One Pot Crockpot Chicken Thighs and Rice

This one pot crockpot chicken thighs and rice puts raw rice, broth, vegetables, and seasoned boneless chicken thighs into the slow cooker together, so dinner cooks in one insert with nothing to sear and one thing to wash.

Boneless, skinless thighs are the right cut here, because thigh meat stays juicy over 3 hours in a way chicken breast does not, and skipping the skin means skipping the skillet step most versions need to keep that skin from going rubbery.

The rice goes in rinsed and the chicken sits on top of it, so the juices drip down into the grains while they cook instead of boiling the meat.

Plan on about 3 hours on high with 10 minutes of prep.

Why You’ll Love It

• Everything cooks in one 6-quart slow cooker insert
• No searing and no second pan
• Raw long-grain rice, not instant, and it comes out fluffy
• Feeds 6 with onion, carrots, and peas built in
• About 3 hours on high with 10 minutes of hands-on work
• Leftovers reheat for lunches through the week

Ingredients

For the Chicken

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (6 to 8 thighs)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the Rice

1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed until the water runs clear

2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 small yellow onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)

2 medium carrots, diced small (about 1 cup)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 bay leaf

To Finish

1 cup frozen peas

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Steps

1. Rinse the rice in a 8-inch fine mesh strainer under cold water, swishing it with your hand, until the water running out is clear instead of cloudy, which takes about a minute and keeps the bottom layer from turning gummy.

2. Put the rinsed rice, broth, onion, carrots, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the bay leaf in a 6-quart programmable slow cooker and stir once so the rice sits in an even layer under the liquid.

3. Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels, rub them with the olive oil, and season both sides with the smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the pepper.

4. Lay the thighs on top of the rice in a single layer without stirring them in, so the meat cooks above the liquid and its juices drip down into the grains.

5. Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, and leave the lid alone before the 2 1/2-hour mark, since every peek drops the temperature and adds 15 to 20 minutes.

6. At 2 1/2 hours, check that the thickest thigh reads at least 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer and that the rice at the edge of the pot is tender with the broth absorbed.

7. If the rice is still wet or has a bite in the center, put the lid back on and cook another 20 to 30 minutes before checking again.

8. Move the chicken to a plate, pull out the bay leaf, stir the frozen peas, butter, and lemon juice into the hot rice, and cover for 5 minutes so the peas heat through.

9. Fluff the rice with a fork, set the chicken back on top whole or sliced, and scatter the parsley over everything.

Helpful Tips & Substitutions

The lid stays on, because the most common cause of crunchy rice in a slow cooker is lifting it to look, and the steam that escapes is the steam the rice needed.

Low for 4 to 5 hours also works, but the rice at the bottom comes out softer, since it sits in liquid longer before the pot gets hot enough to cook it.

Use long-grain white rice only, because instant rice turns to paste in 3 hours, jasmine comes out stickier, and brown rice needs about 3 1/2 cups of broth and closer to 4 hours on high.

If you only have regular (not low-sodium) broth, leave out the 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the rice layer and taste at the end.

Bone-in, skin-on thighs can be used, but the skin turns soft and pale in a slow cooker, so either pull it off before cooking or accept that it will not be crisp.

Chicken breast dries out over this cook time, so if that is what you have, cut it into 2-inch chunks, lay them on the rice, and check at 2 hours.

Slow cookers run at different temperatures, so an older 6-quart may need the full 3 hours while a newer one that runs hot can be done at 2 1/2, which is why the thermometer check matters more than the clock.

For a richer finish, stir 1/2 cup of grated parmesan in with the butter.

Serving Ideas

Slice the thighs across the grain with an 8-inch chef’s knife and lay the slices over a scoop of rice, with a wedge of lemon on the side.

Steamed green beans or a cucumber salad dressed with vinegar is enough alongside, since the rice already has the vegetables in it.

Leftover rice and chopped chicken turn into fried rice the next day in a 12-inch carbon steel skillet with a beaten egg and a splash of soy sauce.

If you are rotating slow cooker chicken through the week, Crockpot Garlic Herb Butter Chicken with Veggies uses the same cut with potatoes instead of rice.

For the soup version of the same idea, Crockpot Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Stew swaps long-grain for wild rice and adds cream.

More one-pot options are in Easy Crockpot Chicken and Rice Dinners.

Make-Ahead & Storage

The night before, dice the onion and carrots and season the chicken, then store them in separate containers in the fridge.

Do not combine the rice and broth ahead of time, because rice that soaks overnight cooks unevenly and goes mushy on the outside.

Leftovers keep together in glass meal prep containers in the fridge for 4 days.

Get the rice into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking, since cooked rice left at room temperature grows bacteria faster than most leftovers.

Reheat portions in the microwave with a tablespoon of water or broth and the lid cracked, 2 to 3 minutes, because the rice dries out as it sits.

Do not leave the pot on the warm setting for more than an hour, or the bottom layer of rice dries into a crust.

To freeze, portion the rice and chicken together into containers and keep for up to 3 months.

Thaw frozen portions overnight in the fridge before reheating, and expect the rice to be a little softer than fresh.

The rice comes out orange-tinged from the paprika and tastes of the chicken it cooked under, which is the main reason to make it this way instead of cooking the rice on the side.

Rinsing is the one step that decides the texture, so skip it only if you like your rice on the sticky side.