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Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice is a 30-minute one-pot dinner packed with so much flavor! This Mediterranean recipe features spinach, grape tomatoes, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), feta cheese, paprika, and oregano. It's healthy, gluten-free, protein-rich, and fiber-rich, and can be easily made dairy-free.
Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice
This is by no means an authentic Greek recipe, but it is certainly inspired by Greek ingredients and flavors! It definitely fits into the Mediterranean diet category - just like my popular Greek pasta salad, chicken feta pasta, and Greek shrimp orzo. Made with classic Greek ingredients, this chicken and rice skillet is not only delicious and very flavorful, but it also makes a great presentation! I used skinless, boneless chicken thighs (seasoned with paprika, oregano, and red pepper flakes) - they work so well in this recipe! The dark chicken meat is moist, flavorful, and very forgiving to cook. Serve Greek chicken and lemon rice with Greek salad or my apple spinach salad for a complete meal! If you enjoy Mediterranean rice skillets, you might also like this Mediterranean salmon and rice, and my chicken piccata orzo.
Why You'll Love It
- 30-minute ONE-POT dinner. Greek chicken and lemon rice come together fast. The cleanup is minimal. It's a perfect recipe for when you need something quick yet delicious on a busy weekday.
- Perfect for meal prep. Because there is no cream in this recipe, it freezes and reheats really well!
- Serve it as a main or side dish. With so many satisfying ingredients in this recipe (chicken, rice, chickpeas, and veggies), it certainly makes a great well-balanced main course. But, you could also present it as a side dish. You can slice the chicken even more thinly than I did, mix it with the lemon rice, and serve it as a chicken rice side dish.
What Kind of Chicken to Use?
- Skinless boneless chicken thighs are the best choice here. They are flavorful, moist, and forgiving to cook. Do not discard the juices from the cooked chicken thighs - they will add so much flavor to the rice!
- Skinless boneless chicken breasts or tenderloins are good choices, too, even though the white chicken meat is not as flavorful as chicken thighs.
- I do not recommend bone-in chicken, such as skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. It cooks much longer than skinless boneless chicken and is better suited for baking in the oven vs on the stovetop.
What Kind of Rice to Use?
- Jasmine or basmati rice. Long-grain rice works the best here.
- Brown rice will cook a little bit longer, but would work great, too.
- Wild rice will take even longer to cook, but it will certainly fit well with the rest of the ingredients!
How to Make it Dairy-Free
Use vegan feta cheese. All other ingredients are dairy-free!
Substitutions and Variations
- Rice. I used jasmine rice. You can also use basmati rice, any long-grain rice, or Arborio rice.
- Pasta. If you're looking for other popular Greek or Mediterranean diet choices in place of rice, I recommend Orzo. You can also make this recipe with pasta of your choice.
- Beans. I recommend garbanzo beans (chickpeas) or cannellini beans. You can even use cooked lentils.
- Lime or lemon will work great. Freshly squeezed juice is always the best!
- Veggies. My favorite veggies to add to the Greek chicken and lemon rice are chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus, green beans, cucumber, zucchini, arugula, and spinach. Pick and choose what you have available!
- Cheese. You can use grated Parmesan or fresh Mozzarella cheese instead of or in addition to Feta cheese.
Storage Tips
- Fridge. Store leftover Greek chicken and rice refrigerated, in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer. This recipe is freezer-friendly and perfect for meal prep! Freeze this dish for up to 2 months.
How to Reheat
- Stove-top. Reheat over low-medium heat in any kind of appropriately sized cooking pan. Add a small amount of olive oil when reheating, and stir the rice often.
- Microwave oven. Reheat the leftovers in a deep, high-sided microwave-safe dish (bowl) for about 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave oven, and stir the rice mixture well. Return to the oven and reheat for 30 more seconds or more, until heated through.
What to Serve with It
Greek chicken and lemon rice is a complete meal that doesn't need any side dishes. The only thing that can make it better is a side salad. Here are some easy and healthy ideas:
Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice (30 Minutes, One-Pot)
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1.5 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Greek lemon rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 oz grape tomatoes sliced in half
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 oz fresh spinach chopped
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 cups cooked jasmine rice
- 15 oz chickpeas canned
Feta cheese mixture
- 6 oz feta cheese diced into small cubes
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano optional
- fresh oregano for garnish
Instructions
How to cook chicken
- Season the chicken thighs with dried oregano, paprika, salt, and red pepper flakes.
