Looking for a quick and savory rice dish the whole family will love? Our One Pan Chicken, Rice and Peas recipe is delicious, kid-friendly and oh so simple to make! Bonus: It takes less than 30 minutes!
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A Simple One Pan Meal
Let's face it, one pan or one pot meals are simply the best! Our chicken, rice and peas dish can be made in four simple steps and minimal mess. The trick is too cook the chicken first, and then add the broth and rice to the same pan. This allows our rice to cook while the chicken absorbs more flavor.
The Creamy Factor
It's worth pointing out that the milk and parmesan are a must for this dish in order to give it a creamy texture and flavor. For an even creamier finish, consider using heavy cream instead of milk or increase the amount of cheese.
What to serve with Chicken, Rice and Peas
This dish truly covers most of the main food groups, so a side dish isn't totally necessary. However, you can certainly serve it with rolls, a side salad, or even sliced veggies with dip, like carrot sticks or cucumber.
How to Make this Dish
INGREDIENTS
This recipe requires many pantry staples, which makes it one of our favorite weeknight meals:
- Butter
- Onion
- Chicken breast(s), cut into bite-sized pieces
- Garlic
- Italian seasoning
- Paprika
- Salt & Pepper
- Chicken broth
- Minute rice
- Peas
- Milk- or heavy cream if you want a creamier finish
- Parmesan cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Cook Onion
🥄 Kids Step: Cut! These Curious Chef knives and Core cutting boards are perfect for little hands. Our kids also like wearing swimming goggles to cut the onion! It's kind of hilarious to see, but functionally, it keeps their eyes from tearing up.
Step 2: Season & Cook Chicken
🥄 Kids Step: Measure and pour! The biggest task in this recipe is measuring. Pull out all your cups and spoons and let your kids do the measuring. It will be messy, but kids really like this task!
Step 3: Cook the Rice
🥄 Kids Step: Watch for the broth to boil. This teaches kids to pay attention to the stovetop and see what happens to water when it gets that hot. Yay science!
Step 4: Add the rest!
🥄 Kids Step: Add cheese! As long as they don't eat all the cheese in the process (haha), your kids can add the shredded parmesan the the parmesan chicken as a final step.
Note: Be sure to check out our adorable Ghost Rice Craft for the kids to do while you prepare this dish!
MODIFY THIS DISH FOR PICKY EATERS
🍅 Separate the parts! As far as I'm concerned, this is always a consideration. If your kids don't like their ingredients blended together, set aside some chicken before mixing in the rice and other ingredients. You can also cook the peas separately.
🍅 Skip the onions if this ingredient is a deal breaker. Or, chop them even more finely so they blend into the sauce.
🍅 Garlic Bread! My kids will eat almost any bread. Who knows why, but I remember being like that as a kid too. Their favorite is Pepperidge Farm's frozen garlic bread. It's super easy. I always try to have two loaves in the freezer at a time.
FAQ
Minute Rice (brown or white) is ideal for a quicker cooking time and the consistency is pretty comparable to regular rice. Without a time constraint, though, the world is your oyster: wild, long grain, short grain, basmati, jasmine...
We prefer skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced into small chunks. Darker meat or thighs would also work well, but may take a tad longer to cook.
As much as we love peas, feel free to choose a veggie that your family loves. Broccoli, carrots, or even chopped green beans would go nicely in this dish.
This recipe calls for pretty basic spices that most people have in their pantry. But you could also make this more of a curry dish, using curry powder instead of the Italian seasoning, and using coconut milk instead of regular milk. Other spices to change things up: coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Also think about fresh ginger or adding chopped tomatoes. The whole feel of the dish can change with just a few alterations.
For the best outcome, consider reheating this dish in a skillet with some added milk or broth to soften the rice and chicken.
OTHER CHICKEN DISHES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
One Pan Chicken, Rice and Peas
Ingredients
- 3 T butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1-1.5 lbs chicken breast(s), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 T Italian seasoning
- 1 t paprika
- 1 t salt
- 1/2 t black pepper
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup minute rice
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Melt butter on medium in a large pan. Stir in chopped onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add chopped chicken, garlic and seasonings. Stir together and cook until chicken is golden and no longer pink on the inside.
- Add chicken broth and rice, stir together, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until rice is fully cooked.
- Stir in milk, peas and cheese. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Enjoy!
Notes
- To plate...serve topped with extra parmesan cheese as desired.
- We recommend Minute Rice to cut down on cook time. And brown rice will be more nutritious than white.
- You can totally swap the peas for a veggie of your choice, i.e. broccoli, carrots, corn, beans, etc.
Nutrition
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. While we are not certified nutritionists, we work with a WordPress-integrated nutrition API to calculate our recipes' ingredient values.
CRAFT FOR THIS RECIPE:
Rice Ghost Craft! Get in the Halloween spirit with these adorable Rice Ghosts! Kids will love turning their ghosts into puppets, magnets or festive decor! All you need is rice, glue, paper, tape, scissors and a writing utensil. Bonus if you have popsicle sticks. You can even use different colored paper, dye the rice, or make a different spooky character. Get creative!
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