Lemon Butter Chicken and Rice Skillet Dinner

Wow, do I have an amazingly easy, wonderful, one-pan, skillet dinner recipe for you all today. I love the ease of making dinner using only one pan, don’t you? Pretty sure I’m not alone in this. I suppose there might be some of you out there who love to wash extra pans and dishes, but I would wager there aren’t more than a very small handful. 🙂

This yummy chicken and rice dish packs a delicious buttery flavor, with a hint of lemon and a sprinkling of herbs. It will only take you about 40 minutes from start to finish and I’m willing to wager that many of you have all of the ingredients on hand to make it this very minute. That’s something to be happy about, yes?

Hope some of you give it a try!

Let me show you how to make it happen!

1. Grab 10 chicken tenders. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to snip out the white tendon found in each one.

2. Heat a large, deep skillet up over medium high heat. Melt 2 Tb of butter in the pan and allow it to melt. Place the tenders in the hot butter and sprinkle with salt, pepper and 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning.

Allow the chicken to get nice and golden brown along the bottom. Turn the pieces over and brown on the other side. The chicken doesn’t need to be cooked through at this point, just browned.

3. While the chicken cooks grab a large glass measuring cup or bowl and combine 3 3/4 C hot water, 4 tsp chicken bullion granules, 2 Tb lemon juice (bottled works best), 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning.

4. When the chicken is browned remove it to a plate and cover with foil.

5. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the pan and allow it to melt. Use a spatula to loosen the bits of chicken. Don’t remove them. 🙂 They will add a lot of flavor to the dish.

6. Pour 1 1/2 C long grain rice into the pan and allow it to get a bit brown in the butter. Should only take a couple of minutes. You don’t want it to burn, so keep a close eye.

7. Place the chicken on top of the rice…

…and pour the broth mixture over the top. Make sure that all of the rice gets covered with liquid. Re-position the chicken if needed.
8. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender.

9. Fluff the rice with a fork and sprinkle with fresh parsley (optional).

Serve and enjoy!

Here’s the handy printable…

Looking for more great, one-pan skillet dinners? Here are a few of my favorites!

30 Minute Ground Beef Enchilada Skillet 

30 Minute Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta 

 Skillet Penne Pasta with Hearty Meat Sauce