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This one-pan Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Rice is the perfect weeknight meal that’s full of delicious flavors. Perfectly cooked chicken and tender rice braised in white wine, butter and garlic, and topped with lots of parmesan for a warm and cozy one-pot meal.
This is an easy weeknight dinner that doesn’t require dirtying a bunch of dishes (the worst part of cooking for sure!).
I love simple dinners with an elevated taste. You know, where it tastes like it was braising all day but only took you 30 minutes. Whenever I am cooking with white wine, it always tastes a bit fancier and this garlic parmesan chicken and rice is no exception.
If you too adore garlic parmesan flavors, you’ll probably adore my Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers and my Crispy Garlic Parmesan Air Fryer Chicken Wings. Looking for more simple weeknight dinners, check out my Smothered Chicken and Gravy, Cheesy Broccoli and Chicken Pasta Bake, Easy Baked Bone-In Chicken, Garlic Butter Steak Bites, and Chicken Tetrazzini.
Why You’ll Love Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Rice
Easy 30 Minute Meal – Cook everything in one-pot so you don’t have extra pans to clean. There is minimal chopping, minimal cleaning and most of the cook time is idle.
It’s Comfy – talk about comfort food! This chicken and rice lands somewhere before a risotto and biryani. A protein-packed rice dish that’s loaded with so much buttery garlicky, white wine flavor. I never had this dish as a kid, but something about this meal tastes so nostalgic.
Similar to chicken scampi – if you love shrimp or chicken scampi, you’ll adore this dish. It has all the elements of scampi but instead of using pasta noodles we will be using rice. Olive oil, butter, lots of garlic and parmesan are the key ingredients.
Reheats well – this garlic parmesan chicken and rice makes the best leftovers! Like reheating any rice dish, you’ll want to add a few splashes of chicken stock/broth to the cold rice before reheating. This will ensure that the rice rehydrates as it cooks so it stays tender.
Family Friendly – making this for kids and want to skip the wine? It’s so easy to substitute the wine with lemon juice + chicken stock. For every 1 cup of chicken stock, just add two tablespoons of lemon juice.
Key Ingredients
Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Rice is very easy to make with pretty simple and relatively low costing ingredients. The wine is an added expense, but it doubles as a beverage to compliment this meal 🙂
Chicken Tenders – you can use breast, cutlets or thighs instead but I love juicy tenders for this recipe.
Rice – Basmati is my rice of choice but any rice works. Jasmine, long grain or risotto can work too.
Butter – necessary for that comfy, buttery taste.
Parmesan – be sure to choose a great parmesan here and it’s ideal to grate or shred it yourself for maximum sharp parmesan flavor. It’ll make all the difference.
White Wine – select a dry white wine that you’d want to drink. Pinot Grigio is my preferred choice as it’s a bit more citrusy. But Chardonnay and Sauv blanc wonderful too.
Garlic – fresh garlic is absolutely key. None of that jarred stuff or paste. This will be the most *labor-intensive* part of this process and the rest is a cinch!
Seasonings & Herbs – fresh parlsey is used to finish off the dish. Use your favorite poultry seasoning for the chicken, I am usually drawn toward blackened cajun seasonings on my poultry as the flavor really stands out.
Chicken Stock – I opt for stock over broth because it’s much stronger flavor. Go for low sodium so you can control the salt yourself.
How to Make Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Rice
Step 1: Season and then cook the chicken in a large skillet over medium heat, flipping just once. As the chicken is nearly cooked through, reduce the heat to low, add in 2 tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of garlic.
Saute the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute, scraping up the pan bits. Then toss the chicken tenders in the garlic butter, coating them well on all sides. Remove chicken and set aside under tented foil.
Step 2: In the same skillet over medium-low, add 4 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon garlic, sautéing until fragrant. Pour in the wine and simmer to reduce, about 3-5 minutes. Use a measuring cup to scoop out 1/3 cup of the pan juices and set aside to use later.
Heat the pan to medium heat and add in the uncooked rice and pan fry about 5 minutes or until it starts to turn golden brown, stirring frequently.
Step 3: Add chicken stock and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring mixture to a low boil then reduce to low-heat. Ensure rice is completely submerged under the liquid. Cover pan and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir cooked rice and add parmesan cheese in, stirring to melt.
Dice up the chicken (or you can leave tenders whole) and arrange it evenly over the pan.
Step 4: In a small bowl, heat 3 tablespoons of softened butter and remaining garlic (about 1 tablespoon). Heat in the microwave for 15 seconds until it’s partially melted. Pour in the reserved pan juices you set aside earlier and mix well with the garlic butter.
