissie,
Which pot do you use to make this dish?
Also which pot do you use which is suitable to put/cook in the oven in general?
Could you please share the brand?
I love your blog. I’m on your mailing list for nearly a 6 months and cook so many of your recipes so far…
Me and my family love you!
Aneta from Canada, Ontario
I use the 12-inch Lodge Cast Iron pan 🙂 But any large oven-safe (cast iron is best) pan will do! 🙂 Thanks for your positive feedback! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes!
Well deserve 5 stars !
Thanks so much! 🙂
This meal is on regular rotation at our house. I cut the chicken up instead of leaving them whole.
Can I use boneless chicken breasts and brown rice. I have an oven proof skillet but not cast iron , will it work just as well.
Unfortunately no. Boneless chicken breast cooks faster than the thighs and brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice so those substitutions won’t work on this recipe. I recommend you check out my Easy Baked Salsa Chicken and Rice for those chicken breasts.Happy cooking!
https://thebusybaker.ca/easy-baked-salsa-chicken-and-rice/
I made this today and it was so delicious and easy to prepare between my virtual college lectures. I added a little bit of red chili flakes because I love some heat with my chicken and rice. I also added frozen peas and carrots 10 minutes before the skillet was ready to find out of the oven and it was perfect. If anyone is looking through the comments of this recipe to decide if they’d like to make it, do it! You’ll be glad you did. Also I highly recommend adding the frozen veggies.
Thanks so much Nicole!! Really glad you like the recipe!
Really want to make this recipe it looks amazing! I don’t have a cast iron. Could I transfer everything to a baking dish and cook it the same way?
Yes, you can transfer everything to a baking dish and bake as directed. 🙂
Super delish! I did not put it in the oven, though. I cook it in stove like cooking plain rice hehe! I also added red saffron flowers.
I love that addition! Thanks so much for your positive feedback on the recipe! So glad you love it Coleen!!
I made this recipe today while I was in between meetings (working from home). Amazing!!! My roommate loved it as well. I accidently bought chicken broth instead of stock and the recipe still worked. I’ve always wanted to make Chicken Rice. The turmeric, onion and garlic flavors, my goodness!!!! It was everything. I’m happy I came across your page for this recipe. Thank you!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
I love this recipe! I’ve made it three times. I add yellow bell pepper, cayenne, & curry powder. It’s one of my favorites!
My only issue is it always takes far longer than 25 minutes for the rice to soak up the broth. It takes around 40 minutes to an hour. That’s not really an issue, but I’m so confused why it takes so much longer than the recipe says.
We’re so happy you enjoy it! We will test the recipe again to check that time, thanks for letting us know! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
I love this recipe so much. I’ve made it several times and each time is even more delicious. I browned my chicken as we do in the Dominican Rep. in a bit of brown sugar, and it adds an extra dimension to the flavour. Thank you for this recipe!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!