Chicken and Rice Recipe
This Chicken and Rice Recipe is one of my most favorite comfort foods and is simple to prepare.
Each of us have those certain dishes that never require following a recipe. The flavors mingle in your mind. They’re just part of you and what you know. Out of habit and familiarity, the dish materializes before your eyes. Kind of like a dance you’ve always danced. You don’t think about it. You just do it.
No precise measuring. No fancy techniques. No strict timers or guidelines. And then it’s complete.
Dishes like these are usually our comfort foods. Food we’ve grown up with. Comfort derived not just from the enjoyment of eating the food itself but from the process of doing something routine, regular, and familiar.
This dish of Chicken and Rice recipe is that kind of comfort food for me. Having grown up with it, watching my grandmothers, and mother make it, and now being able to share it with my family is a pleasure. It’s special. Not to mention super yummy. My daughter requests this along with the White Bean Chicken Chili regularly. And one day she’ll learn to make it for her family too.
Here in the south Chicken and Rice is a regional favorite, and you’ll find as many versions as there are different southern accents. Particularly in the Low Country in South Carolina, Chicken and Rice may be referred to as Chicken Bog or Chicken Pileau (or perlow, or pilau, or perlieu?). While each may have a slight variation in ingredients (some recipes may include sausage and/or wine), all have two things in common: chicken that’s been cooked in a pot of it’s own broth until it’s falling off the bone, and rice added to soak up all the broth-y goodness.
I don’t know what the higher ups in all things food would call this version that I’m sharing with you, but we call it Chicken and Rice. And that suits me just fine.
I’ve been cooking this Chicken and Rice recipe for years, and, as I said, I don’t really follow a recipe. But the last few times I’ve made it I’ve taken notes so it could be shared with you. The recipe follows but please make it your own. It’s a basic rendition but sure to please. The ingredients are simple: a whole chicken, rice, celery and onion are the main ingredients, with the addition of a few seasonings. The process is pretty simple as well. I put mine together similar to a risotto.
After the chicken has cooked and the meat is falling off the bone (at least an hour, but the more the bettah), remove the chicken and let cool slightly in order to debone. While the chicken is cooling I usually let the broth reduce a bit more. When chicken is deboned, I remove all of the broth (or use another large pot) and put about 6 cups of broth back into the pot with 3 cups of rice and the deboned chicken. Add additional salt and pepper, cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Stir rice and add another cup of broth, cover and cook an additional 5 minutes. Continue the process by simmering covered and stirring in more broth every 5 minutes or so, until rice is done. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Result? A smooth, creamy and tasty Chicken and Rice. And a wonderful smelling house!
I sure hope you enjoy it as much as we do and that it brings you a measure of comfort too.
One note: If you don’t own a dutch oven or large cast iron pot, this would be a good recipe to test drive one with. They are such a all-around good item to have for a well-stocked kitchen.
Chicken and Rice Recipe
Chicken and Rice Recipe
Chicken and rice is the perfect comfort food for any time of the year.
Ingredients:
- 4 quarts (16 cups) water approx. (enough to cover chicken)
- 4 lb. (approx.) whole chicken
- 3-4 stalks celery; rough chopped
- 1 large sweet onion; diced
- 1 teaspoon pepper – divided
- 1 teaspoon salt – divided
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley – divided
- 3 cups long grain white rice
Directions:
- In a large stock pot bring water, chicken, celery, onion, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, oregano, celery salt, 1 teaspoon parsley to boil, cover and reduce to a simmer for at least 1 hour (2-3 hours would be even better).
- Once simmering is complete, remove chicken to cool in order to debone. Let broth continue to simmer and reduce.
- When cool enough to handle, debone chicken.
- Remove all broth from pot (or use another pot) and put approximately 6 cups broth back into pot along with the rice, chicken, remaining pepper, salt and parsley. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes stir in another cup of broth. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Continue to add broth, stir, cover and simmer for 5 minutes at a time until rice is done.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
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This DOES look like comfort food. Love it!
Will chicken and rice taste just good with just salt and pepper?
