Steam Oven Baked Chicken and Rice
A one-pan dream with tender chicken and fluffy, well-seasoned rice. A steam oven makes this dish almost effortless, and cooks dinner in just over half an hour!
Servings: 4
Calories: 717kcal
Ingredients
- 1.3 lb chicken thighs 600g boneless and skinless (4-6, depending on size)
- 1 tsp paprika I love smoked, my kids and husband prefer sweet
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 onion small (or 1/2 large one), finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tbs butter olive oil if you must, but the butter is a key part of the flavoring in this dish
- 2 cups long grain rice 400g I have also used Basmati with success, same liquid ratios
- 3 cups chicken stock 750ml
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C, combination steam setting. If your oven has variable steam settings, use 60%. If not, don’t worry! Just set to combi steam at the correct temperature and the oven will work out the humidity for you.
- While the oven heats, trim any excess fat from your chicken, Mix together the paprika, thyme, garlic and onion powders, pepper and salt in a small dish. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over both sides of the chicken.
- Once the oven is at temperature, put the onion, garlic and butter into a heatproof casserole pan or baking dish. Put the dish into the oven for 5 minutes, until the butter is melted and the onion and garlic have softened.
- Add the rice to the pan and stir so all the grains are coated in the butter, then pour in the stock. Lay the chicken on top of the rice (it’ll look like it’s swimming, but don’t worry).
- Return the pan to the oven (no lid) and cook for 30 minutes, by which time the chicken should be golden and tender, and the liquid should have fully absorbed into the rice.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and fluff the rice, then return the chicken. For kids, I often slice the chicken before taking the pan to the table, to make serving and eating easier.
- Serve hot with roasted vegetables or a green salad alongside.
Video
Notes
- This recipe is based on one from RecipeTin Eats (Nagi’s recipes are truly wonderful – I highly recommend a visit if you’re lacking in dinner inspiration!). I’ve altered the ingredients to suit our tastes, plus I use boneless chicken instead of bone-in, and the rice and liquid ratios are changed to suit combi steam rather than conventional oven cooking. The cooking times are substantially altered, because the combi steam version takes a full half hour less than the regular oven one, and you won’t need a lid for your pan.
- I use 4 to 6 chicken thighs, depending on how many people I need to serve – the overall weight isn’t so critical, I just try to make sure each person has one thigh.
- The quantity of rice is generous as that’s what we like, and I always serve this with a salad or some roasted vegetables to balance the meal out (you can roast the veg in a separate pan at the same time as the rice and chicken cook).
- You can easily adapt the spices in this dish. If you don’t have the ones I’ve listed below, use a tablespoon or two of your favorite premade spice mix instead. I’ve tried a Moroccan spice blend, a Cajun one and even a mild butter chicken curry powder and they’ve all worked brilliantly.
Nutrition
Calories: 717kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 692mg | Potassium: 595mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 529IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 2mg