Description
A flavorful and easy one-pan meal featuring tender BBQ chicken combined with perfectly cooked white rice, infused with savory onions and garlic. This honey BBQ chicken rice dish is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner, delivering bold, sweet, and smoky flavors all in one skillet.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Chicken
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs, diced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Rice Mixture
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth (or water)
- 1 cup BBQ sauce (honey or smoky style)
- Optional: 1 tablespoon honey or hot sauce for extra sweetness or heat
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken: Dice the boneless, skinless chicken into bite-sized cubes and season with salt and pepper.
- Sear the chicken: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 5–7 minutes. Remove cooked chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- Sauté the aromatics: In the same skillet, add chopped onion and sauté for 2–3 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute until fragrant.
- Toast the rice: Stir in the uncooked rice, letting it toast for about one minute while stirring to coat it with the oil and aromatics.
- Add liquids and combine: Pour in the chicken broth and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze and combine all flavors.
- Combine chicken and BBQ sauce: Return the seared chicken to the skillet and stir in the BBQ sauce evenly throughout the mixture. Add optional honey or hot sauce at this point if desired.
- Simmer: Reduce heat to low, cover the skillet, and simmer for 18–20 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been fully absorbed.
- Rest and serve: Fluff the rice gently with a fork, then let the dish sit off heat for 5 minutes before serving. Add extra BBQ sauce on top if desired.
Notes
- Use chicken thighs for juicier, more flavorful meat, or chicken breasts for a leaner option.
- Long-grain white rice works best for this recipe, but you can substitute jasmine rice for a fragrant twist.
- Adjust the amount of BBQ sauce according to your preferred level of sweetness and smokiness.
- Covering the pan tightly during simmering helps the rice cook evenly and absorb all flavors.
- For an extra kick, add hot sauce along with the BBQ sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg
