Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice (30 Minutes, One-Pot)

Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice with spinach, grape tomatoes, chickpeas, and feta cheese - in a cast iron skillet.

Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice (30 Minutes, One-Pot)

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, fiber-rich, and can be easily made dairy-free.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek

Keyword greek chicken and lemon rice

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 755kcal

Author Julia

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

US Customary - Metric

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

Here are my 3 favorite pans (Amazon affiliate links) that are perfect for cooking this Greek chicken and lemon rice: Cast Iron Skillet (12-inch)- the pan I used for this recipe, Stainless Steel Frying Pan (12-inch)- my other everyday workhorse, and Non-Stick Fry Pan (12-inch) - the only non-stick pan I own.

Nutrition