- Heat an empty, high-sided, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add chicken thighs. Cook the chicken on medium heat for 5 minutes on one side, undisturbed. Important note: make sure the oil does not burn. If the skillet gets too hot (depending on your stovetop), reduce heat to low-medium. You don't want the juices from the chicken to be burnt, as you will use those juices to flavor the rice.
- Flip the chicken thighs over, reduce heat to low-medium, and cook for about 5 more minutes or longer on the other side, without moving it, until it's cooked through.
- The digital instant-read meat thermometer should read 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
How to make Greek lemon rice
- Add half of the halved grape tomatoes, minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the same, now empty, skillet. Cook the tomatoes on medium heat for about 2 minutes until they soften and release juices.
- Stir in fresh spinach until it wilts.
- Add cooked rice and drained chickpeas.
- Add 3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice and the remaining uncooked halved grape tomatoes. Reheat on medium heat, stirring everything to combine. Add 1 extra tablespoon of olive oil if you like.
How to make a feta cheese mixture
- In a medium bowl, combine cubed Feta cheese with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon of dried oregano (add more to taste), 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano (if using).
- Mix so that the herbs and olive oil coat the cubed Feta cheese.
Assembly
- Mix half of the feta cheese mixture into the skillet with lemon rice.
- Add sliced cooked chicken to the skillet with rice and reheat on medium heat.
- Top the Greek chicken and lemon rice with the remaining feta mixture. Sprinkle fresh oregano on top.
- Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
I made this for the first time last night and both I and my husband loved it! It has wonderful flavors and was easy to make. although it did take me an hour like someone else mentioned. I used orzo and Melissa's Peeled & Steamed Chickpeas, which aren't canned and are in the produce section of my grocery store. They tasted great in the recipe. I will definitely be making this one again. Thanks for posting!
Thank you, Jo Ann, for your 5-star review! 🙂 So glad both of you loved this recipe!!
This was SO delicious! It had wonderful flavors and a great "comfort food" quality while being fresh and healthy. I cheated just a bit and used Uncle Ben's Jasmine Ready Rice, and it worked very well and saved time since I didn't have leftover rice. I'll be making this again!
Thank you, Pam, for your rave review!! I am so glad you tried this recipe and loved it! 🙂
I tried this same Mediterranean dish with salmon, your recipe, absolutely delicious. If you could include some diabetic acceptable recipes that would be even better.
I am so glad you enjoyed it!! Thank you for such a wonderful review!
Thank you so much for this recipe. This was incredible! I was looking for a recipe that would give me the opportunity to use up some extra fresh veggies that were left over from our Memorial Day cookout. I had the baby spinach, grape tomatoes, a small zucchini and a few mushrooms. I had a small amount of feta but larger amount of fresh mozzarella. I used it all! Other than that, I followed the recipe as written. This was so good and super easy! It will definitely join my meal rotation.
This recipe is a great way to use all those leftover veggies! So happy to hear this recipe is worth repeating! 🙂
Delicious and easy. I left out the red pepper flakes and used a little less than 2 cups of brown rice. My boyfriend loved it.
Thank you, Maria, for your review!! so glad you both liked it! 🙂
An oven baked version of the recipe would be more helpful for busy families
Thanks, Amanda, for your suggestion! It would be fun to come up with the oven baked version of this (added to my ever-growing to-do list! 🙂 )
Absolutely loved this recipe. Makes 4 large servings. My issue is with the estimated prep time - well over the 10 minutes listed. In fact, from the refrigerator to the sink to be washed to the chopping board, it took me nearly an hour for chicken, tomatoes, garlic, fresh spinach + squeezing 2 lemons & dicing feta cheese. Dinner was a bit late that night. I may not be the fastest in the kitchen, but I take issue with anyone doing all this recipe requires in 10 minutes. Maybe you have a sous chef and are a professional as well.
