Lemon Herb Chicken and Rice Pilaf is made with tender chicken that's covered in a zesty lemon and herb garlic butter, served on a bed of flavored rice, orzo pasta, and veggies to make the perfect dinner recipe.
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It's light, refreshing, and a pretty healthy meal overall. Perfect for filling your belly after a long day without having to clean a pile of dishes later.
If you're all about the light and refreshing flavors, you will love my Lemon Garlic Parmesan Orzo with Roasted Asparagus. And, if you're a huge orzo fan like me, you must try my Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Orzo dish.
Why this dinner recipe works
This is a flavorful chicken and rice dish that the whole family will enjoy. It's an easy recipe that uses simple pantry ingredients and the leftovers are even better the next day.
Ingredients needed
- Chicken breasts: with bone-in and skin-on
- Butter: melted
- Herbs and spices: fresh thyme, minced garlic cloves, fresh chopped rosemary, kosher salt, and black pepper
- Lemon: for both zest and lemon juice
- Orzo pasta
- Veggies: diced onion and carrots
- Garlic cloves: diced
- Long grain rice
- Chicken stock: Low sodium
How to make lemon herb chicken and rice pilaf
- Step 1: In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter, garlic, herbs, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
- Step 2: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place chicken breasts on it. Brush lemon butter mixture on the chicken and bake until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through.
- Step 3: In a deep, large skillet, melt butter. Add carrots and onions, cook until slightly soft.
- Step 4: Add in garlic, rice, and orzo. Cook until the rice and orzo start to brown.
- Step 5: Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, cover, and simmer until rice is tender.
- Step 6: Turn off heat and let the mixture stand in the hot skillet for a bit before fluffing it with a fork.
- Step 7: Remove chicken from the oven.
- Step 8: Place chicken on top of the rice pilaf and garnish with parsley, before serving.
Recipe Tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Keep leftovers longer by freezing in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
- When reheating leftovers, you may find it easier to add a splash of chicken broth or chicken stock to help keep it moist while reheating.
- Add some heat to the dish by adding cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes.
- Serve this great recipe with lemon slices for a nice garnish.
- If you don't have fresh herbs, you can use dried options.
Recipe Faq
Sure thing! Cut down the baking time to only 15-20 minutes, or a meat thermometer reads 165F when inserted into the chicken.
Of course. As you'll be using bone-in chicken thighs, they'll have a similar cook time to this recipe. But, as always, use an instant-read thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked through for food safety purposes.
While I love this the way it is, the best part about enjoying one of your favorites is changing things up to find new favorites. Try adding in some diced tomatoes, some peas, or some small green beans in the rice mixture to help stretch it out a bit further. Sprinkle on some freshly grated parmesan cheese for even more flavor.
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Lemon Herb Chicken Breasts with Rice Pilaf
Ingredients
Lemon Herb Chicken
- 4 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts 2 1/2 pounds
- 5 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Rice Pilaf
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 onion diced
- 3 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic diced
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- handful fresh parsley chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Place chicken on a baking sheet.
- Mix melted butter, garlic, herbs, lemon zest, and juice. Brush on chicken breasts.
- Place baking sheet on the middle rack and roast for 35-40 minutes or until chicken reaches 165 degrees and juices run clear.
- Heat a a 12-inch deep skillet with a lid on medium-high heat, melt the butter and add carrots and onions, cook 1-2 minutes just until slightly soft, and then add in garlic, rice, and orzo and cook 2-3 minutes just until rice and orzo starts to get a little brown. Add chicken stock, and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed 15-20 minutes. Turn off heat let stand for 10 minutes fluff with a fork and add fresh parsley.
- Place cooked chicken breasts into the rice pilaf and serve.
Yes that should work fine
Could I replace the Orzo with more rice?
It's in the ingredients Sydne, 2 cloves of garlic is needed.
For the chicken mix, how much garlic? Garlic is not on the ingredients list. Thanks!
It is definitely one of my favorites. Let me know what you think 🙂