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Crispy chicken bakes over a bed of tomato basil rice in this One Pan Tomato Basil Chicken & Rice. Dinner is ready in 45 minutes!
All made in one pan and so easy to prepare, you won’t believe it when it’s done. No rice cookers and no extra pans needed! Tomato Basil Chicken & Rice has the most popular vote for dinner in my house!
Chicken and Rice
Back up a second. Let me rephrase. Chicken SO crispy on the outside; tender and falling apart on the inside; tomato, basil rice with so much flavour and cooked in so.much.sauce. Chicken broth, tomato juices and chicken flavours, mixed through with chopped tomatoes, fresh basil leaves AND the addition of sun dried tomatoes if you so desire.
- Easy ✔
- Delicious ✔
- One-pan ✔
CHECK.
One Pan Recipe
This Italian inspired recipe comes from this One Pot Italian Chicken and Rice recipe from so long ago. An even BETTER version times a thousand! I have no doubt in my mind you will fall in love with THIS ONE.
How To Make One Pan Tomato Basil Chicken And Rice
- This recipe calls for a skillet, but if you don’t own one you can a normal pan to sear your chicken in over stove top, add the rice and the rest of the ingredients, then transfer everything to a large 9×13-inch baking dish.
- You can use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts if you don’t like thighs.
- The recipe is the perfect rice to liquid ratio when using white rice. If using brown rice, you will certainly need up your liquid. I have not tried this recipe with brown rice, so I cannot give you any advice.
Chicken thighs are crisp-tender and juicy, cooked WITH the rice in one pan to minimise cleanup! You are SO welcome!
More One Pan Recipes!
Honey Mustard Chicken & Potatoes (One Pan)
One Pan Spanish Chicken and Rice
Oven Baked Chicken Rice
One Pan Tomato Basil Chicken & Rice on VIDEO!
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One Pan Tomato Basil Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs skin on, bone in
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper deseeded and chopped
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomato strips in oil chopped, optional: but adds flavour
- 1 1/3 cup long grain rice uncooked, rinsed (arborio rice may also be used for a risotto-like consistency)
- 14.5 ounce crushed tomatoes with liquid
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth or chicken stock
- 1-2 teaspoons salt adjust to your taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper adjust to your taste
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1 pinch fresh basil extra chopped, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°c | 400°F. Heat the oil in a large, deep ovenproof cast iron skillet/or pan (over 30 cm or 12-inches). Add the chicken, skin side down; sear for 3-4 mins on medium-high heat. Turn each thigh and sear until golden all over. Transfer the chicken onto a warm plate.
- Add the garlic; fry until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the onion and red peppers / capsicum; fry for about 3 minutes or until and onion is transparent. Stir in the sun dried tomatoes, rice, crushed tomatoes and chicken broth (stock). Season with salt, pepper and dried basil. Bring to a simmer and allow the rice to soak up all the tomato flavours.
- Place chicken thighs, skin side up, over rice. Bring to the boil; rotate the chicken in the tomato sauce to coat; cover with foil; transfer to preheated oven and allow to bake for about 40 minutes, or until the rice has softened and absorbed the liquid and the chicken is cooked through. Stir through an extra 1/4 cup of water to the rice ONLY if needed (if rice hasn't cooked fully).
- Remove cover; change oven settings to broil / grill on medium heat for a further 8-10 minutes or until the chicken is crispy and golden.
- Season with extra salt to taste; sprinkle with freshly chopped basil to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of skin on and bone in?
Hi Marta! Yes you can! I’d bury them amongst the rice and liquid in the pan so they don’t dry out too much while baking.
I made this last night and my family loved it. Very easy to make. Great flavors.
That’s wonderful Terri! I’m so glad you liked it. Thank you so much for your feedback. Have a great weekend! 🙂
We used long grain brown rice – needed a little extra chicken broth and time in the oven but otherwise turned out great! Thanks for the recipe.
Yes brown rice needs extra liquid while cooking 🙂
I made this recipe tonight and it was delicious. I didn’t have a cast iron so I made everything on the stove top as directed but then transferred to a 9×13 Pyrex to stick in the oven. I kept all the baking directions the same and it turned out wonderful. Just had an extra dish to wash. Also the basil at the end is necessary for peak deliciousness. I added extra garlic because I also do lol.
I used a 24 oz can of peeled tomatoes (with liquid) and 2 cups of rice, came out perfect!
Hi, i had query infact. My microwave is not working. So what should i do with the oven part. How can i furthr cook on gas or stove??
Made this for dinner tonight and loved it! I was a little worried the rice wouldn’t be cooked because I used brown Basmati rice (I thought I was buying white), but it turned out perfectly, I also used diced tomatoes instead of crushed and didn’t have any fresh basil to add, but it was still delicious. Thanks for posting!
I’m so happy to hear that Celia! Thank you so much for stopping by to share your feedback!
I don’t have a cast iron skillet. Could I make this on the stovetop, then tip it into a pyrex glass casserole dish & cook it in the oven? Would I cook it for the same length of time?
How to make in a crockpot?
I made this a few days ago using fresh tomato puree and a bit of tomato paste. It was delicious and full of vibrant flavours! Will definitely make it again.