Yes it will Tim. White rice, chicken,salt and pepper does just fine together. You can even use boneless and skin less breasts or thighs too. Take that and boil in water for 30 mins, take out the chicken and let it cool. You can tear it with your fingers. Then add the rice chicken and the water you boiled the chicken it back together and your set. Salt and pepper when just chicken is boiling and then again with all the mixture. I’m from NC home of the chicken bog as we call it( chicken and rice with sausage). lowered seasoning salt is a great sub for the salt and better taste as well. Hope this helps.
Looks good, Amy. To save time in preparation, use a cut-up chicken. If you cut the chicken into pieces (like drumbsticks, thighs, breast, wings, etc.) before it is cooked there is no need to debone it after it is cooked. This is truely food for the soul. Love, Mom
This is just like my Aunt use to make. This was sooooo good and of course I add lot’s of soy sauce. Thank you.
Oooh, Josie! More soy sauce is always a great thing.
Has anyone ever used fresh thyme?
Yes I do, it brings out more flavor
I think this would be a definite winner at my house! Looks delish!!
I have a favorite chicken and rice recipe very similar to your recipe that has been handed down by my grandmother and mother. Only difference is a can of onion soup is added to the rice and chicken. I just may have to write this down for next week’s menus – haven’t made it in awhile.
Oooh that sounds delicious!
I feel very cheated that I have never had chicken and rice before! I’ll be making this soon. Thanks for the recipe!
Oh you are missing something for sure. We grew up on this. I’m from NC! Just wondering where you are from that you have never had it before?
this is a childhood favorite as i’m from D.C., but my granny was from Columbia, S.C. I still make this chicken and rice for my GROWN children and grand child. Sometimes, I add a can of condense cream of chicken sprinkled with lemon pepper for an added kick of flavor!!!!
I will be making this soon! I love to eat chicken and rice made by someone else, but I’ve always screwed it up when I made it (with no recipe). I think yours will work nicely, thank you!
Now, photography question – how did you get the first shot, with the steam coming off of it? Do you mind sharing lens, aperture, ISO, shutter speed and white balance? I would love to improve my food shots and learning from others seems to work best.
I love chicken and rice and never know how to make it properly. Thanks for the recipe! I will be making this soon.
Too bad we don’t have smellavision! Just looking at that first picture with the steam coming off that beautiful bowl of chicken and rice… amazing! And it looks like I should be able to pick the onion and celery right off the screen. Love your photos! Can’t wait to try this version of Chicken and Rice. I make a similar one but have never tried the risotto style of adding the broth a cup at a time. Yum…
We had never made rice this way. Even though we eat rice practically everyday…
The picture looks good, but from what I read from the recipe… Is the chicken stock alone enough to make the rice dish tasty (like risotto kind of tasty??)
Hey Books We Read!
You could always add more seasoning to taste but for us the broth w/ that is seasoned with the salt, pepper, oregano, celery salt, parsley is pretty tasty. Make it yours!
~ Amy J.
What a beautiful, comforting dish. Thanks for taking the time to write up a recipe for us. I still haven’t been able to cook dishes without a recipe (well, I did just memorize one recipe not too long ago), but I can’t wait to be able to create dishes like that. Chicken and rice sounds great.
Wonderful! Can’t go wrong with that combination of ingredients and it looks just perfect for this cold weather.
The chicken is on the stove boiling away right now. It already smells fabulous. 🙂
Back to say that this was absolutely delicious! My whole family loved it! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
We SC girls love our chicken bog! YUM. It’s been a while since I had it too so think this will be an opportune time to make it again. Your photos are to die for. I want to be able to do that! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you. I couldn’t remember what true southerners call it. Bog. Chicken bo
g!
Actually a chicken bog and chicken and rice are different. A chicken bog is mushier and often has other ingredients such as sausage. Chicken and rice is just that, the rice is looser and not sticky. Both are scrumptious ! SC girl here!
I love your reciepes. You make them seems so easy and your photography is fabulous.
keep it coming
I did it! Delicis. Pa liked it, too. Thanks. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?! Keep’um coming.
Yes, it was delicious, but I added kielbasa sausage to kick it up a notch.
