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Mediterranean Lemon Chicken & Rice

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I only post recipes I genuinely like. There are a lot of times when recipes just don’t hold up so I don’t post them. And then there’s the times when you create a recipe that is so insanely good it makes your all-time top 5 dinner recipes. That’s where this Mediterranean Lemon Chicken & Rice falls for me. I know, I know – it seems like a simple recipe, but the trick I used to make it beyond flavorful is to cook the rice in the marinade. I cannot even describe how good this is. Just try it, so you can see.

The marinade consists of fresh lemon juice, parsley, oregano, and several other ingredients. These fresh flavors make the rice and the chicken explode with flavor. My entire family, including my 2 year-old, scarfed down this Mediterranean Lemon Chicken & Rice .

Let me know if you make this Mediterranean Lemon Chicken & Rice ! I’d love to hear if you like it as much as I do and how your family likes it too.

If you are looking for a new go-to staple family recipe to incorporate into your weekly planning, make it this Mediterranean Lemon Chicken & Rice. Honestly it’d even be amazing with steak or shrimp or another protein. Just follow the method to cook the rice in onions, garlic, and the leftover marinade.

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4 from 1 vote

Mediterranean Lemon Chicken & Rice

Ingredients

Marinade & Chicken

  • 6 chicken breast tenderloins (or 4 chicken breasts)
  • 1 c. plain yogurt
  • 1 tbsp. white vinegar
  • 1/2 c. olive oil
  • 2 lemons, juiced and zested
  • 1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped (Italian flat leaf)
  • 1 tbsp. dried oregano
  • 3 tbsp. minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Rice

  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 2 tbsp. minced garlic
  • 2 c. jasmine rice
  • 4 c. chicken broth
  • remaining marinade from chicken (you will cook this to a boil which kills all bacteria, however if you are worried about cooking the rice in the marinade, you can double it and use one portion to marinate the chicken, and set aside the other portion to cook with the rice)

Garnish

  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • fresh parsley, diced

Instructions

Marinade & Chicken

  • Create the marinade by whisking together all the marinade ingredients (except the chicken) in a bowl.
  • Place chicken into a large Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over chicken and let marinate in refrigerator for half an hour, up to overnight.
  • Once chicken has marinated, remove from fridge. Heat a grill or cast iron griddle up to medium heat. Let it get hot for 5 minutes before placing chicken on.
  • Using tongs, remove chicken from bag and let excess marinade drip off into bag, then place chicken onto hot grill or griddle.
  • Cook on each side for 5-7 minutes until chicken is cooked through and brown on the outside. Remove from heat and set aside.

Rice

  • To begin rice, pour olive oil into a large wide saucepan and heat to medium high heat. Add diced onions and cover. Cook onions until translucent.
  • Add garlic, and stir. Then quickly add remaining marinade from Ziploc bag (you will cook this to a boil which kills all bacteria, however if you are worried about cooking the rice in the marinade, you can double it and use one portion to marinate the chicken, and set aside the other portion to cook with the rice).
  • Once you've added the marinade, continue cooking on medium high heat until boiling/bubbling for 2-3 minutes. This will kill any bacteria.
  • Add rice dry and sautee for 2-3 minutes, until rice has soaked up most of the marinade.
  • Add chicken broth and cover.
  • Cook until bubbling/boiling and then reduce heat to low. Just as you would with plain rice, cook on low until rice is done (it will take a little longer than normal rice because of all the additional ingredients). It should take about 25 minutes but look to see when the rice is done.
  • Once rice is done, fluff with a fork. Onions will settle to the top when rice is cooking. Mix the rice together.
  • Top rice with cooked chicken tenderloins/breasts. You can serve it just like this, or you can turn the oven on to low Broil, slice lemons and place on top of the rice and cook until lemons are slightly browned. These taste great squeezed over the dish.
  • Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve out of pan on the table. Squeeze lemon on top before eating. Enjoy!

I have to admit I had this for dinner. Then had seconds. Then had it for breakfast the next morning. I wish you could try it through the screen.

Click here to see more of my Main Dish recipes. And be sure to tag me @plumstreetcollective if you make this . Thanks for reading!

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2 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    Great recipe! My family isn’t super fond of lemon so I only used 1 lemon. They loved it!! Marinade is so very flavorful and gives the rice a great flavor too!!

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