This simple yet elevated One Pan Meyer Lemon Chicken with Golden Rice combines the brightness of vibrant meyer lemons, with the cozy & warm flavors of turmeric and ginger. It’s made completely in one pan, it’s a little different from your average chicken dish, and it celebrates the long-awaited winter citrus season! Serve it with your favorite roasted vegetable, or a simple salad!
It’s been a minute since I’ve shared a simple weeknight chicken recipe here – and this one is FAB. I’ve been making this golden turmeric rice for months now, and I knew I had to incorporate it into a full-blown meal to share with you guys. It’s SO incredibly good and I can’t get enough of it.
I know we’re all guilty of getting into some type of what I like to call, a “chicken rut” every once in awhile.
This is the perfect dish to get you out of that funk. The turmeric rice is unbelievably good, and the chicken is simple, juicy, and filled with that deep, beautiful, bright, meyer lemon flavor. It comes together super quickly, it has very little “hands-on” time, and it’s quick enough to make for dinner during the week.
If you’ve never had a meyer lemon, they’re AMAZING and completely worth searching for.
They’re pretty readily available in the winter, and you shouldn’t have any issues finding them. That being said, you can definitely use regular lemons in this recipe with no issues! Meyer lemons are a cross between a lemon and a tangerine/mandarin. They’re a little bit more floral, not as acidic, and they kind of have a deep, spicy undertone. They’re just delightful.
Here’s a quick overview of how you make this meyer lemon chicken:
- Prep the chicken. Toss your bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in meyer lemon zest, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Let it sit for a minute.
- Sear the chicken. Make sure you’re using an oven-safe skillet, braiser, or dutch oven fitted with a lid. When you bake it, it needs to be covered for the rice to cook properly. In a pinch, you can tightly cover your skillet with foil if it doesn’t have a lid!
- Next, sauté the meyer lemon slices. Chicken fat, butter, and lemon slices is always a good idea.
- Start the rice. Sauté a little garlic and ginger in all of the delicious brown bits, plus a little more butter. Then, you toast the rice in all of that goodness, along with turmeric and other spices! This ensures you get the most flavor out of your rice. Lastly, add your chicken broth.
- Then, add the chicken back into the pan. Along with their drippings! Place the sautéed meyer lemon slices on top, cover it, and bake for 30 minutes.
- To finish, remove the chicken from the pan, and stir in some meyer lemon juice. Add the chicken back to the pan, and garnish with chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley. Serve it up with extra meyer lemon wedges, and that’s it!
Easiest, brightest, most delicious chicken dinner to brighten up winter. I like serving it with a big salad, and/or roasted veggies!
The other wonderful thing about this chicken dinner, is that it’s filled with lemon, ginger, and turmeric, which all have anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties, which we all need now more than ever! It’s delicious, cozy, healing – everything we want in a cold-weather meal.
If you’re looking for more chicken recipes, here are a few of my faves!
Chicken Provençal Skillet
Harissa Chicken Meatballs with Couscous and Cucumber Herb Salad
Greek Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes with Quick Tzatziki
Ginger Lemon Turmeric Chicken Noodle Soup
Buffalo Chicken Chili
The Easiest Roasted Chicken
Chicken Shawarma Bowls
Don’t forget to share a photo on Instagram and tag me @spicesinmydna if you make this recipe! Nothing makes me happier than seeing what you create in the kitchen!
One Pan Meyer Lemon Chicken with Golden Rice
This simple yet elevated One Pan Meyer Lemon Chicken with Golden Rice combines the brightness of vibrant meyer lemons, with the cozy & warm flavors of turmeric and ginger. It's made completely in one pan, it's a little different from your average chicken dish, and it celebrates the long-awaited winter citrus season! Serve it with your favorite roasted vegetable, or a simple salad!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 4 thighs)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped, divided
- zest of 1 meyer lemon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, divided
- 1 meyer lemon, sliced
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- juice of 1/2 a meyer lemon
- chopped flat-leaf parsley, for serving
- meyer lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350℉. Place chicken thighs in a large bowl. Add one tablespoon of the olive oil, half of the garlic, meyer lemon zest, one teaspoon of the salt, and pepper. Toss to coat.
Heat a large oven-safe skillet (that has a lid), braiser or dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, sear the chicken thighs for 2-3 minutes per side, or until the skin is golden brown and develops a nice crust. Set the chicken aside on a plate.
Reduce heat to medium. Discard a few tablespoons of the fat, leaving 3 or so tablespoons in the pan. Add one tablespoon of the butter. Sauté the meyer lemon slices in the butter/fat mixture for 1 minute or so per side, until they get a little caramelized and fragrant. Set aside on a plate.
Carefully, with a wad of paper towels, wipe any dark bits out of the pan (the chicken fat and sugars in the lemons can cause some burning, so just discard any bits that are too dark to avoid any bitterness). Add the remaining tablespon of butter. Add the remaining garlic and ginger and sauté for 30 seconds - 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the rice, turmeric, garlic powder, onion powder, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss to coat, and stirring constantly, letting the rice toast for 1-2 minutes. Season with a few turns of freshly ground black pepper.
Add the chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir the rice, and arrange the chicken thighs on top. Top the chicken thighs with the sautéed meyer lemon slices. Cover and bake for 27-30 minutes, or until rice and chicken are cooked through, and all liquid is absorbed. Let cool for a few minutes, then remove chicken from pan and place on a fresh plate. Add the juice of half of a meyer lemon into the rice and stir. Place the chicken back over the rice and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with freshly ground black pepper and meyer lemon wedges.
Recipe Notes
*If you can't find meyer lemons or they're out of season, you can use regular lemons here.
*Be sure to use an oven-safe pan fitted with a lid in order for the rice to cook properly. If you don't have an oven-safe pan with a lid, you can cover the pan tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil.
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