One Pot Chicken and Broccoli Rice is an essential back-pocket recipe for those really busy nights that takes just 20 minutes to prepare and is all made in ONE pot!
Chicken and rice recipes have always been a welcomed dinner at my house. Ever since I was little, my mom or grandma would serve up some variation of a chicken and rice recipe a couple of times a month. The dinners were always easy to make, baked in one pot, and didn’t dent the wallet either. These days I still love chicken and rice, but I want it ready quickly for an easy weeknight meal. This One Pot Chicken and Broccoli Rice is a 20-minute dinner the whole will love. Seriously easy to make and a seriously good chicken broccoli rice casserole to eat.
ONE POT CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI RICE
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I still remember the day I first shared this One Pot Chicken and Broccoli Rice recipe with a friend. We were standing at the dog park, throwing the ball for our dogs. She was sighing and complaining about how she has to make 2 meals every night. One for her and her husband, and another for the boys.
I stared at her in disbelief. “What??!” I gasped. “You make TWO different meals every night?? Like you don’t have enough to do!” I was flabbergasted. Because she had not only just had her 3rd son, the two elder boys are a bundle of extreme energy she has to keep up with AND she had gone back to full-time work just 4 months after giving birth. Plus I always joke that she actually has 4 sons. Her husband being the fourth. 😉 She is the busiest person I know. And to top it off – she was making TWO meals every night?? So of course, being the food-obsessed person I am, I set about pulling together a set of recipes for her. And this recipe topped the list.
When I first sent her the recipe, she was a bit dubious. “Not sure the boys will go for it, but I’ll give it a go for sure!”, she wrote back. 12 hours later: “OMG!!! They LOVED IT!!!! I chopped up the broccoli smaller so it mixed in better, but they ate it!! Well, most of it. You know what Joey and Zac are like. And Dave LOVED it too! That rice is DA BOMB!”
And truly, it is. This really is all about the rice. Because it’s not just plain rice, it’s a bit creamy and has the added flavor of parmesan AND Monterey Jack cheese. I made this with chicken and broccoli because they’re two staples in my household. But really, you could swap them out for anything, using the same cooking method I use in the recipe below. The key to this is cooking the broccoli (or whatever vegetables you choose to use) ON the rice. That’s how I make this 20-minute dinner all in one pot.
Want more one pot recipes?
- One Pan Tex-Mex Chicken and Rice
- One Pot White Chicken Lasagna Soup
- One Pot Alfredo Pasta
- Creamy Chipotle Chicken
- One Pot Spinach Artichoke Pasta
- More dinner recipes…
Tools used to make this One Pot Chicken and Broccoli Rice recipe
Large Skillet: This skillet is my go-to kitchen tool. It’s large circumference and high sides make it perfect for cooking anything from one pan meals to soups and sauces.
Large Pot: This pot is a kitchen essential for everything from dinner to desserts. I use mine all the time and with proper care, it’ll last for years and years.
Wooden Spoon: Wooden spoons are a kitchen essential. I keep a bunch of them on hand for every meal from breakfast to dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2 cups chicken broth/stock
- 1 cup milk full or low fat
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp salt + pepper
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese for stretch
- 1/2 cup cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese for flavor
- Florets of 1 small head of broccoli
Instructions
- Heat oil in a skillet with a lid OR a large pot over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 3 minutes until translucent.
- Add rice and stir until translucent. Add chicken broth, milk, salt, and pepper. Place lid on and turn down to medium-low.
- Cook for 8-12 minutes (or until the rice almost done), then add chicken then broccoli on top (don't stir), place the lid back on until liquid is evaporated and broccoli is just cooked (about 5 more minutes).
- Remove from stove. Scatter of cheese and place lid on again - residual heat will melt the cheese while the rice rests. Rest for 5 minutes then serve.
Ali says
I don’t see where to add the chicken.
Julie @Real Housemoms says
The chicken and the broccoli are added in step #3. 🙂
Cindy Burrell says
This looks and sounds delicious and the best part is I don’t have to turn on the oven! I avoid my oven during the summer. This is a stove top casserole! Can’t wait to fix this! Thanks!
Shirley Trites says
Do you cook the rice first?
Julie @Real Housemoms says
The rice goes into the skillet uncooked and cooks in the milk and broth.
Maggie says
In Step 2 it says to add the rice to the garlic/onion/oil mixture and cook until the rice turns translucent. I’ve never seen dry rice do that while sautéing. Does that really happen and about how long does it take?
Julie @Real Housemoms says
Hi Maggie! The rice will not turn completely clear by any means, but it will get glossy and sort of see through-ish from absorbing the oil and heating. When my mom would saute her rice in butter with veggies to make Mexican rice, the same “translucent” look would happen. 🙂
Catie says
Do you use minute rice or just regular rice?
