One Pot Chicken and Rice with Black Pepper Sauce
Here is my 30-minute One Pot Chicken and Rice Dinner recipe that will blow your mind. Tender and juicy chicken thighs sit steaming on top of fluffy rice cooked with chicken fat. Packed with umami flavor, this one-pot recipe is a satisfyingly filling and convenient way of having chicken for dinner. Plus, it has a delicious black pepper sauce that tastes just like Clay Pot Rice. If you hate doing dishes, and you are looking for an EASY and DELICIOUS One-Pot Dinner, don’t worry, I got you!
Hey there! Just so you know, some links on this page are affiliate links. That means if you click and buy something, I earn a tiny commission, at no extra cost to you. It’s a great way to support Tiffy Cooks and keep our kitchen cooking. Thanks for the love!
Chicken and Rice: A One-Pot Dinner Staple
I live for One-Pot dinners, since they are great for those who are busy and don’t have the time to clean a ton of dishes. This Chicken and Rice recipe has been a staple dish in my household for the past few weeks. Give this One Pot Chicken and Rice recipe a try, and let me know how you like it!
If you have chicken thigh and rice, and have no idea what’s for dinner, this one-pot recipe is it! All the cooking is in ONE PAN, so the rice at the bottom soaks up all the flavor from the chicken, shallots, and herbs, so it is extra delicious.
One Pot Chicken And Rice Ingredients
- 6 Chicken Thigh
- 1.5 cup white rice uncooked
- 2 Shallots chopped
- 1.5 tbsp Garlic Minced
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 0.5 teaspoon cumin
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- ½ tsp Tumeric
- ¼ tsp Garlic Powder optional
- 2.5 cups Chicken Stock or Water
- Green Onion to garnish
Optional Black Pepper Sauce:
- 2.5 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 0.5 tbsp Sesame Seeds
- 0.5 tbsp Black Pepper
The Best Chicken For One Pot Chicken Rice
You can use any part of the chicken for my Chicken and Rice recipe, but I use chicken thighs as it is the juiciest and most flavourful. Chicken breast can overcook easily and become dry. So, if you prefer to use white meat, try skin-on chicken breast, which has more fat to keep the chicken moist while cooking.
I am using turmeric, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper for seasoning the chicken. You can also season with garlic powder, oregano, and Italian seasoning.
Extra Flavorful Black Pepper Sauce for Chicken Rice
Optional, but HIGHLY recommended, prepare this black pepper sauce to drizzle on top of the chicken and rice before serving. If you want to keep it simple, you can skip the sauce. However, you can definitely switch up your dinner flavors by adding this sauce, because it will taste just like classic HK Style Clay Pot Rice.
All you need is dark soy sauce, a pinch of sugar, minced garlic, sesame seeds, and a lot of black pepper. To make this extra tasty, drizzle on this sauce before serving with the heat still on. Mix the sauce with the rice, and crispy rice will form at the bottom of the pan!
How To Make One Pot Chicken and Rice
- Season the chicken with paprika, cumin, salt, black pepper, turmeric, and garlic powder (optional). Rub the chicken to make sure it is coated well with seasoning.
- In a pan, drizzle in oil and turn the heat to medium-high. Place the chicken skin side facing down first, and pan-fry for 4 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside on a plate.
- Add shallots and minced garlic into the pan. Saute for another 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Next, add the rice and mix well. Make sure the rice soaks up all the chicken juices and oil.
- Turn the heat to medium; place the chicken on the rice, and pour in chicken stock or water. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes or until all the liquids are absorbed into the rice.
- In the meantime, mix dark soy sauce, sugar, sesame seeds, and black pepper.
- Optional: before serving, turn the heat up to medium-high, drizzle on the sauce, and mix everything, so the rice gets crispy on the bottom.
More One Pot Dinners To Make This Week
One Pot Chicken and Rice with Black Pepper Sauce
By Tiffy Cooks
Ingredients
- 6 Chicken Thigh
- 1.5 cup white rice uncooked
- 2 Shallots chopped
- 1.5 tbsp Garlic Minced
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 0.5 teaspoon cumin
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- ½ tsp Tumeric
- ¼ tsp Garlic Powder optional
- 2.5 cups Chicken Stock or Water
- Green Onion to garnish
Optional Black Pepper Sauce:
- 2.5 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 0.5 tbsp Sesame Seeds
- 0.5 tbsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Season the chicken with paprika, cumin, salt, black pepper, turmeric, and garlic powder (optional). Rub the chicken to make sure it is coated well with seasoning.
- In a pan, drizzle in oil and turn the heat to medium-high. Place the chicken skin side facing down first, and pan-fry for 4 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside on a plate.
- Add shallots and minced garlic into the pan. Saute for another 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Next, add the rice and mix well. Make sure the rice soaks up all the chicken juices and oil.
- Turn the heat to medium; place the chicken on the rice, and pour in chicken stock or water. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes or until all the liquids are absorbed into the rice.
- In the meantime, mix dark soy sauce, sugar, sesame seeds, and black pepper.
- Optional: before serving, turn the heat up to medium-high, drizzle on the sauce, and mix everything, so the rice gets crispy on the bottom.
Made this today and very flavourful! I made a mistake and used brown rice instead of white rice and had to increase cooking time as my rice was too hard. Will attempt again!
Are you using bone in chicken thighs?
Hi there. I made this recipe for the first time last night and it was enjoyable!
It was fast, easy and very flavorful!
The Black pepper sauce is a must!