Thanks so much for the recipe! Instead of cooking the chicken on the stove for 1-3 hours, could I put it in a slow cooker on low while I am working? Just wondering…
Yes. I used to make my chicken and rice just like this as I got the recipe from my MIL in SC. But, now days I crockpot most all of my meat in advance to save time throughout the week. When I’m ready to make chicken and rice, I use chicken broth to make my rice in and add the shredded chicken I made eatlier and season. Tastes just as great but saves prep time on busy nights
Yes. I boil my hen in a crock pot during holidays.
Most delicious! Still full, I found myself thinking about it an hour after eating…hmmmm….should I eat some more? hahaha. I will make this again and again. Thanks!
I have had a love hate relationship with chicken and rice for 25 yrs. Yours is just like the deep south bogs I remember.
cooking this now and it looks, smells great; can’t wait to eat it!
Thank you thank you thank you!! My Aunt made this for our family while I was growing up and anytime I tried to Google the recipe I came up with chicken casseroles but THIS is what I needed!! I will be making this for Easter this weekend! I can taste it already!!
The number of times I had this as a child would probably exceed the national debt. What wonderful memories. I don’t really know why I don’t make this except that maybe when I have a pot of chicken broth and chicken falling off the bone, I tend to turn it into chicken and dumplings instead. What I remember most about chicken and rice is that my grandmother loved cold chicken loaf and would make it all the time in the summer. My sister and I thought it was D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G and we refused to eat it so my mom would make a big pot of hot rice made with extra chicken broth and we would eat it with the hot rice because the gelled loaf would melt into chicken and rice. Strange memory to share I know, but it was tasty! I’m going to have to start making real chicken and rice for my family again. It’s such a great meal. Thanks for sharing and making me remember how much I love it!
Making this tonight, can’t wait!
How long dors it take for rice to cook ? Im cooking rice chicken doesnt seem to be getti g done?
I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for unraveling the mystery of good old southern chicken and rice! I’ve been searching for just the right recipe for years and this is it!
Wonderful recipe, just like my mom made while I was growing up. She’s gone now and this dish brings back great memories. Thank you for sharing. P.S. I added a can of cream of chicken soup to the broth for even more flavor.
very easy! very good! thank you for the time to post this!!!!! was awesome! like grand ma used to make
This looks just like the chicken and rice that my mother used to cook. I know the basics of how she made it but never mastered it before she passed away. Every recipe I ever saw looked too dry or called for a can of soup. Yours looks just right. Just a good simple boiled southern chicken and rice
I first had this over the past summer while visiting my inlaws in southern Georgia. Fell in love!!! Im making it right now and hopefully it lives up to my MILs
Hey Meghan,
I do hope it turns out well. It’s one of our favorite comfort foods. My mother who is here visiting made a large pot of it just today!
Grew up in south Georgia with Chicken Perlow. Loved it! I continue to make it to this day! 4 Generations of this recipe! Thank you for the memories!
I just want to say thank you so much for this recipe! Both my parents are from the South and my dad would always make this for me. Was one of favorite comfort foods but I never got the recipe from him.
Hello Roman,
You’re quite welcome. It’s a true comfort food—something I crave often! I also love turning leftover amounts into soup by adding stock or broth.
Just made this for a church function tonight. It is delicious and will be making it again..,soon. The earlier comment of buying a cut up chicken was perfect. That worked out very well.
So good to hear, Kristin! I’m craving some of that right now.
Feeling a sense of sisterhood :). Grew up with chicken and rice just this way. Made it for my Midwestern father-in-law on chemo and he raved (mother-in-law had to agree…score one for the south!). We make it with country style pork ribs and call it “backbone and rice”. So good.
Yum! That sounds great, Anna. I’ve got to try that soon!
Hi im from Africa Kenya and i came across your recipe. Can’t lie every one in my house love the food,its delicious and easy to cook. Thanks alot for the recipe
I’m so glad to hear that, Molly! Glad you enjoyed it.
