Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice in 30 Minutes
Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice is a 30-minute one-pot dinner packed with so much flavor! This Mediterranean recipe features spinach, grape tomatoes, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), feta cheese, paprika, and oregano. It’s healthy, gluten-free, protein-rich, fiber-rich, and can be easily made dairy-free.
Prep Time: 10minutes
Cook Time: 20minutes
Total Time: 30minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Chicken
1.5 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
Greek lemon rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz grape tomatoes sliced in half
5 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon salt
5 oz fresh spinach chopped
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups cooked jasmine rice
15 oz chickpeas canned
Feta cheese mixture
6 oz feta cheese diced into small cubes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano optional
fresh oregano for garnish
Instructions:
How to cook chicken
Season the chicken thighs with dried oregano, paprika, salt, and red pepper flakes.
Heat an empty, high-sided, heavy-bottomed skillet (such as a cast-iron or stainless steel pan) over medium heat for 2 minutes.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add chicken thighs. Cook the chicken on medium heat for 5 minutes on one side, undisturbed. Important note: make sure the oil does not burn. If the skillet gets too hot (depending on your stovetop), reduce heat to low-medium. You don’t want the juices from the chicken to be burnt, as you will use those juices to flavor the rice.
Flip the chicken thighs over, reduce heat to low-medium, and cook for about 5 more minutes or longer on the other side, without moving it, until it’s cooked through.
The meat thermometer should register 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
How to make Greek lemon rice
Add half of the halved grape tomatoes, minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the same, now empty, skillet. Cook the tomatoes on medium heat for about 2 minutes until they soften and release juices.
Stir in fresh spinach until it wilts.
Add cooked rice and drained chickpeas.
Add 3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice and the remaining uncooked halved grape tomatoes. Reheat on medium heat, stirring everything to combine. Add 1 extra tablespoon of olive oil if you like.
In a medium bowl, combine cubed Feta cheese with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon of dried oregano (add more to taste), 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano (if using).
Mix so that the herbs and olive oil coat the cubed Feta cheese.
Assembly
Mix half of the feta cheese mixture into the skillet with lemon rice.
Add sliced cooked chicken to the skillet with rice and reheat on medium heat.
Top the Greek chicken and lemon rice with the remaining feta mixture. Sprinkle fresh oregano on top.
Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
Nutritional Info:
Calories: 755kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 199mg | Sodium: 970mg | Potassium: 1202mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 4390IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 393mg | Iron: 8m