Add in the parsley and stir to combine, then drizzle the sauce over the rice and chicken. Top with additional parmesan if desired and serve right in the pan.
What Type of Wine is Best
When cooking with wine, it’s always ideal to choose a wine that’s good enough to drink. That doesn’t mean buy a $20 bottle just for a recipe (unless you are going to enjoy glasses of it as well).
A solid $10-$12 bottle of a decent wine like Yellowtail or Cupcake wine is perfect for a recipe like this. Just avoid icky super cheap wines as they’ll be just as unpleasant in your food as they are to drink.
Select a dry white wine, my preferred choice for this dish is Pinot Grigio because of the citrusy notes that compliments the chicken, garlic and butter. I also love Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
How to Reheat Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Rice
The best way to reheat any rice dish is by rehydrating the rice before you nuke it in the microwave. To do this, just add small splashes of chicken stock/broth right onto the cold rice in a few different places, then heat through.
This will prevent the rice from being hard and dry once reheated. In a pinch you can use filtered water if chicken broth or stock is not available.
To bump up that wine flavor, you can also add in a splash more of white wine into the rice before reheating as well.
What to Serve with Chicken and Rice
Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Rice is a complete one-pan meal. Even though is protein packed and satisfying as is, we love enjoying this alongside a delicious tossed salad or roasted veggies like green beans, asparagus, or Brussels sprouts.
Looking for More Easy Weeknight Recipes?
Lemon Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Rice
Smothered Chicken and Gravy
Garlic Butter Steak Bites with Parmesan Cream Sauce
Blackened Cajun Chicken Alfredo
I hope you enjoyed this recipe for garlic parmesan chicken and rice! Be sure to comment below with any questions or feedback! If you make these or any other recipes, don’t forget to tag me on IG @BadBatchBaking to be featured on my story. Seeing your recreations makes my day!
One-Pan Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 lb. chicken tenders
- poultry seasoning I prefer cajun seasoning
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic, divided about 10 cloves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 stick butter, divided 1/2 cup
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 cup dry white wine (such as Pinot Grigio)
- 1 1/2 cups white rice, uncooked basmati, long grain, or jasmine all work
- 2 3/4 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, choose a quality brand (freshly grated or shredded)
- 1 tablespoon freshly minced parsley
Instructions
- Season the chicken well on both sides. Heat a skillet to medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook the chicken about 3 minutes on each side, flipping just once then reduce the heat to low.
- Once the chicken is nearly cooked through, add in 2 tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of garlic. Saute the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute, scraping up the brown bits in the pan. Toss the chicken tenders in the garlic butter, coating them well on all sides. Remove chicken and set aside under tented foil.
- In the same skillet, increase heat to medium-low, add 4 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon garlic, sautéing until fragrant. Pour in the wine and simmer to reduce, about 3-5 minutes.
- Use a measuring cup to scoop out 1/3 cup of the pan juices and set aside to use later. Heat the pan to medium heat and add in the uncooked rice. Pan fry about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add chicken stock and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and red pepper flakes. Ensure rice is completely submerged under the liquid and bring mixture to a low boil then reduce to low-heat. Cover pan and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
- Stir cooked rice and add parmesan cheese in. Dice up the chicken (or you can leave tenders whole) and arrange it evenly over the rice.
- In a small bowl, heat 3 tablespoons of softened butter and remaining garlic (about 1 tablespoon). Heat in the microwave for 15 seconds until it's partially melted. To the garlic butter, stir in the reserved pan juices we set aside earlier. Mix well, add in parsley and stir to combine.
- Drizzle the sauce over the rice and chicken. Top with additional parmesan if desired and serve right in the pan.
Here are some additional photos for your Pinterest boards:
Made this last night…I used Cajun seasoning ….everyone loved it! Would definitely make it again…Thanks for the recipe…❤️.
Wow! I have made chicken and rice for the past 30 years, but I have never had chicken and rice as good as this. The depth of flavor with the multiple uses of garlic puts it over the top! The rice is always cooked, but never mushy, and everything is flavored with garlic butter. I did not change or add any ingredients. I will never make chicken and rice any other way! Thank you for sharing, and I’ll definitely check out your other recipes.
This recipe is AMAZING, will definitely make it again and again
This recipe was incredible! It was so easy but had so much flavor. I used 1lb of chicken thighs, but next time I’ll definitely increase that amount because there was nothing left once my boyfriend and I both got seconds. He said it was one of the best dishes we’ve ever made together. Loved it 🙂
Can I use brown rice instead?