I have tried a few chicken and rice (baked) recipes in the past and had no success, really. Stumbled upon this and cooking it right now! First time I’ve EVER used a whole chicken for ANYTHING!! Conquered that fear and simmering now! Smells AMAZING! I will try to follow up tomorrow with the end result. Hard to believe it will be anything short of delicious! Thanks!
So glad to hear it, Andi! It it such a wonderful comfort food.
Question: Is the rice supposed to be loose or wet when the recipe is complete? Tastes delish, just wondering if I did it right!
The rice is slightly wet, but not sitting in liquid. If it was too wet for your liking, you could cook it on a low a little longer with the lid off to allow liquid to cook off a bit.
This may be a stupid question. Do you discard the celery and onion at some point? Sorry, I’m from Massachusetts and didn’t get to grow up with this!
I usually leave what’s left in the pot, unless it’s a huge piece of celery. If it bothers you, remove them.
I made this last night and boy oh boy was it delicious. It’s so filling and I have a ton of food now to last me through the week. So a $9 chicken plus brown rice, left over celery and a left over onion and viola, I have a meal that will feed me all week for only about $10.
That is fantastic! Now I’m craving it.
AMY-
Thank you for taking the time to post this!
My wife was not feeling so well and wanted a comfort food that would be light on the tummy…
A beautiful organic Bell and Evans chicken has cooked for 3 hrs and is separated and finished, I used a squeeze of lemon on the plated portions – perfect balance, nice prep, lovely stock.
Mike
Oh, lemon sounds like a lovely addition!
I’m making your chicken and rice for a friend here in Morocco. He’s had “intestinal problems” for almost a week now. I’ve been telling him to eat rice, but it’s not a big part of the diet in Morocco. I’m putting him on BRAT diet with your recipe…plus it looks delicious. Thanks for a tasty looking and, I hope, curative dish.
I do hope he likes it and helps settle his tummy.
Can this be made in a crockpot?
I’ve been looking for a chicken “purloo” recipe for a long time, so I gave this a try. It turned out REALLY great and tasted just like the purloos I was served at church and school suppers when I was a kid in southwest Georgia. I followed your recipe, except I used 4 lbs. of chicken thighs, added some bouillon, and used a generic brand of Jasmine rice. I also didn’t need to add the additional cup of water in the final step or simmer for the 5 additional minutes–it was all done after the first 15 (maybe because I used Jasmine rice instead of long grain?). Thanks for a really good recipe :-).
I grew up on this dish it is so comforting , but my mom tossed in 4-5 chopped up boiled eggs to it before serving. Has anyone else had it this way? I am from the South so I am wondering where this addition originated.
@ Elizabeth Watson – My grandmother made chicken & rice a lot when I was growing up, and on occasion she would add sliced boiled eggs to hers… also, I’ve seen recipes online where others add boiled eggs to theirs… a strange thing is Granny always put boiled eggs in her chicken & dumplings, too (and I do that, as well – gotta follow Granny’s recipe) but I’ve never seen any recipes that call for them in chicken & dumplings… I guess the addition of boiled eggs is a personal preference?
Ann,
How interesting! I will have to try them in my dumplings now!
I made this tonight, it’s amazing! to me it needed extra salt but I am a salt person LOL 🙂 Great job 🙂
I was reminiscing last week about my mother’s Chicken and Rice. This looks very similar to how she made it. She did cut her chicken into pieces though, instead of cooking then deboning. I’ll be trying this soon! Thank you for sharing!
I grew up on this being cooked in a pressure cooker with poultry seasoning added. OMG. This, some hot cornbread and a glass of sweet tea. Manna from heaven! Good ole redneck from south Alabama food. I am now trying to do this in a low carb, low salt way. woo hoo. Anyone have any ideas, holler. Gonna use brown rice, low salt chicken bouilion, skinless chicken breast, and the other stuff.
Boy does this dish ever bring back childhood memories! I grew up in south Mississippi in the 50s/60s and this was a staple at our house. Delicious, cheap to make, and made enough to feed a hungry bunch. It was called Greasy Chicken and Rice and basically the same recipe as yours minus the oregano, celery salt, and parsley. It’s been years since I’ve had it, will have to make it now using your recipe. Thanks for sharing and the memories of good times around mama and mawmaw’s dinner tables.
