Here's an easy baked chicken and rice recipe. Quick and tasty, this one pan combination is a perfect meal to make after a long day at work. Just add a salad.
If we're to be honest I'm a fan of neither chicken nor rice. Chicken, because I'd rather eat beef. Rice, because it was a daily occurrence during the siege. But if done well in combination, baked chicken and rice easily measure up. (I do like chicken pies though. Chicken bump pie, and chicken layered pie for example.)
Do you have any? Do you go another way when a black cat crosses your path? Do you avoid walking under ladders? Do you bundle up with a book every Friday the 13th to avoid going outside and risk something bad happening?
Baked Chicken And Rice Recipe (Pečena Piletina Sa Rižom)
Ingredients
- 6 chicken legs or thighs
- 4 tablespoons oil
- Optional 1-2 tablespoons Vegeta or 1 crushed chicken bouillon
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1.5 cups rice white, round grain
Instructions
- Heat oven to 480°F.
- Wash chicken. Make a marinade by mixing 3 tablespoon oil, salt (or Vegeta or bouillon), and pepper. Cover chicken in marinade thoroughly and leave for a few minutes to absorb. Cover baking pan with the remaining oil, add chicken and place pan in the oven. Bake 15 minutes.
- Take the pan out, flip the chicken around and return pan to the oven. Lower heat to 360°F and bake another 15 minutes.
- Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside. Carefully scrub the chicken parts remaining in the pan after the baking. Add rice and 4.5 cups of water. Spread all in the pan evenly. Bring heat up to 480°F again, and bake rice in the oven for 25 minutes.
- At, or near the end (when there is a quarter of an inch of water left in the pan above rice) turn off the heat and add chicken into the pan. Leave in the oven for a few minutes to absorb, then serve.
Video
Notes
A good ratio of rice to water is 1:3 (one cup of rice to three cups of water). For this recipe we used 1.5 cups of rice to 4.5 cups of water.
If your oven doesn't go to 490°F or you feel uncomfortable baking at high temperatures, lower it to 450°F or 425°F, bake longer, and check more frequently for done-ness.
If your oven doesn't go to 490°F or you feel uncomfortable baking at high temperatures, lower it to 450°F or 425°F, bake longer, and check more frequently for done-ness.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Suzanne Memic says
Turned out PERFECT! - I have been trying to make this dish for some time - remembered your website and your moussaka recipe - so I gave it a shot. I also made your roasted red pepper/garlic salad - both were wonderful. Family super happy! Thanks again Aida!
Aida says
Suzanne,
Thank you for leaving the comment. It makes my day to hear that someone tried a recipe from the site and that you enjoyed eating it. My regards to your family. Bon appetit!
Yum Girl says
This looks like the recipe my grandmother always made - I loved it but did not get the recipe prior to her passing. I can't wait to make it - also, I have a few more things to be superstitious of now !
Aida says
Glad if the recipe is like the one your grandma made, and if it can bring some good memories back. Yes, the superstitions never go away, it seems we just keep finding out more of them. 🙂
Sabina says
Aida,
I found your site and am thrilled to try out recipes wuth actual measurements and details...not "malo ulja" and "peces dok ne bude gotovo." I notice several of your recipes mention "seasoned salt." Are you referring to Vegeta?
Your zemljakinja,
Aida says
Hello Zemljakinjo!
Glad to have you. Yes, the "odokativno" method was one of the reasons I started the blog. 🙂
You're right it's Vegeta, however I always have a hard time finding it when I'm in DC/US. (Also, it's not the healthiest thing in the world but now they sell healthier-ish versions of it.) Seasoned salt is close enough. Alternatively, you can get away with just salt and pepper and/ or your other preferred seasonings. They're the one thing we can get away with in our cuisine.
Happy cooking!
Sabina says
Hvala draga! You rock 🙂 "Odokativno" haha!
Yes I'm avoiding it because of MSG but I am willing to use it if it helps the taste be more authentic.
Thanks for tips!
Sabina says
Made it. Turned out yummy!! Im planning to try out more of your recipes...kiflice, oblatne, slagani burek od phyllo, and maybe even pita with actual jufke (gasp!)
Aida says
Comments like yours make my day! Glad it turned out well and that you'll continue making more food. Feel free to skip Vegeta. Our great-grandmothers didn't use it, and the food was great then too.
Not sure how you found the blog, but if it wasn't through FB we just started making videos and posting them there. https://www.facebook.com/balkanlunchbox/
KB says
My neighbors loved this easy recipe tonight and have shared the link with them. I've made it 6-7 times already this year. But huge warning: it broke my oven!!! I got a new oven yesterday...the glass broke b/c of 490. I changed mine to 425 instead of 490. 🙂
Aida says
Oh boy! I will make a note of that. I've done it many times in my oven, and I roast veggies at 500°F sometimes, but now I'll lower it down myself. Thanks for letting me know.
KB says
I took a cooking class yesterday at Sur La Table and the chef said that my oven was just bad/ old. She says she broils all the time at 550 and glass doesn't break. The drop-in oven was original to the house and the Sears salesman said that older ovens can break easily at higher temperatures. My new oven is great though! 😛
Aida says
Glad to hear your new oven is fantastic! And you seem like a fantastic cook so it's a great match! 🙂
Snjezana says
I made the chicken tonight and it was delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
Aida says
Anytime Snjezana,so glad you liked it!
<3
Rusmira says
Absolutely love this dish! Made it for dinner and received many compliments on it!
Aida says
Glad your family liked it Rusmira! It looks unimpressive, but the taste is good.
Khadijah says
I've been making this recipe for the last year or so and it is my favourite rice and chicken dish! So easy to make with such good flavor. Recipes from yours and baking with sibellas blog have made my bosnian husband very happy. Hvala!
Aida says
Hi Khadijah,
Glad BLB could aid in keeping a marriage strong 🙂
All kidding aside, I'm happy you find it useful, and more importantly, that you like the food too.
Cheers!