My son who is a picky eater loved it! Thank you! ♥️
Hi Barbara,
thanks for giving it a try 🙂 I am so glad you son loves it!!
Tiffy
Look so good, gonna try this for dinner later. Loving all your recipes by the way. Oh, also is it possible to cook this using rice cooker?
Hi Tiffy
Just wondering what the calories per servings are please
Ngā mihi
Renee
You are my go to when I can’t figure out what’s for dinner. This one is a winner for sure!
Thank you so much Hildy, I am so glad you liked the recipe 🙂
SOOOO good and easy to make!! Thank you for the recipe. I tried this in my dutch oven!
Do you have any tips on how to prevent the rice from burning on the bottom layer of the pot? Thanks!!
Hi- Maybe put baking sheet at the bottom. This often works well and doesn’t interfere with the dish x
Parchment paper.
Try cooking on a lower heat
I am SO glad I found you. You make the best homey non-fussy recipes!!! Used your recipes all week. By mistake I used cooked rice for this but it still came out great! More like a sticky rice.
This one was so good and the whole family loved it. Said I could make that again anytime!
I gotta favorite this site it seems very beneficial very useful
This Chicken and Rice One-Pot Dinner recipe is fantastic! Simple, delicious, and perfect for busy weeknights. Thank you, Tiffy!
This easy dish knocked it out of the park!! Such a fantastic departure from the typical chicken and rice recipes – so flavorful! And yes the black pepper sauce is a must do! It was an absolute hit!
Im glad i dont have to do more dishes with this recipe! it’s a regular now for sure
Can we use chicken breast instead?
Of course! But you may have to adjust cooking time to prevent overcooking.
hi! my ninja foodie normally cooks white rice in 3 mins using the pressure cooker mode. do you think i can half the cooking time from 30 to 15 mins for this recipe if i’m using ninja? or maybe 10mins? thank you!
Nice recipe
Family loved this, even the super picky one!. Super quick and easy to make.
Great recipe! Common ingredients and easy to make. Tasted great! Thank you!
I have made this recipe at least once a month for the last 8+ months. It’s in me and my sister’s regular rotation. Easy, quick, flavorful, and new to us with all ingredients we usually have lying around. I spice the chicken with a combo of spices I like and don’t add the black pepper and it’s honestly delicious everytime.
This was a flavorful and easy recipe. I plan to make this more. Great as leftovers too!
Very tasty recipe but the chicken skin became very soft and unappetizing. Any ideas?
Hi Heather, if you’d prefer a crispier chicken skin, you can remove the chicken skin before cooking, crisp it separately, and add it back on top. If you’re not a chicken skin person, feel free to skip it entirely.
Tiffy
I am going to try this.
I have tried one pot chicken and rice before but been disappointed because it turns out a bit too wet and as flavorful as I expected. How do you manage the fluid so it turns out a bit more drier? I typically use a rice/water ratio of 1:2. Maybe I need to use 1:1 instead? Please advise. Thanks!
In any one pot chicken and rice recipe you are cooking the rice by absorption. The ideal rice:liquid ratio for this is around 1:1.5. You’ll see this recipe is 1.5:2.5, which is 1:1.67 – moist, but not wet. Less than about 1:1.3 and your rice won’t cook properly.
Absolutely delicious and so easy!! definitely gonna become a staple 🩷😊 do you have any recommendations on side dishes that would pair well? thank you!
Yes of course! Try some garlic bok choy or an easy cucumber salad!
Tiffy
Thank you so much! can’t wait to try it 🩷
Super easy and very tasty recipe. Pro tip: do not skip the black pepper sauce, so good!
This is my go-to dinner. I like to throw in a bag of frozen mixed veggies before letting it cook for 25 minutes.
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe! Can I substitute chicken thighs with chicken breast, and would the cooking time change?
Hi Mark, Yes, you can substitute chicken thighs with chicken breast, and I’d suggest decreasing the cooking time a little, especially epending on the cut of your chicken breast.
Tiffy
I made this recipe a few months ago and we loved it! Only thing I messed up on was not saving the link or writing down the recipe. It took me a while to find it because I was searching for ‘black pepper chicken’. Love that I don’t have to dirty my rice cooker for this recipe and I highly recommend the black pepper sauce if you like medium spice! Thanks for the recipe!!
Thank you Tiffy for the recipe tonight I didn’t know what to do with chicken breasts so still made this because I didn’t have chicken thighs but it was really good. I am so glad I came across your recipe and will try some more of your other recipes.
Has any one tried to freeze this recipe after cooking it.
I randomly choose this recipe to tonight to make however I substituted the chicken for boneless chicken and this recipe still come out great. My family loved it. Thank you!
I don’t normally leave reviews, but I had to let you know that my entire family enjoyed this recipe. I made it as directed, but substituted black garlic for your regular garlic. My husband just came in and told me how much he liked everything, which blew my mind! I can never find a meal that every single person in my house actually likes. Thank you!
This is a go-to for our household!
OMG this is so good and EASY for a non-cook who needs to follow recipes. I’d reduce the salt in the recipe a bit as a tad too salty for my families taste as we are light with seasoning.
the rice is super flavourful! Like something I would order at a restaurant.
my daughter gave this a 7.5-8 out of 10. When asked how to rate, i told her a 10 would be to die for OMG, something you dream about as we have to leave a rating for those items! ha ha
can’t wait to try your other recipes. I actually had intended to make the honey ginger chicken by my (chef of the household) hubby isn’t into sweet tangy things, so I made something he might eat. Will try that next time!