This curry chicken rice bake is incredibly delicious and comforting! All you need is one pan, which means easy prep, easy cooking, and easy clean-up! You are going to love this oven-to-table meal!
This dish is a combination of some of my favorite things...
...tender chicken...
...moist flavorful rice...
...and curry.
All cooked up in one pan, no muss, no fuss...
...using ingredients that are simple and that you probably already have on-hand.
Seriously, you can't get better than this!
This curry chicken rice bake is so good, so comforting, and SO SIMPLE, and it's an oven-to-table meal you're going to love!
As Simple as 1, 2, 3
This meal involves at 3 rounds in the oven, but fear not! Even steps that would normally be done on the stovetop, like sauteing minced and ginger in butter in a skillet, are all achieved in one pan in the oven.
All you do is add the butter, garlic, and ginger to the baking dish and stick it in the oven for 5 minutes. In those 5 minutes, the oven heat will melt the butter, and the garlic and ginger will cook just enough to become fragrant...exactly what you want. And you don't even need to watch it.
Then comes the layer of rice, cauliflower, and a mixture of chicken broth, coconut milk, and fish sauce. These layers get baked first, to get the rice and cauliflower cooked partway before adding in the chicken.
The Chicken
After the rice and cauliflower have had 30 minutes in the oven, it's time to add the chicken. I use boneless skin-on chicken thighs in this recipe, but you can also use chicken breasts or bone-in chicken. Bone-in pieces require a longer cooking time and should be seasoned and added to the pan at the same time as the rice and cauliflower.
Before adding the chicken to the baking dish, I season the bottom of the chicken with a curry spice blend of curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. It's a very simple but tasty blend of seasonings that seeps into the rice as the chicken cooks.
I lay the chicken, seasoned underside down, on top of the rice and cauliflower and season the top of the chicken, making sure to also sprinkle some of the seasoning between the pieces. The oven temperature is increased and the baking dish goes back in the oven, uncovered, to finish cooking the entire dish. Letting the chicken cook uncovered allows the dry spices on the chicken skin and the rice on the edge of the pan to crisp up.
Oven-To-Table Ease
It is incredibly satisfying to bring a delicious meal like this curry chicken rice bake to the table straight from the oven. You've got everything you need for your meal, right there in one dish, making preparing and clean-up very low stress, if not stress-free.
With the addition of curry, it gives this chicken rice bake an Asian twist, which is a nice change to typical chicken rice bake dishes. You could certainly skip the curry powder, but I, personally, love the flavor you get from those spices and it really takes the dish up a notch.
If you're looking for another one-pan meal, considering my One-Pan Roast Chicken and Kale which is all meat and vegetables and equally as satisfying. If you insist on serving up something to go with this one-pan meal, try serving it Cold Spicy Cucumber Bites or a fresh leafy side salad. Even having a few fresh cucumber slices is a to serve alongside the dish is a perfect light and fresh touch to balance the meal.
Super tender chicken with a slightly crispy skin, on top of a layer of tender cauliflower and perfectly cooked rice...all laced with a beautiful curry coconut flavor...it will, undoubtedly, be one of the best...and easiest...one-pan meals you'll serve up!
~ Lisa.
Curry Chicken Rice Bake
Ingredients
- 4 tbs butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbs finely chopped or minced ginger
Chicken:
- 6 boneless skin-on chicken thighs (see note below about chicken)
- 1 ½ teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Rice:
- 2 cups long-grain rice, rinsed and drained
- ½ head cauliflower, cut into small chunks
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tbs fish sauce
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350F/180C.
- In 9x13 baking dish, add butter, ginger, and garlic. Bake for 5 minutes.
- Stir garlic and ginger into butter, and then add the rice to the pan, spreading and leveling it out.
- Layer cauliflower in a single layer on the rice.
- Combine chicken broth, coconut milk, and fish sauce and pour into pan.
- Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Chicken:
- Combine seasoning ingredients and stir well to mix.
- Sprinkle seasoning on the underside of the chicken with approximately half the mixture.
- Set aside, waiting to season the top side of the chicken after it is added to the pan.
- Once rice and cauliflower have baked for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and increase oven temperature to 400F/200C.
- Add chicken to the pan, seasoned side down, laying the pieces on top of the cauliflower.
- Season the top of the chicken and the rice with the remaining seasoning mixture.
- Return to oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with chopped scallions, sliced almonds, sesame seeds, if desired.
Notes
- I use long-grain jasmine rice for this recipe. You can use basmati, but it will be less moist than if you use other long-grain rice varieties.
- Use all chicken broth or a different ratio of chicken broth to coconut milk, as long as you have 3 cups total for the recipe.
- You can use chicken breasts in place of chicken thighs, if desired.
- I like to use skin-on pieces as the skin gets nice a crisp from the dry seasonings after baking, and it also helps keep the chicken moist and tender.
- For bone-in chicken pieces:
- Season the underside of the chicken as per instructions and place the chicken in the baking dish with the rice and cauliflower at the start of cooking. Sprinkle the rest of the seasonings over the chicken and cover the baking dish with foil.
- Follow the remaining instructions as stated, removing the foil after 30 minutes of baking, increasing the oven temperature to 400F/200C, and roasting for another 30 minutes.
- You can add diced onion to the garlic and ginger, if desired.
- If you want the rice along the edge of the pan to get nice and crisp, you can increase the temperature to 425F/220C for the last 10-15 minutes of baking time.
Nutrition
Robyn says
This is a regular chicken dish in our home. Tonight I replaced the chicken with tofu and it was delicious
Hi Robyn! That's great! Thanks for sharing that the recipe worked well with tofu! Love that you make this recipe often!
Robyn says
Very tasty. Followed exactly, just reduced timings to 20 minutes as my oven seems to run hot!
Loved the one pan clean up. Flavours worked really well. Thanks Lisa
Thanks so much, Robyn! I'm happy you liked it!
Amy Turner says
Super yummy!
I skipped the coconut milk and substituted with chicken broth. This was so flipping easy and delicious!! Who knew rice could be that tender coming out of the oven!
That's great that you tried it with all chicken broth, Amy. So glad you liked it!
Sharon says
One dish, healthy, flavourful - this dish has it all! Coconut and curry is such a pleasing combination.
Yes, it is one of my favorite flavor combinations! Thanks, Sharon!
Sean says
I feel like I've been at a bit of a loss lately for simple weeknight-friendly recipe ideas, and I'm delighted to say that this really struck a chord. It makes so much sense when you see it all come together, and the flavours are wonderful. I can see how it would be wonderful even without the curry, but I think it adds a great kick - especially with the coconut milk. Cheers!
Thanks, Sean...this recipe has definitely come in handy for me on a number of weeknights when I've been at a loss for what to make!
Shailaja Desai says
Great recipe...almost like a baked casserole! Looks delicious..
Thanks, Shailaja!