This was delicious, I love to add lot’s of soy sauce to it. YUM
This was amazing! I cheated and started with four bone in chicken breasts and made the broth from that. They simmered two hours and fell
Off the bone. The seasoning was perfect and even my super picky kids loved it and asked for more! Such a huge pot for only $10 worth of ingredients! Thank you!
Yay! So glad you all enjoyed it. It is such an economical meal, and better than anything you can get at a restaurant!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I grew up eating this at least once a week, and I loved it. I never got the recipe from my mom. (she didn’t use a recipe really) She passed away 10 years ago. I have scoured the internet trying to figure out how to make this. It was only when I typed in the word “bog” that I found this. I never knew of anything like that, I just called it chicken and rice. Thank you again! 🙂
You are most welcome, Dori! I’m glad you were able to find it. We never called it bog either. It was always chicken and rice in our home and still is. And it is still one of my very favorite comfort foods ever.
I have a silly question, I’m sure! Can you do this just chicken breasts? I would use four. I have made soup from the broth, added shredded chicken, celery, some salt, onion, parsley, celery, diced carrots, then rice. I cook it in a slow cooker and it smells up the house! Your recipe sounds delicious and I will try it for sure! Thank you for your recipe!
You sure can. A whole chicken will add more flavor but chicken breasts should work fine.
I do not eat dark meat. Can I just use fresh boneless chicken breasts?
Nevermind. I see this was already answered.
Do you have any ideal about how many servings you think you get out of this recipe? I need to make it fir a crowd. Thanks
I would say 6-8. Maybe more, but everyone always eats seconds!
My husband is a “Chicken Bog” Lover! He and his “first domestic other” had the dish weekly. So of course I just had to make sure that my dish was “more bettah” and with your recipe, and a few additional ingredients (so I could kinda call it mine) it was a total success! Thanks so much for sharing!
I am so happy to hear that, Shelly! Yay!
What if I wanted to use Brown basmati rice. Takes about 45 minutes to cook.
You may need to adjust the cook time and possibly add more broth toward the end. Let me know how it turns out!
This looks amazing! I hope I can make it work with short grain brown rice. It also takes about 45 minutes to cook. ????
Any tips would be GREATLY appreciated!
You may need to adjust the cook time and possibly add more broth toward the end. If you make it, please share how it turns out.
How would I alter this for the crockpot? Got a party on Saturday and want to be able to start it and leave it so I can get the rest of my stuff ready…THANKS!!!
I’ve never prepared it in a crock pot. Without testing the crockpot method, here’s a good guess: once the chicken has cooked and is deboned, follow the rest of the recipe as written but in a crockpot, cooking until rice is done, and adding more liquid as needed.
I guess I must have missed something…this was tasteless to me and hubby…will not make again! I followed recipe…no changes…maybe for the leftovers of which there was a lot…I will make a chicken gravy to put on top!
My friend used to make this. I asked her for the recipe and she just said cook the chicken take it off the bone and put in the rice. So thank you, just what I was looking for.
I was wondering…Do you keep the onions and celery in after cooking the chicken, or do you throw them away? Also, I thought carrots would be a good addition. Just not sure when to add them to avoid mushiness. Any thoughts?
Made this tonight with long grain brown rice. It was absolutely delicious! A healthier version of childhood favorite comfort food. ????
How long did it take for your brown rice to cook with this recipe?
I set the timer for 45 minutes and just kept checking adding more liquid as needed. It was delicious!
Hey y’all, try it with some cranberry sauce on the side (from the can) Yum!!! I miss my mom’s chicken and rice, no matter how many times I make it it’s never as good as Nanny’s.
I can’t wait to make this. Been looking for a recipe for years. This was my favorite lunch at school during my childhood.
Tasteless! So disappointed
What spice should I add???
Carol, I’m not sure what you were expecting as far as the taste of this dish. This is a classic southern recipe that is loved by many just the way this recipe is written. You can always add more onion to the recipe and salt and pepper to your taste preference. If you need additional flavors, I’d recommend oregano, garlic powder and/or celery salt.
