Herb Butter Chicken & Rice

November 15, 2022

Chicken and rice are one of those classic pairings that are enjoyed all over the world. Not only do they taste great together, but the protein and carbs are well balanced and the ingredients are easily to find and reasonably priced.

While I am a huge fan of the latin inspired flavors of my arroz con pollo, sometimes you don’t have a lot of time to cook and this herb butter chicken and rice comes together quick with simple ingredients. It reheats easily too, so it makes great leftovers.

Let’s get started…

Begin by seasoning your chicken. This recipe can be made with bone-in or boneless chicken, but boneless chicken will be ready faster, so this is what I typically use. For 4 servings, you will need 1 1/2-2 pounds of chicken or 3-4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts.

Season both sides of the chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper and your favorite dried herb mix.

I use a basic italian herb mix with oregano, thyme, dill, basil and rosemary, but you can use your favorite mix or even just one type of dried herb. We will eventually be adding fresh herbs to the rice, so only add a generous pinch to the chicken. I usually suggest generously seasoning chicken, but if you add too much of the dried herbs they can burn when you pan sear the chicken.

We will be adding fresh herbs later, so there will be plenty of herby flavor in this dish!

Now that the chicken is seasoned, place a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Once the skillet is warm and the butter has melted, place the chicken in a single layer and cook for about 5 minutes on the first side.

Once the underside of the chicken is golden brown, flip each piece and reduce the heat to medium. Add another tablespoon of butter and cook until the chicken is cooked through with an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

If you are in a hurry, you can begin cooking the rice in a second skillet while the chicken cooks, but I typically transfer the cooked chicken onto a plate and start the rice in the same skillet. Not only does this prevent me from having to wash 2 skillets, but it also imparts all of the delicious brown bits left in the skillet from searing the chicken into the flavor of the rice.

As soon as you remove the chicken from the skillet, add a tablespoon of butter and use a wooden spoon or spatula to work up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as the butter melts.

Add a chopped yellow onion, carrot and stalk of celery into the skillet and cook until the vegetables have started to soften. Use your spatula to push the softened vegetables to one side of the skillet and add another tablespoon of butter and 3 cloves of finely minced garlic. Stir the garlic around as it cooked for about 60 seconds and then stir to combine it with the other vegetables.

Push everything over to the side of the skillet once again and add your rice. I like to toast the rice for a minute or two before adding the liquid. It will add a nice toasty flavor to the rice.

Add 2 cups of chicken stock to the skillet and give everything a good stir.

Bring the stock up to a simmer and cover the skillet. Cook the rice according to the manufacturers instructions. Although any rice will work, I do recommend a quicker cooking rice for this recipe. If you use a longer cooking rice, be sure to wrap the cooked chicken in foil to help it stay warm. I have had great success with instant rice for this recipe!

While the rice is cooking, chop your fresh herbs. You should have about 1/2 cup of chopped herbs in total and you can use whatever you love. Today, I am using dill, mint and parsley, but any fresh herb will work great with this recipe! The dill and mint add a mediterranean flavor, but you can add cilantro for a more latin inspired flavor or oregano and rosemary to lean more towards an italian flavor.

Whatever herbs you love or have on hand will work great in this dish!

Once the rice is cooked through, add the last tablespoon of butter and the fresh herbs and give the rice a good stir. Take a quick taste and add another pinch of salt or black pepper, if necessary.

Now spoon some of the rice into your bowl and add the herby pan seared chicken. Sprinkle a few more herbs over the bowl and spoon over any additional buttery goodness left behind in the skillet.

This herb butter chicken and rice is just delicious. It is simple to make, but full of so many beautiful flavors. It is a great way to use fresh herbs you have on hand and it is an easy to recipe to customize for many different cuisines.

I like to finish with a drizzle of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar or chili oil, but my husband loves it as is. I hope you make this herb butter chicken and rice and absolutely love it!

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