What to Cook With Chicken and Rice: 12 Fast Meals (1 Dish, Not 20 Recipes)

The fastest thing to cook with chicken and rice is a one-pan chicken and rice: brown bite-sized chicken in a wide pan, add 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of stock, cover, and simmer for about 18 minutes until the rice drinks the liquid. Start to finish it is roughly 25 minutes and one pan to wash. If you already have cold rice in the fridge, skip straight to fried rice and you can eat in 10.

Chicken and rice is the most forgiving pairing in any kitchen, which is why you do not need 20 recipes for it. You need one good ratio and four directions to take it: a one-pan cook, a fried rice, a quick bowl, and a soup. Below are 12 ways to use the same two ingredients across breakfast, lunch and dinner, all built on the same simple numbers.

The one ratio that makes chicken and rice work every time

Memorise this and you can improvise forever: 1 cup of long-grain white rice to 2 cups of liquid to about 250g (half a pound) of chicken feeds two people well. White rice simmers covered for 18 minutes, then rests off the heat for 5 with the lid on. Brown rice needs more: 2.5 cups of liquid and around 40 minutes. Chicken thighs stay juicy and forgive an extra few minutes; chicken breast cooks faster and dries out if you walk away, so cut it smaller and pull it sooner. That single ratio, scaled up or down, is the backbone of every idea here.

1. One-pan chicken and rice (about 25 minutes)

1. Cut 250g chicken thigh into 2cm pieces, season with salt, and brown in a splash of oil over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Push to one side.
2. Add a chopped onion and a clove of garlic to the same pan and soften for 2 minutes, scraping up the brown bits.
3. Stir in 1 cup of rinsed white rice and let it toast for 1 minute so the grains stay separate.
4. Pour in 2 cups of hot stock, add a pinch of paprika or a bay leaf, and bring to a simmer.
5. Cover, drop to low heat, and cook undisturbed for 18 minutes. Do not lift the lid.
6. Rest off the heat for 5 minutes, fluff with a fork, and finish with lemon and fresh parsley.

2. Chicken fried rice (best with cold leftover rice)

Cold, day-old rice is the secret here. Fresh rice steams and clumps; chilled rice fries into separate grains.

1. Heat a wide pan or wok until very hot and scramble 2 eggs in a little oil, then set them aside.
2. Sear diced chicken until golden, about 4 minutes for raw, less if it is already cooked.
3. Throw in frozen peas, sweetcorn and chopped spring onion and stir for 1 minute.
4. Add 2 cups of cold cooked rice, break up the clumps, and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, pressing it into the hot pan.
5. Splash in soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil, return the egg, toss, and serve.

3. A loaded chicken rice bowl (10 minutes with rice ready)

1. Warm a cup of cooked rice in the base of a bowl.
2. Slice leftover roast or pan-fried chicken and lay it on top.
3. Add anything crunchy: shredded carrot, cucumber, edamame or a handful of greens.
4. Spoon over a fast sauce, like yoghurt with garlic and lemon, or mayo whisked with sriracha.
5. Finish with sesame seeds, herbs, or a soft-boiled egg.

4. Chicken and rice soup (one pot, about 30 minutes)

1. Soften a diced onion, carrot and celery stick in butter for 5 minutes.
2. Add 1 litre of chicken stock and bring to a gentle boil.
3. Stir in half a cup of rice and 200g of diced chicken and simmer for 18 to 20 minutes.
4. Season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon to lift it.
5. Stir through fresh dill or parsley off the heat and serve with bread.

8 more fast chicken and rice ideas

• Breakfast rice: warm leftover rice with a fried egg, shredded chicken and a dash of soy or hot sauce for a savoury start to the day.
• Chicken rice porridge (congee): simmer rice in extra stock for 40 minutes until creamy, then top with shredded chicken, ginger and spring onion.
• Cheesy chicken and rice bake: fold cooked rice, chicken and broccoli through a cheese sauce, top with more cheese and grill until bubbling.
• Stuffed peppers: mix cooked rice and chicken with tomato and herbs, fill halved peppers and bake for 25 minutes.
• Burrito bowl: rice, chicken, black beans, corn, salsa and avocado, no tortilla needed.
• Lemon chicken traybake: roast chicken pieces over rice and stock in the oven so the grains soak up the juices.
• Curried chicken and rice: stir curry paste into the one-pan method and swap a tin of coconut milk for some of the stock.
• Chicken rice salad: toss cold rice and chicken with cucumber, tomato, herbs and a lemon and olive oil dressing for a packed lunch.

If you opened the fridge, saw chicken and rice, and still drew a blank, that is exactly the moment Pann is built for. Tell the app the one thing you have, by typing it or snapping a photo of a single item, and it builds a full meal around it, picks one of these directions for you, sizes the portions to your goal quietly in the background with no counting, then walks you through the cooking step by step. No scrolling through 20 near-identical recipes to pick one.