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    One-Pan Chicken Thighs with Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Rice

    Published: May 28, 2016 / 24 Comments

    72.3K shares
    • Facebook410
    Recipe Print

    Chicken Thighs with Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Rice - delicious, easy, one-pan Italian-inspired recipe. Gluten free. Great Summer dinner! It will keep you full, yet it's light and not overly heavy.

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    You will fall in love with this Mediterranean style chicken dinner: flavorful rice cooked in chicken broth and in juices from chicken thighs, then mixed with chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped fresh basil leaves, and shredded Parmesan cheese! Chicken thighs are moist and juicy, and everything is cooked together in one pan to minimize the cleanup.

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    Why make this chicken and rice

    • If you want something refreshing, light and not so heavy, - you will love this Mediterranean style chicken and rice! Sun-dried tomatoes and basil are a great accompaniment to rice!
    • My recipe instructs to drain the sun-dried tomatoes from oil, but if you're looking for more delicious ways to add olive oil to your diet, go ahead and add some of the olive oil from the sun-dried tomato jar to your rice - I think it makes the rice even more delicious!  See the recipe below for details.

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    How to cook chicken thighs in a skillet

    • Start by cooking chicken thighs in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.
    • Sear them skin-side down, for 5 minutes, until skins get golden brown color but don't get burned.
    • Then, flip the chicken thighs to the other side and sear for 2 more minutes on medium heat.
    • In this photo, I have cooked chicken thighs for 5 minutes, skin-side down, on medium-high heat - see how the bottom of the pan is not burned?  Yet the skins have nice golden color (see next photos)!

    cooking chicken thighs in the skillet in olive oil

    Remove the chicken from the skillet (it will not be cooked through - you'll continue cooking it in the next steps).

    How to cook jasmine rice

    To the same (now empty) skillet, add chicken broth, water, uncooked rice, ¼ teaspoon salt.

    add broth and rice to the skillet

    Bring to boil. Mix everything well. Put chicken thighs on top, making wells for them in the rice.

    add chicken thighs on top of broth and rice

    Reduce the heat to low boil simmer. Cover the skillet with the lid. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, covered, until the rice is cooked through, and the chicken is completely cooked through (no longer pink in the center). The completely cooked chicken and rice should look like this:

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    How to make flavored jasmine rice

    • Remove the chicken from the skillet.
    • Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes, drained of oil, chopped fresh basil, and shredded Parmesan cheese to the skillet with rice (without chicken). Mix everything.
    • Taste, and add more salt or olive oil from the sun-dried tomato jar, to taste.
    • I added at least 2 tablespoons of olive oil from sun-dried tomatoes to the rice - but it's up to you!
    • You might skip adding the olive oil altogether, the rice is very flavorful with or without it.

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    Place cooked chicken thighs on top of rice, garnish with more fresh basil.

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    Related chicken thigh and rice recipes

    If you liked this style of recipe where you cook chicken thighs and rice together in the same skillet, you will for sure LOVE these recipes:

    • One-Pan Chicken Thighs with Cilantro-Lime Black Bean Rice
    • Chicken Thighs with Mushroom Rice
    5 from 3 votes

    One-Pan Chicken Thighs with Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Rice

    Chicken Thighs with Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Rice - delicious, easy, one-pan Italian-inspired, Mediterranean recipe. Gluten free. Great Summer dinner!   Chicken thighs are moist and juicy, and everything is cooked together in one pan to minimize the cleanup.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Total Time 40 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Servings 5 servings
    Calories per serving 479 kcal
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 5 chicken thighs
    • salt and pepper
    • 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
    • 1 cup Jasmine rice uncooked, or use any rice that says on the package that it takes 15 minutes to cook it
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained, chopped
    • 10 fresh large basil leaves chopped + more, for garnish
    • ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded

    Instructions 

    • Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat until hot. Add olive oil - it should run easily because the skillet is hot, but not sizzle or smoke. Generously season both sides of chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Sear them on high-medium heat in the skillet, skin-side down, for 5 minutes, until skins get golden brown color but don't get burned. Skillet should not be burned on the bottom. Flip the chicken thighs to the other side and sear for 2 more minutes on medium heat. Remove the chicken from the skillet (it will not be cooked through - you'll continue cooking it in the next steps).
    • To the same (now empty) skillet, add chicken broth, uncooked rice, ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring to boil. Mix everything well. Put chicken thighs on top, making wells for them in the rice. Reduce the heat to low boil simmer. Cover the skillet with the lid. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, covered, on low boiling simmer, until the rice is cooked through, and the chicken is completely cooked through (no longer pink in the center). If the rice absorbs all of the broth but is still tough, add about ½ cup water to the rice, cover with lid, and cook on low simmer until all water is absorbed, and the rice is cooked and tender in texture.
    • Remove the chicken from the skillet. Add ½ cup of sun-dried tomatoes, drained of oil and chopped into smaller bites, chopped fresh basil (about 10 large leaves), and ½ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese to the skillet with rice (without chicken). Mix everything. Taste, and add more salt or olive oil from the sun-dried tomato jar, to taste.
    • Put cooked chicken thighs on top of rice, garnish with more fresh basil.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    One-Pan Chicken Thighs with Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Rice
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    479
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    24
    g
    37
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    7
    g
    44
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    117
    mg
    39
    %
    Sodium
     
    736
    mg
    32
    %
    Potassium
     
    735
    mg
    21
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    36
    g
    12
    %
    Fiber
     
    1
    g
    4
    %
    Sugar
     
    4
    g
    4
    %
    Protein
     
    26
    g
    52
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    260
    IU
    5
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    10.9
    mg
    13
    %
    Calcium
     
    156
    mg
    16
    %
    Iron
     
    2.3
    mg
    13
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    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.

    Keyword one pan chicken thighs
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Cathy Parks

      February 04, 2023 at 1:18 pm

      I'd like to sub frozen cauliflower rice for the jasmine rice. How much should I reduce the chicken broth by? I can play it by ear too, adding as needed but using chicken bouillon for flavor

      Reply
      • Julia

        February 13, 2023 at 7:18 pm

        Cathy, cauliflower rice cooks really fast (unlike the 20-minute cooking time for the rice). In this recipe, the chicken is cooked on the stovetop (covered) and submerged partially in the chicken broth and rice. In order to not overcook the cauliflower rice and not turn it into a mush, you might have to bake this in the oven until the chicken is cooked through (in the oven-safe dish).

        Reply
    2. Claire

      July 22, 2018 at 12:58 pm

      Could i do this in a Dutch oven? My skillet doesn't have a lid.

      Reply
      • Julia

        July 31, 2018 at 5:17 pm

        Not sure about Dutch oven. You can definitely do this recipe in a cast iron skillet.

        Reply
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    Hi, I'm Julia! Welcome to my recipe blog where I share easy-to-make weeknight dinners and other recipes using simple ingredients!

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