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Short-Order Kitchen

One-Pan Pesto Chicken and Rice Bake

By Wes Ellis2 min read
Linguine with chicken and mushrooms in an oval white baking dish on a wooden table.
Recipe card
Servings
4
Prep
15 minutes
Cook
30 to 35 minutes
Method
Oven
Heat
375°F
Difficulty
Medium
Jump to ingredients & directions ↓

Part 7 of the thread Out of the casserole dish

THE SHORT VERSION4 points
  • One oven-safe skillet, start to finish.
  • Sear the chicken 1 to 2 minutes per side; the oven does the rest.
  • Keep the rice fully under the liquid or the top grains stay crunchy.
  • 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes, then mozzarella for 5 more.
THE RECIPE · ONE-PAN PESTO CHICKEN AND RICE BAKE

Ingredients

Base

Chicken

You'll need

  • Large oven-safe skillet or baking pan
  • Small bowl and whisk

Directions

Stovetop

  1. Heat the oven to 375°F.
  2. Spray a large oven-safe skillet with oil and cook the onion over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic for 1 more minute, then push it all to the side.
  3. Season the chicken and sear it 1 to 2 minutes per side. It doesn't need to cook through. Set it aside if you need the room.
  4. Stir in the broth, rice and yogurt if using, then the cornstarch slurry. Make sure the rice is fully submerged.
  5. Arrange the vegetables around the pan, set the chicken on top, and spread the pesto over each breast.

Oven

  1. Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken hits 165°F inside, the rice is tender and most of the liquid is gone.
  2. Scatter the mozzarella over the chicken and bake about 5 minutes more, until melted.
  3. Rest a few minutes and serve straight from the pan.
Notes Keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. Add a splash of broth when reheating if the rice has dried out. For gluten-free, check the broth and pesto labels. Roughly 350 calories and 39 g protein per serving, give or take.

wesellis.com/blog/pesto-chicken-bake/

There's a whole genre of "chicken and rice in one pan" recipes, and most of them hinge on the same bet: the rice cooks in the liquid while the chicken roasts on top of it. This one adds pesto and a little mozzarella, and it only dirties one skillet.

Don't skip the submerge

Rice that pokes above the broth doesn't cook. It toasts. Before the pan goes in the oven, press the rice down with a spoon so every grain is under the liquid, and set the chicken on top gently so it doesn't push rice up the sides.

Heads up

Only 1/2 cup of rice goes in, and that's deliberate. It's a base for the chicken and vegetables, not a pot of rice. Doubling it without doubling the broth leaves you with hard rice.

Why the sear is so short

The sear is there for color and a bit of flavor in the pan, not to cook the chicken. A minute or two a side, then it finishes in the oven, sitting in steam, which keeps it from drying out. The cornstarch slurry turns the broth into a light sauce by the end instead of leaving a watery puddle.

Try this

Pesto on protein works on fish too: Air Fryer Pesto Salmon is ten minutes. For another cheesy chicken bake in this thread, there's Chicken Parmesan Casserole.

LINKED FROM2 notes

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