Serves 4
Rice and Noodles

Easy Curried Chicken and Rice

This page may contain affiliate links, which means we receive a small commission for purchases made using the links. There is no additional cost to you. Please read our full disclosure policy.

This easy curried chicken and rice is one of our favourite baked chicken dinner recipes. It's a simple recipe that's easy to make and full of flavour, thanks to the magic of curry powder.

Curry powder, although invoking the flavours and aromas of Indian cooking, is an entirely British invention that blends together certain popular Indian spices. It's a convenient and aromatic blend that livens up a dish by creating a bold and warming taste, and it makes light work of the preparation for easy curried chicken and rice.

Chicken and rice is hard combination to beat, and it tastes even better when it can be cooked as a one pot meal, thus saving time and reducing washing up. Although easy curried chicken and rice requires some time in the oven, once it's baking, you can do something else whilst waiting for dinner to be ready. For juicy tender meat, I use a cast iron casserole dish to lock in heat.

Easy curried chicken and rice is a regular feature in our weeknight dinner menu rotation. It cooks while I'm out collecting the kids and can even be left standing for quite a while before eating. As long as the lid remains closed, the cast iron retains the heat and keeps the dish warm for when you're ready to eat. It also browns and crisps the rice nicely around the edges! Rest the chicken for a while before serving for a more tender texture.

Serve easy curried chicken and rice with a simple green salad, or your favourite steamed greens, on the side to make this a complete meal.

Here's what you'll need to make this Easy Curried Chicken and Rice:
(Click here to jump straight to the recipe)

Oil for cooking
8 (or 1kg) bone-in chicken thighs with skin [1]
2 Tbsp curry powder [2]
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
250g white basmati rice [3]
625ml chicken stock

And here's what you'll need to do:

Preheat the oven to 200C / 180C fan.
Pat the chicken pieces dry with some kitchen paper. In a large bowl, toss the chicken with the curry powder until evenly coated.
Working in batches, heat some oil over medium heat in a cast iron casserole with lid, or any other lidded heavy-based, dish. When the oil is hot, place the chicken pieces in, skin side down, and brown for about five minutes before flipping and repeating on the other side.
Be very careful of hot oil splatters - I like to wear oven mitts when browning my chicken.
When both sides are browned, remove the chicken and set aside until needed; repeat the process with the next batch, adding more oil if necessary.

When all the chicken has been browned, turn the heat down to medium low, add some more oil, and cook the onion for a few minutes until soft.
Add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
Add the rice and cook for another minute, mixing well until all the grains are coated with oil.

Plain basmati rice

Basmati and wild rice

Spread the rice mixture evenly across the base of the dish, and lay the browned chicken on top in a single layer, skin side up.
Add the chicken stock, cover the dish and turn off the heat.

Place the dish in the preheated oven, and bake for about 45 minutes or until the rice is tender and the liquid absorbed.
Turn off the oven, remove the dish, and rest for about 10-20 minutes with the lid on.
Carefully remove the lid, and serve.

Notes

You could chop a whole chicken into 8 pieces, but I prefer to use chicken thighs for their juiciness and meatiness. You'll want at least 1kg of meat with bone-in, so if your chicken thighs are on the small side, you may need more than 8.
Use mild curry powder if you are cooking for younger children or don't eat spicy foods, or feel free to turn up the heat with medium or hot curry powder!
For added texture, try mixing in wild rice, swapping 50g of white basmati for wild rice.