Julie @Real Housemoms says
Regular long-grain rice
Alli says
I only have Instant Rice – Think that will work ok? Should I pre-cook it instead?
Becky says
When you say grated parm cheese, do you mean the shredded cheese in the package or in the can you use on spaghetti?
Julie @Real Housemoms says
Hi Becky. You’ll want to use grated/shredded fresh parmesan cheese so it gets all gooey and melty in the dish. 🙂
Dawna says
Can I use brown rice? If so how does the cooking time change since brown rice takes much longer to cook? I don’t use white rice at all.
Kim says
I’m not sure how to cook long grain rice in 8 minutes. It took me 20 minutes to cook the rice. I used long grain brown rice. Should I have used white rice?
Julie @Real Housemoms says
Brown rice definitely takes longer to cook than white rice.
Lorrie says
Does NOT work with brown rice 🙁 timing was all out of whack. Really disappointed. Will try again with white
Julie @Real Housemoms says
Brown rice has more than double the cooking time of white rice. You’d need to precook your brown rice if you’d like to use it in this recipe.
Kayse says
Will it turn out bad if I use water instead of chicken stock? I have every ingredient besides that.
Julie @Real Housemoms says
You could use water, but the dish won’t be as flavorful.
Cynthia Mott says
Maybe add a bouillion cube or part of one dissolved for some added flavor (or at least a little salt). I look forward to making this it sounds great and looks easy. I wish more people would make it then comment! I certainly understand having questions, but Julie how do you not go crazy with all the not so smart questions? How can people have the time to ask a question, but not take the time to read the entire recipe and your suggestions. For instance you took the time to note that brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice. I will comment again after I make it. Thanks for your time and the recipe.
Cheryl says
I agree
Sara says
My family enjoyed this one-skillet dish. I already had some thawed chicken breasts so I cubed those, seasoned with salt & pepper and sauteed in butter & olive oil. I removed the chicken and then started the recipe directions in the same pan. I needed quite a bit more liquid – when I went to add the broccoli there was none left. Also, I used about 1/2 of the cheese called for and it was plenty cheesy.
Just wanted to share my thoughts. Thanks for the recipe – I think it’ll go into the rotation!
Cheryl says
This was super easy and delicious! While it did have decent flavor, I might try maybe a lemon rotisserie chicken, or instead of cheddar use pepper jack. But as I said, really good as is also.
Kate says
I made this on Sunday for our lunches for the week. It tastes amazing and was super easy! Thanks!
Jude says
Can you cook this in a crock pot?
Julie @Real Housemoms says
Probably. We haven’t made it that way, but I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t. 🙂
kim says
Cant you people read!
Lyndsey says
Family of 5 LOVED this meal! Delicious, easy, and cant wait to make it again!!! Thank you for another favorite recipe.
April B says
Hello all, I just made this, but I added some stuff, cause if I don’t, he won’t get his veggies.
And I made it in a pressure cooker.
I added spinach, portobello mushrooms, fresh peas, and instead of just broccoli, I did the mix bag of fresh cauliflower, carrots, and broccoli.
Ohhhhh my. It was I wanna lick the plate delicious. Thank you, thank you for this. Best part, it took 38 minutes total including cutting up the veggies while the chicken cooked. And no heating up the kitchen, or funcky chicken cooking smell, just gooy yummy goodstuff.
Thank you for this, will be making it again over and over again.
Aubrey Cota says
Sounds great!! Thank you.
Audra says
This was the best chicken and rice dish I have ever had. My entire family asked me to make it regularly. I was glad there was left overs but that almost didn’t happen. So good!
Kylie says
This recipe sounds amazing but I’m really looking for a true one pot chicken dish. I was hoping to see somewhere that the chicken could be cooked with it as well. Since you have to cook the chicken separately so you have any similar recipes where it can all just be thrown into the crock pot? Im dying to try this ???
Meghan says
The rice didn’t cook? I followed the recipe exactly as listed, but my rice isn’t cooked through.
any suggestions on how I can fix this as I don’t want to waste everything in the pot now.
Krista says
This dish came together easily and was lovely! I followed the instructions exactly, yet tripled the amount of broccoli and it was perfect! Thank you for posting and I would highly recommend!
Aubrey Cota says
I’m so happy to hear that, thank you so much Krista!! Take a look around, I hope you’ll find more recipes that you love.
Mathew Jeff says
My mother was able to make White chicken recipe ,a labor intensive recipe to become sure. This timeless dish is now a fancy version of creamed chicken. You may earn a quick version with roasted soup, however, it tastes such as fried soup, and also can be high in salt. The only means to get the amazing comfort I needed was to adapt the white chicken cream recipe.