How do things cook differently in a dutch oven compared to just a regular ol’ pot?
This sounds like the recipe my mom used to make, I’ve been trying to find it for years, only ours is a french dish. I was told it contained fowl, not chicken ( no idea what the difference is or where to get it!) sadly my mom passed away many years ago, before I was old enough to care about where all those comfort food recipes came from. My sisters have many of them, thank heaven, but no one seems to have the chicken and rice one, ( or fowl). I’m so excited to try this, I’m sure it’s not exactly the same but it’s a good place to start! So thank you for sharing your recipes, your kids will be very happy that you did!
Oh, thank you for sharing that, Debbi! I hope you can use this recipe as a starting place to recreate your mom’s recipe. Happy cooking!
To make this even better, dice an additional carrot, celery stalk and onion. Add them to the pot along with the rice and chicken. Can’t be beaten! We always season ours up with freshly ground coarse pepper.
Had a brain fart and couldn’t remember my proprtions. Looked up your recipe and jogged my memory. Terrible to forget such simple things I’ve done a thousand times. Your recipe is like my own. Simple but comforting.
It was a cold rainy day today….so I made my Mama’s Chicken and Rice…clean ..simple. celery chopped, throw some fresh carrots in and some peas for color…an Irish boiled dinner…Warms your soul on a rainy cold night…Always reminds me of Mother and Grandmother, Nanni…Enjoy! Jayne
If I use chicken thighs does the recipe stay the same how much chicken thighs should I use
Yes, you can use all chicken thighs. Recipe stays the same. Use 4 pounds of chicken thighs.
Growing up my mom always made this. And said it was a poor folks dinners but I didn’t care because it was good! I looked for years for this recipe on the net but always got chicken and rice bake (uhhh). I mustard up the courage to ask my mom her recipe and it wa very similar to yours! As a mom and wife now I been wanting to cook this for my family, and last night the LOVED it!!! Even my husband who’s a hard one to please!
Whag I did different
Pre seasoned my chicken, I’m addition to other ingredients and spices added a whole diced bell pepper and poultry seasoning , and accent and let marinate for 4 hrs.
Added 3 chicken billion cubes to 12cups of water
Simmered and re seasoned my broth with spices
Simmered additionally and the LAN strained chicken and removed 6cups of broth and re adjusted seasoning of remaining 6 cups of broth (the broth was AMAZING)
Continued with recipe and saved with sweet cornbread, corn, and string beans! Yum!
On the stove now and must say – the stock smells heavenly! I used thyme instead of the oregano (it’s all I had) but I knew it would be a winner regardless when I saw the words “celery” and “salt”. Can hardly wait. Thank you!
I hope y’all enjoyed it, Caroline!
I made this for the first time and made no changes – very good comfort food! The only comment I have is that the rice cooking time isn’t clear in the directions – it may vary greatly depending on the type of rice you use – but my long grain white rice took 30 minutes, one cup of broth addition. I will make this again 🙂
Making this right now everything went together easily can’t imagine it not being awesome just by the smell, seems like it would work great adapted to phesant or grouse maybe even duck
My Dad from North Carolina used to make this except he used a cut up chicken and didn’t debone it. He just took out the cooked chicken and cooked the rice in the broth and served them together. Thanks for giving back a dish from my childhood
Is it parsley juice or leaf ?
Dried parsley leaf.
Its the same as my recupe except I use carrots
Love this, I use cream of chicken soup in mine and a little bit of heavy cream… thank you for making me think about this again… it’s been awhile.. ????
This is a favorite of my daughter’s the first time I tried your recipe, 2 years ago. Just randomly found this on Pinterest. Very simple tasting, so good when someone is feeling under the weather. I have portioned out servings into ziplock baggies and froze them, so my daughter could just pull out and microwave a meal if I wasn’t home to cook. I would occasionally add small chopped carrot pieces to cook with the rice, and add extra seasonings and shredded cheese to my portion when plating.
Very much a comfort food. We do not have a Southern heritage, and greatly appreciate you sharing yours.