Oven-Baked Chicken And Crunchy Rice Casserole

Published February 2021, Updated February 2025

You may think that the chicken is the key ingredient in this recipe and you probably right. Or we may say it's the crunchy oven baked rice - I agree because it's the best! This oven baked chicken and crunchy rice casserole recipe is pure flavor!

Oven Baked Chicken and Rice Recipe

This is a delicious dinner perfect for family weeknight meals, weekends or large gatherings. You will have very positive feedback when you make this chicken and rice.

We start off on the stove-top and finish in the oven because there is nothing that is going to replace the flavor you get from searing the meat first. A skillet that can be used on the stove and in the oven will be convenient, however, you can sear and bake in different dishes.

This is not a one-pot meal - we have seared chicken pieces, rice and sauce. I used one skillet to sear the chicken, make the sauce and bake it in the oven.

The sauce is a great addition to this recipe, it flavors the dish and keeps the chicken tender and juicy.

Why We Love This Recipe

Dependable: It works! No matter what type of stove or pot you use, this chicken and rice oven-baked recipe delivers great results. While it may not be exactly the same every time, it’s always a winner.

Versatile: You can use chicken thighs instead of drumsticks, or even a mix of both. The cooking time remains roughly the same. Skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces add a lot of flavor.

Not a fan of skin-on chicken? No problem—just remove the skin before serving. It’s done its job by adding flavor and protecting the chicken from burning.

Easy & Delicious: Anyone can make this easy recipe, follow the simple step-by-step instructions and images that I've provided below. You won't be sorry, it's delicious, serves up a crowd, stores well in the fridge, tastes even better the next day and you can make-ahead and freeze.

What You Need For This Chicken and Rice Recipe

Here are the ingredients that you will need.

Chicken: Skin on, bone in chicken drumsticks or thighs or a combination of both. We sear the chicken first in a large skillet to lock in those flavors.

Cooked white rice: Any white rice works. Cooking rice is easy and I have a 10 minute fluffly basmati rice recipe for you.

Seasoning: Use a good flavorful chicken seasoning plus salt and pepper so check your spice for the salt quantity, if it's high, omit or add less salt. The best way to tell is to taste the spice for salt.

Salt and pepper: According to taste. We use this salt and pepper.

Olive oil: We use this extra virign olive oil. You can also use avocado or vegetable oil if that's your preference.

Onion: Regular yellow onion.

Garlic: 2-3 garlic cloves but feel free to use more.

Tomatoes: Any canned whole tomatoes or cherry tomatoes because of the thicker juice. Crushed tomatoes have a bit too much water and we don't want to water down the recipe. Remember everything is pretty much cooked when it goes into the oven for the final run.

White wine: It's to deglaze, so use any dry white wine that you prefer. If you don't like cooking with wine, use water or chicken stock.

How To Cook Chicken and Rice

Dry and coat the chicken: Dry the chicken pieces with paper towel and drizzle with olive oil, salt, black pepper and chicken spice. Feel free to add any of your spice preferences.

Sear the chicken: Heat a fairly large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat, (so the drumsticks are not overcrowded - or work in batches if you want the golden brown color) and add the oil to heat. Once it's hot, add the chicken and sear on both sides.

Adding spices and searing the chicken adds lots of flavor, however note the following:

Note: Because the chicken is heavily spiced, if your stove is very high, the spices will burn on impact so regulate the heat of your stove. I prefer to start on medium high heat and increase the heat once it's gained momentum. Skillets will normally retain heat well so a medium-high setting is ideal.

Sear the chicken for roughly 6-10 minutes (thickness dependent) on each side.

Once the skin on the chicken is golden brown, remove it from the pan and set it aside.

Preheat the oven: Preheat to 200 degrees C / 400 degrees F.

How to Make Sauce For This Chicken and Rice

Aromatics: Same pan, the oil will be brown with bits inside - don't change the oil! Add the diced onion in there and let it cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring here and there to prevent burning. Add the minced garlic, stir it in and lower the heat. This is the time to add any additional spices. I added 1 teaspoon dried garlic and herb spice and 1 teaspoon smoked paprika into the onions as they cook for yet another flavor layer.

Note: Adding spices into the onions is completely optional, without this step, your recipe will still taste amazing! It's for the extra cooks like me 🙂

Deglaze: Add the wine, mix, scraping any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add a bit at a time and as it cooks out, add a little more. Roughy ½ cup of wine.

Add the tomatoes: You can increase the heat back up to medium-high and add the canned tomatoes. Cook for about 3-4 minutes for the sauce to thicken a little.

Note: Our canned or whole cherry tomatoes cook in no time.

Optional tip for tomato lovers: Pop a few cherry tomatoes into the sauce. I'm making this optional because you can go ahead without it.

Add the chicken: Return the seared chicken, make sure the chicken is well coated into the sauce. Here's why we needed a big pan!

Rice: Add the cooked rice, gently spreading it across the chicken.

Bake: Into a preheated oven (1st step at the top of this section) and bake at 190°C / 374°F for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the top of the rice is has turned crispy and golden brown.

Note: You may need to turn your oven to grill (broiler) but in that case depending on how hot your grill is lower the rack so it doesn't burn and then watch it!

Remove from the oven and rest: Let the crispy chicken and crunchy rice dish rest for 5 minutes (it has worked hard in the oven and needs to rest:)

Carve and Serve: Add fresh parsley, coriander or oregano. Once cooled, carve into plates or small bowl.

What to Serve Chicken and Rice Bake With

This chicken and rice dish is already packed with spicy goodness and juicy flavors so a light salad is ideal for a refreshing combination. Try this cucumber and red onion salad or any of the pairing ideas below.

Feel like a fluffy buttery mashed potato on the side? Check out this Mashed Potatoes - it's an Instant Pot recipe which can also be made on the stovetop.

Pairing Salad Ideas

Storage

• Refrigerate: Once cooled completely, store in an airtigh container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• To Reheat: Carve into a small microwave-safe bowl on high heat until heated through or on 20-30 second blasts at a time.
• Freezer: This chicken rice when packed for storage carfefully in an airtight freezer friendly container, will freeze for up to 4 months. Be sure to thaw before reheating. When reheating large quantities, use the stove and add a splash of liquid (water or chicken stock) to help it along from sticking.

Finish This Spicy Flavor-Packed Dish Offf With

More Delicious Chicken/Rice Recipes

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