Thank you, Suzanne, for your feedback! 🙂 This recipe is a bit more involved, I might have to update the prep and cooking times! I don't have a sous chef (unfortunately) - wouldn't we all want one in our kitchens sometimes? 🙂
Have a question can you use Quinoa in this recipe?
Need to know for health reasons.
Thank you for you advance.
Yes, Donna, this would be delicious with quinoa!
I don't normally cook Greek food, but we are in a rut and I have been trying different recipes. This was really good. I used brown rice because that is what we always eat. Next time I need to use a bigger skillet. The one I used was filled up, and made it hard to mix (totally my fault). I'll make a note for next time so I don't forget. I forgot to put in the 2nd half of the tomatoes, so I added towards the end. I will say this doesn't take long to cook, but there was a lot of prep. After I read the recipe and the steps, I did everything ahead of time so when I was cooking, I didn't have to stop and mix things up, I just had to add my already mixed ingredients to the skillet. Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you, Dagma, for your thoughtful review!! So glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! Yes, the big skillet is key, and it doesn't have to be cast iron, obviously. Non-stick, stainless steel - all will work.
Just a question about reheating. What. Is the best method?
Thank you!
Hi Kelly! I have reheating tips in the post itself. Here they are:
➡️ Reheat on the stove-top. Reheat over low-medium heat in any kind of appropriately sized cooking pan. Add a small amount of olive oil when reheating, and stir the rice often.
➡️ Reheat in the microwave oven. Reheat the leftovers in a deep, high-sided microwave-safe dish (bowl) for about 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave oven, and stir the rice mixture well. Return to the oven and reheat for 30 more seconds or more, until heated through.
Loved this recipe! I swapped out the jasmine rice for brown rice and added extra lemon (just how I like it). Next time I plan on using chicken breast instead of thighs (again, personal preference). Will definitely make this again - adding to our dinner rotation.
So glad to hear this recipe was a success, Lori! 🙂
Wondering whether the two cups of rice should be measured pre or post cooking? Two cups of uncooked rice cooks up to a much greater volume. Any guidance would be wonderful.
Hi Gina, the recipe calls for 2 cups of cooked rice. If using uncooked rice, pre-cook 1 cup of uncooked rice. Enjoy - it's so good! 🙂
Not so much a review as a question... The recipe lists one of the ingredients as Italian seasoning, but I don't see it mentioned in the instructions. Am I missing it?
Thanks, Pippy, for catching that! 🙂 I just removed the Italian seasoning from the description. 🙂 I used dried and fresh oregano for this recipe, but actually Italian seasoning would work great as a substitute if you don't have oregano.
Made this tonight for my family. Was a hit. Nice fresh, bright taste. Will make again for sure. (I used chicken breasts (cut into 3-4 pieces, pounded flat), not a full can of chickpeas (I'm not the biggest fan).)
Thank you, Cassandra, for your review! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I love Greek & Mediterranean food, so when I saw this recipe I got excited, and bookmarked it for almost two weeks when I had all my ingredients assembled. Some I already had, like garbanzo beans and spinach and chicken.
Before adding in the beans I checked to see if they needed rinsing. It was nowhere on the can and nowhere in the recipe ingredients. I rinsed anyway.
I tho't the recipe was so-so and the possible reason may have been the beans. ZERO flavor, hard and may as well have been eating cardboard. I looked at the ingredients on the side of the can and it says they are given a hardening agent, salt calcium chloride. Sounds and tastes disgusting.
I don't do the grocery shopping, I just fill out the requisitions, so I do not know if there are more natural alternative garbanzo bean options, but I would not recommend canned, if they have a hardening agent added. I had these on hand because I make hummus with them, and obviously you would never know they were hard once you've creamed them.
Use dried garbanzo beans and cook in instant pot. 1 cup beans, 3 cups water, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt. Pressure cook 45 mins and slow release 15 mins. BEST softest bean!
Thanks, Tammy, for chiming in! So helpful!
Very interesting! I did have a similar experience with canned chickpeas a couple of times, too - they were way too hard. Fortunately, I've had much better luck with the brands I've been purchasing lately, and I also normally get organic chickpeas these days - that could make a difference, too.