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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.
Really tasty! I might add more tomatoes next time around. I used frozen jasmine rice from Trader Joe’s- super easy. I would say this took a tad more than 30 minutes but nice it was one pot. Will definitely make again!
Thank you, Sarah, for your wonderful review! 🙂 Yes, using pre-cooked rice saves so much time!
This dish is super flavorful. It is super easy to make and tastes amazing!
So glad you loved it, and thank you, Amanda, for your review! 🙂
That sounds so delicious ! I’m going to make this tomorrow
I’ll make this with plant based chicken, since I’m a vegetarian. It will be delicious I’m sure
Plant-based chicken would be delicious here! Let me know if you try it!
Thanks for this nutritious and very tasty recipe. My other half and I only left about one serving (he is a big eater,). It was delicious and very easy to make, I used chicken breast because I had some in the freezer that needed using. Well Done and keep them coming.
Thank you, Val, for taking the time to leave a review and for your encouragement - it means so much to me! ❤️❤️
This dish was so easy to prepare and so delicious. I will definitely make it again.
The easiest dishes are the best!! Glad you loved it! 🙂
Made this tonight-- delicious! I prefer pasta over rice and don't like beans, so I used pasta and kept beans out. And I added some artichokes and sun dried tomatoes, but other wise, made as directed. It was brilliant to cook half the tomatoes at the beginning and add the rest at the end to get another release of juices. I was concerned that it would be dry and not enough flavor without a proper sauce/broth, but it was perfect! And concerning timing, the entire thing took me 35 minutes. Now, while it was 35 minutes, it was an active 35 minutes. I started by putting the pot on the stove and seasoned the chicken and started cooking it while I boiled the pasta. While those two things were cooking, I cut the tomatoes and made the feta topping. When chicken was done, I started cooking the first half of tomatoes and drained the pasta. Last few minutes I tossed it all together and started putting ingredients away and putting dishes in the sink.
Thank you, Andrea, for your thoughtful and detailed review!! Glad the recipe worked well with pasta, and I LOVE the addition of artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes! ❤️❤️
This was easy, fun and really tasty. Followed the recipe to the letter and the result was delicious and filling. I had to cook the chicken a little longer to achieve the caramelization but it is a winner!
Thank you, Denny, for your rave review! ❤️❤️
Very flavorful and easy to make. Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Cabby! 🙂
Such great flavours! I made this with fresh cherry tomatoes from the farm market and it was extra delicious. Definitely a keeper!
Hi Di, this is especially delicious with the summer tomatoes from the farmers' market! ❤️
Spectacular. I used chicken breasts because that's all I had and they worked perfectly.
Thank you, Jen, so glad this recipe was great with chicken breasts!
This was so good!! Thank you!!
Thank you, Mandy, it's one of my favorites!
I made this and was great! I substituted farro for the rice because It’s a little stronger nutrition wise and I love farro anyway. Tried a few of your recipes and all delicious!
Lynn, thank you for your feedback about using farro! I'll have to try that!
We're LOVED this! I used chicken breast (It's what I had) and added chopped caramela olives and a few sun-dried tomatoes for extra zing... Loved it!!! Will be making again soon!!!
Yay, I am so happy you liked it, Rosa! And glad it's a recipe worth repeating! 🙂
A hit! Everyone loved it! The first time I made this, my son asked me to make it again...in the same week!!! So far, I've made it 3 times in 2 weeks!
Wow, I am so flattered, Felicia! Thank you for your review!!
Really good! Family loved it. Took longer than 30 minutes though. I just added the feta cheese mixture ingredients separately to the pan in the end instead of making it the mixture first and then adding it.
Ginny, thank you for your review! 🙂 I am so glad you loved it!!
This was extremely flavorful! A nice change of pace a great way to add variety. The only thing missing were the chickpeas which I will try next time.
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Heather!
Tried this tonite, very tasty ! Will try again using Spegetti as a change up
Thank you, Shawn, for your review. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