One Pan Garlic and Sage Chicken Thighs and Rice
If you’re looking for an easy way to get a budget-friendly dinner on the table, try these garlic and sage chicken thighs. Everything comes together in one pan, making dinner time (and clean-up time) so easy, but still producing a delicious, flavorful meal. This recipe is originally from my August 2024 grocery series where I turned a $55 grocery haul into five meals. Here’s a link to the long-form video of the recipe with detailed instructions.
One Pan Garlic and Sage Chicken Thighs and Rice Ingredient Notes:
Chicken Thighs: Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs deliver rich flavor and juicy texture, perfect for this one-pan meal. The skin crisps beautifully when seared, while the bones help keep the meat tender during baking. As they cook on top of the rice, their juices seep into the grains, adding savory depth to every bite.
Fresh Sage: Sage brings a warm, earthy aroma that pairs beautifully with garlic and thyme. It’s used both minced in the rice base and optionally crisped as a garnish, giving the dish layers of flavor and texture. The herb’s distinctive taste shines through in each bite, tying the whole meal together.
Jasmine or Basmati Rice: Long-grain jasmine or basmati rice is ideal here, soaking up the flavorful broth, coconut milk, and chicken juices. Toasting it briefly in the shallot and herb mixture builds a nutty, aromatic base before baking. The result is tender, infused rice that’s far from boring.
Canned Coconut Milk: Full-fat coconut milk adds richness and a subtle creaminess to the rice without overpowering the dish. It balances the savory spices and herbs with a slightly sweet, mellow undertone. This ingredient also helps the rice stay moist and flavorful throughout baking.
One Pan Garlic and Sage Chicken Thighs and Rice
4
servings15
minutes45
minutesIf you’re looking for an easy way to get a budget-friendly dinner on the table, try these garlic and sage chicken thighs. Everything comes together in one pan, making dinner time (and clean-up time) so easy, but still producing a delicious, flavorful meal. This recipe is originally from my August 2024 grocery series where I turned a grocery haul into five meals. Here’s a link to the long-form video of the recipe with detailed instructions.
Keep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional to taste
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (7 to 8 thighs)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large shallot, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped sage leaves
1 cup dry jasmine or basmati rice, rinsed
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 cups shredded kale, packed
1.5 cups chicken or veggie broth
3/4 cup full-fat canned coconut milk (1/2 can)
1/2 cup water, plus additional as needed
sage leaves, for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- In a small bowl, combine the thyme, salt, paprika, sage, and ground black pepper. Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel, then sprinkle with the spice mix and coat all sides. Set aside on a plate.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, deep skillet that’s large enough to hold all 7-8 thighs. If your skillet is not large enough, cook the chicken in two batches. Once shimmering, add the chicken thighs, one at a time, avoiding overlapping. Cook until browned and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes. The chicken will be partially cooked at this point. Remove and set aside.
- In the same skillet, add the shallot and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Mix in the garlic and chopped sage and cook for another minute, stirring continuously.
- Add the nutritional yeast and rice and stir to coat in the shallot mixture. Season with a few pinches of salt. Let the rice toast for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often, then add the kale, broth, coconut milk, and water. Stir to combine.
- Place the chicken thighs on top of the rice, then carefully place the skillet on the middle rack in the oven. Bake until the rice is fluffy and has absorbed almost all of the liquid, and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F, 14 to 20 minutes. (Note: I don’t recommend covering the skillet in the oven, but if you don’t want your rice crispy on top, cover it.) If your rice takes longer to absorb the liquid, just continue cooking and the thighs will not overcook.
- Optional: while the rice cooks, prepare crispy sage leaves for topping by heating a few tablespoons of oil to a small pan over medium heat, then carefully placing in leftover sage leaves to crisp up, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and set aside to serve on top as a garnish.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes. Serve with even servings of rice and chicken thighs and garnish with crispy sage leaves.
Notes
- Chicken thighs: Cook time will vary if your chicken thighs are bigger. You may need to increase the sear time to 5 to 7 minutes on each side, and ensure your chicken reaches 165F before removing from the oven. The recipe calls for bone in and skin on as it’s the most budget friendly cut, however, you can swap for boneless, skinless if preferred, you may find the chicken cooks up in less time, keep an eye after about 15 minutes in step 6.
- Storage: Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: From refrigerator, microwave until warm, about 2 minutes or heat in a saucepan over medium heat until warm, about 10 minutes. From frozen, thaw in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight, then heat as instructed.
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Made this last night! It was really pretty easy. Prep was the most time consuming but didn’t even take long. Once everything was prepped it came together so simply and the flavors were so good-chicken was perfectly cooked and I will definitely make this again!!!
I just made this today. This is one the tastiest and easy meal I have ever made. Instead of kale I substituted spinach and added mushrooms. It’s really filling.
Made this last night! I thought it was great, only thing I would change is I would put a top on the skillet when you put it in the oven for softer rice!
Subbed 2 cans chickpeas for chicken as suggested. Cooked the rice on the stovetop and chickpeas in the oven. It was a hit!
