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Pilaf in the oven with chicken

Oven-Baked Chicken Pilaf

Very tasty, made from simple ingredients — a quick family dinner! Oven-baked chicken pilaf will win you over with how easy it is to make. There's maybe 20 minutes of hands-on work, no more; the oven does the rest. You can make it with any meat, or with mushrooms to turn it into a fully vegan dish.

Julia M.

Recipe author

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Chicken

600

Rice

Onion

Carrot

Garlic

Water

Vegetable oil

Salt

Dried spices

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 28 % 8 g

Fats 31 % 9 g

Carbohydrates 41 % 12 g

157 kcal

GI: 8 / 92 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make pilaf in the oven? Gather all your ingredients. Peel the onion and carrot and rinse them under running water. Choose long-grain rice — ideally parboiled, which holds its shape and won't turn mushy. You can use any part of the chicken for pilaf. I'm making mine with chicken thighs.
Step 2:

Cut the chicken into small pieces. Pour a little vegetable oil into a hot skillet and add the chicken. Sear it over high heat on all sides until golden brown.
Step 3:

Finely chop the onion and grate the carrot on the coarse side of a box grater. Sauté the chopped vegetables in a hot skillet with a little vegetable oil for 3–5 minutes over medium heat.
Step 4:

Transfer the seared chicken and sautéed vegetables into a baking dish. Use a deep dish, since the rice expands as it cooks. It can be ceramic, glass, or metal. There's no need to grease the dish first — there's already enough oil from the seared chicken and vegetables.
Step 5:

Rinse the rice well several times in cold water — the water should run clear. Drain the rice completely.
Step 6:

Spread the rinsed rice in an even layer over everything in the dish. Add a few cloves of garlic. Season with a little salt and spices to taste. A ready-made pilaf seasoning blend works well — the spices are nicely balanced.
Step 7:

Pour hot water over everything. Why hot? So the hot chicken doesn't hit a sudden drop in temperature, which could make the meat tough — and hot water gets the pilaf cooking faster. Cover the dish with foil and bake in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C) for 40 minutes. You can remove the foil for the last 10–15 minutes.
Step 8:

Go by your own oven. Taste the rice — if it's done, you can pull it out earlier. Serve the finished pilaf on plates.
Step 9:

Enjoy!

Keep in mind that every oven is different, so the temperature and cooking time may vary from what's listed here. For reliable results with any baked dish, it helps to know your oven's quirks.
Important! For rice dishes that come out delicious every time, it's worth reading up on how to choose rice and the tricks for cooking it.