Who’s up for an easy, one pan, tasty supper with little fuss at all? I hear ya!! Meeeeee, too. Though this isn’t one of those “3 ingredient meals”, don’t let the list below scare you. It really isn’t long, and is as basic as basic ingredients get. Straight from the pantry and fridge, and you should already have everything you need right on hand! I think this Easy One Pan Chicken and Spanish Rice will become a nice weeknight or even weekend go-to family favorite in your house soon! 😉

Oh, and did I mention it’s extremely economical, too? What’s not to love! Just flour seasoned with salt and pepper to lightly coat the chicken to get a nice little crust going after a quick trip to the pan to brown.

Swipe out the pan, add some butter and sauté your rice and veggies a little to soften and lightly brown the rice. Then add in the rest of the ingredients, give it a stir, place your nicely browned chicken on top, pop a lid on it, and bake! OH, yea! It’s that easy!!

Since it’s just the hubs and I, I only used a couple of pieces of chicken, but you can do more. Just enough that will fit nicely on top. *I wouldn’t suggest boneless skinless chicken breasts, though. By the time the rice is done, I would think that they’d be quite overcooked and tough as shoe leather! You could do all bone-in skin-on chicken breasts, though, if white meat is your thing! (They’re usually cheaper, and much more tender and juicy anyways!) If you absolutely insist on the boneless, (it’s ok! we all like what we like!), you’ll want to add them (after coating and browning) when there’s about 40 minutes left, depending on their size and thickness.

If you happen to have any rice leftover, just place it into an appropriate sized baking dish (with a lid), and you can simply reheat this the next day in a 350º oven for about 20 – 30 minutes (covered) until heated through. Then you’ve got an already-made side dish for a whole new supper such as tacos, burritos or enchiladas!

Or, you can even do what I did, and make breakfast burritos the next morning! Warm the rice and some tortillas in the microwave, and fill with items such as (the rice), plus scrambled eggs, grated cheese, refried beans and anything else your heart desires!

So, not only is this a fun, easy, one pan dish, but you can usually stretch it out, (as it makes a fair amount of rice), into two meals!

I so hope that you find my recipe helpful, and that it soon becomes a favorite on your table, too! Enjoy!! And get out and take a walk this evening! The leaves are beautiful!!

One Pan Chicken and Spanish Rice Bake

Print

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. each: pepper, paprika, garlic powder
• 3 chicken leg-thigh quarters, or 6 - 8 separate legs and or thighs (bone-in / skin-on)*
• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbl. butter

For Rice:

• 4 Tbl. butter (1/2 stick)
• 1 cup rice
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 rib celery, sliced
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp. Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can Hunt's Diced Tomatoes with Roasted Garlic
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce or 1 can tomato soup, either work fine
• 1 (4.5 oz.) can diced green chiles
• 1 Tb. chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
• 3 strips crisp cooked bacon, torn into small pieces

Optional Garnish:

• queso blanco, chihuahua or queso fresco cheese, crumbled
• chopped fresh celery leaves, (or parsley or cilantro leaves)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º F.

In doubled brown paper lunch sacks, add flour, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder, twist top to close, and shake well to mix. Add chicken pieces, one at a time, twist top of bag closed, and shake well to coat. Place piece onto a plate to rest. (Repeat with rest). Pop into fridge to chill and "set". *You can re-shake them after chilling, and immediately before frying, if desired with any flour mixture you may have leftover for a slightly thicker coating, shaking off excess. But a nice light coating is all you really need for this.

Add olive oil and butter to cast iron skillet (or heavy bottomed frying pan that is oven safe and preferably has a tight fitting lid), and melt over medium heat.

When hot, add chicken pieces pretty side-down and fry for about 2 minutes, Turn pieces and fry bottoms for another two minutes or until each side is a nice golden color. Remove pieces to a plate. Do this in several batches so as not to over crowd your pan.

Remove pan from heat and wipe out bottom of pan a little to remove darkened butter and oil if you need to.

Continuing over medium heat, add 4 Tbl. butter, rice, chopped onion and celery, and sauté for 5 - 8 minutes until veggies are tender rice is golden browned.

Add rest of ingredients, and stir well to mix, scraping bottom of pan. Place chicken pieces on top, cover with lid (or seal with foil if your pan doesn't have a lid) , and sprinkle with a little extra pepper and a tsp. of dried parsley if you'd like. Then pop into preheated oven to bake for 1 hour.

Remove from oven, and garnish top if desired, and serve right from the pan. Delicious with a tossed salad and warm crusty rolls. Enjoy!

Notes

*You can also use (bone-in skin-on) cut up chicken pieces. As many as will fit comfortably on the top of your pan.
**Leftover is rice can be used as a side dish for anything Mexican you'd like to fix the next night such as tacos, burritos or enchiladas! (Also freezes well). Or even make breakfast burritos as I did above in my blog!