Easy and delicious chicken legs and rice recipe is a great dish any weeknight. Baked chicken drumsticks is healthy, easy to make, and tasty. You can add seasoning to it to make it your own. Use the ingredients you have in your kitchen and try this recipe.
Impress your family with a simple and flavorful dish! This baked chicken legs and rice recipe is a perfect family dinner that leaves room for you to make your own. With only a handful of ingredients and minimal prep, you can create a delicious and satisfying meal that will have your taste buds dancing. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the steps to create the perfect rice and juicy chicken legs, mix them, and bake them to perfection. So get ready to feed your loved ones with this family-friendly and ridiculously good recipe.
Ingredients for this Recipe
To make this baked chicken legs and rice recipe, you will need a handful of basic ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Chicken legs: You can use any chicken parts you prefer, but we recommend sticking with chicken legs for this recipe.
- Rice: White rice works best in this recipe, but you can use brown rice.
- Chicken broth: adds flavor to the dish and helps cook the rice perfectly.
- Olive oil: Used to coat the chicken legs before baking.
- Salt and pepper: For seasoning, the chicken legs and rice.
- Garlic powder: Optional, but we love the extra flavor it adds.
- Paprika: Adds color and flavor to the chicken legs.
- Onions and Garlic: This adds great flavor to the rice, along with some minced garlic cloves.
When making the rice, I added some sauteed onions and minced garlic. But you can add fresh or dried herbs and flavors such as:
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Cilantro
- Lemon Juice
- Fresh parsley
- Mushrooms
- Italian Seasoning
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
That’s it! With these simple ingredients, you can create a delicious and budget-friendly meal for your family.
Cooking the Rice and Chicken Together
To bring out the flavors of your baked chicken legs and rice, baking them together in the oven will add depth of flavor to the rice. This approach is perfect if you want to have everything in one dish, and it also allows the chicken juices to seep into the rice, adding depth of flavor to both.
To get started, preheat your oven to 375°F. Place your chicken legs in a baking dish and add your rice around the chicken. Make sure to evenly spread the rice to cook evenly and absorb the juices from the chicken. You can also add any additional seasonings or spices at this time.
Cover the baking dish with foil and place it in the oven for around 45 minutes. After that time, remove the foil and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken legs have browned and the rice is fully cooked.
Once finished, remove the baking dish from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before serving. The end result should be a delicious, flavorful dish that’s easy to make and perfect for any meal.
Serving the Chicken and Rice
For a complete and satisfying meal, serve your oven baked chicken legs and rice with a fresh green salad or roasted vegetables. This will add more color, texture, and nutrition to your plate, rounding out the meal perfectly.
In just a few simple steps, you have created a delicious and flavorful dish that’s perfect for any occasion. Whether you’re looking for an easy weeknight dinner or a crowd-pleasing recipe for a dinner party, this baked chicken legs and rice dish will not disappoint.
Commonly Asked Questions
Yes! You can use chicken thighs, chicken breast, or chicken quarters if that is what you have on hand.
I used brown rice, but you can use jasmine rice, basmati rice, or white long grain rice.
Absolutely! Leftovers can be saved for future meals. Store them properly in an airtight container in the refrigerator to maintain freshness and prevent spoilage.
It is generally safe to store the baked chicken legs and rice in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days. However, for the best quality, consuming them within 2 to 3 days is recommended.
Allow the baked chicken legs and rice to cool to room temperature before transferring them to an airtight container. Place the container in the refrigerator to prevent bacterial growth and maintain the flavors of the dish.
Similar Recipes
If you like chicken recipes like this, you will enjoy the ones below:
- Skinny-ish Chicken Cheddar Cheese and Broccoli
- Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
- Pan-Seared Chicken Breast with Mushrooms and Peas
- One-Pan Roasted Whole Chicken with Veggies
- Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs in a Mushroom Cream Sauce
Baked Chicken Legs and Rice
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Delicious and easy one-pot meal! Learn how to make baked chicken legs and rice for a flavorful dinner. Perfect for busy weeknights.
Ingredients
- 12 Chicken Drumsticks
- 4 tbsp. Olive oil, divided
- 1 tbsp. Seasoned Salt
- 1/2 tbsp. Black pepper
- 1/2 c. onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. Onion powder
- 1 tsp. Garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. Smoked Paprika
- 2 c. brown rice
- 1/2 tsp. Dried thyme
- 4 c. chicken broth
- Kosher salt and coarse black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 Degrees.
- Place the chicken legs in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with two tablespoons of olive oil, seasoned salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, dried thyme, and smoked paprika. Toss together and run thoroughly, coating the chicken with the seasoning. Add more if you prefer.
- Heat a large heavy-duty skillet on medium-high heat and add the other two tablespoons of olive oil. Add the chicken to hot pan and sear on both sides for 2-3 minutes until a nice sear occurs but not fully cooked. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Using the same pan with the drippings, add the chopped onion and cook until softened about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic cloves and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Spray a 9X13 casserole dish with non-stick spray. To the bottom of the pan, add the rice coating the pan evenly. Add the onion and garlic and stir around. Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken legs on top of the uncooked rice. Pour the chicken broth into the pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 45-50 minutes. You can check for doneness by tasting a grain of rice to ensure it’s cooked to your preferred texture. Remove the aluminum foil and fluff the rice with a fork, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place the aluminum foil back over the chicken and rice and let sit for, at least 10 minutes. Serve as desired.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Just wanted to know if I can use jasmine white rice
Sure thing!
Cooked this exactly as the recipe said, and here we are 2.5 hours later, and the rice still isn’t cooked.
I’ve done recipes like this before and found that heating the broth before adding it to the casserole dish and popping it into the oven right away helps cook the rice (I usually nuke my brother right before adding it)