While this recipe does take a while to bake in the oven, I love it because it takes only 10 minutes to prep and clean-up is a breeze since it uses only one pan! The warm aroma of the spices, apples, and chicken as it cooks is an excuse enough to make this recipe- eating it is an added bonus. This recipe makes a TON, and the leftovers heat up really well in the microwave, since chicken thighs are hard to overcook. At 8 servings, you can likely feed your entire family for dinner AND still have leftovers to eat for lunch throughout the week. Speaking of feeding your entire family, I should add that this meal is very kid friendly. I mean, what kid isn’t going to like the combination of rice, apples, raisins, and cinnamon?
What kind of chicken thighs to use
It’s important to use bone-in, skin OFF chicken thighs for this recipe. Here’s why: Other chicken and rice recipes may use skin-on chicken thighs, but more often than not, the chicken is seared/partially cooked before adding to the baking pan on top of the rice. This renders some of the fat off. But, in the interest of easy, one-pan meal prep, using skin off chicken thighs is much faster and easier. You can easily take the skin off yourself by giving it a good pull. Or, if you’re squeamish about handling raw chicken like that, you can likely ask the butcher at your grocery store to do it (these services are usually free!).
How to make Spiced Chicken and Rice with Apples and Raisins
This recipe is as simple as seasoning the chicken thighs, mixing the rice with apples, raisins, almonds, and chicken broth, and placing the thighs on top of the rice mixture. Then, just bake!
How to make the rice really fluffy
One of the best parts about this recipe is how perfectly cooked the rice turns out- fluffy, flavorful, and moist but not greasy.
Make sure you use white basmati rice, or another long grain white rice. Brown rice, short grain rice, arborio rice… they all have different cooking times and liquid requirements, so the recipe will have to be adjusted. Plus the low starch content of basmati or long grain rice means it won’t get gluey or sticky as it cooks. As mentioned above, skinless chicken thighs are a must to make sure the rice stays fluffy. When it’s done cooking, remove the chicken to a plate and stir the rice to fluff it up. The edges of the rice will get crispier than the part under the chicken, so this helps make sure everything is mixed up and the juices get redistributed.
Other fall chicken recipes:
Maple and Rosemary Glazed Chicken and Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner Dutch Oven Whole Roast Chicken Easy Chicken and Dumplings from Scratch Easy Chicken Tikka Masala
Other savory apple or raisin recipes:
Roasted Cauliflower with Pine Nuts and Raisins Curried Chicken Salad with Apples and Raisins Broccoli Salad with Apples, Walnuts, and Cranberries Saffron Rice with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts (from A Spicy Perspective) Massaged Kale Salad with Apples, Goat Cheese, and Maple Vinaigrette
Did you make this Spiced Chicken and Rice recipe? Please comment below and Rate this Recipe!