Another hit recipe fron Jenn! This was super simple to make and really delicious. Nice introduction to fall flavors & meals! I think it would also be tasty with pasta! Reheated nicely for lunch the next day too.
One of the best chicken dishes I’ve ever tasted, seriously! Will be making this regularly ❤️
What a super flavorful recipe! Chicken cooked well and had great flavor. The rice was tender and punched up the dish with amazing flavor. I would definitely make this again!
This was so amazing and flavorful! I made it for meal prep, but let my wife taste and she told me I had to fix it for dinner one night! This will definitely be a staple!
Yay! So glad you and your wife enjoyed this one, it’s the perfect cozy dinner ❤️
This was so good I could not stop eating it. I so looked forward to leftovers for lunch. My chicken thigh skins didn’t get crisp but rendered a lot of fat which made the rice a bit greasy so I would go with skinless next time. Fantastic flavours!!
Made this tonight for my meal prep for the next few days. I grow my own sage, so nice to use it.
This was really flavourful! Thanks do much for posting.
This was the best new recipe I’ve made in over 5 years. The entire family gobbled it up.
Omg wow I’m so happy to hear that!!
After 30 minutes in the oven at 375 and totally uncooked jasmine rice, I gave up and finished the dish on the stove top.
In the end, it was a great meal — my boyfriend and I loved it — I just don’t know how anyone could have finished the rice in the oven without boiling on the stove.
Hi Amanda! I’m not sure what went wrong here. If your rice was covered in liquid in the hot skillet then immediately placed in the oven for 30 minutes, you should not end up with uncooked rice. The heat + liquid is what cooks it just like the stovetop does. I’m glad you were able to make it on the stovetop and sorry for the trouble!
Made this tonight and it was so delicious! I made a conscious effort to mise-en-place this one and it made the recipe come together so quickly. My main hiccup was a slightly too small pan, so I did the chicken in two batches, which in turn heated/crisped the spices left behind a bit much. One pot meals don’t always work for me, usually the rice is too firm. This time just a few extra minutes was all it needed.
It made SO MANY servings! Do you think the leftovers would freeze okay?
Can you do without the nutritional yeast? Or sub for something? If rather not buy just for this recipe.
I’ve made this several times and always use Parmesan cheese in the place of nutritional yeast!
hey there-i stumbled upon your content when i was doing a search for recipes and grocery lists that are $100 and less. I am trying very hard to bring our grocery bills down. Your recipes are fantastic. I made this the other night and my kids loved it! I still cannot believe all that I’m able to make with your grocery list and am so grateful! Thank you!!!
I made this last night and it was great, would definitely make again! Have long grain rice, spinach and boneless chicken thighs on hand and just added the chicken back about 5 minutes after I started cooking. Also added the whole can of coconut milk instead of water and that also turned out well.
So flavorful! Will definitely be making this again!
The chicken DID NOT cook “nearly through” at 4-5 minutes per side. I eventually turned the stove up to med high and after 25 to 30 minutes they were still at 120 degrees F. Now I’m extending the oven cook time because the chicken is still not to temp.
Hi Beth, I’m sorry the cook time didn’t work for you. While the searing does not cook the chicken fully, the oven bake time gets it to that 165F. Depending on the thickness and size of your chicken thighs, the timing may differ.
I’m sorry for the trouble and hope you may try it again!
I followed all the directions except instead of chicken I used tofu and it was amazing! Such an easy delicious recipe.
Seriously SO good! You have outdone yourself with this one! I did leave the lid on in the oven for 15 minutes then off for 10 because I have picky eaters, still amazing, thank you so much for what you do 💜💜
My two year old is an extremely picky eater, to the point of going to feeding therapy, and this meal is a WIN! She asks for at least three servings of it each time. It’s now in our rotation!
This is yummy! My husband loves each time I make it. I used boneless chicken breasts instead of thighs & they turned out great!
This was fantastic! Made it exactly as written. Husband had seconds and thirds. This never happens. Thanks for a great recipe!!!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic! Thank you so much!!! <3
Same problem here, the recipe doesn’t say to bring the rice to a boil, which I’m thinking might be the missing step?
This was absolutely delicious! I don’t love nutritional yeast so I didn’t include and it was still incredible. The rice is packed with flavor and leftovers dare I say tasted even better the next day. Highly recommend!
This recipe looks so delicious! Do you have any ideas for adapting it to prepare with an Instant Pot?
Made this twice now, first without lid and second time with lid on. Prefer with lid as rice baked up better (softer). 1 cup of rice is not enough for our family of 4. Doubled rice, chicken stock, coconut milk and water, but kept other ingredients same and baked for 30 minutes. Thanks for this delicious one pot meal which is family approved!
Delicious! But wondering if the rice/broth/coconut milk is supposed to be brought to a simmer on the stove before putting in the oven? The rice took a long time for me to cook in the oven.
This recipe turned out delicious! So flavorful and my family said it was like eating at a restaurant. Thank you!