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.
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.
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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 thighs)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot or 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped sage leaves, additional for garnishing (optional*)
1 cup dry jasmine rice, rinsed
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 cups finely chopped curly or tuscan kale, tighly packed (about 6 ounces)
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk (about half a well-shaken 13.5-ounce can)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- 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 on both sides.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, deep skillet or sauté pan (or dutch oven). Once shimmering, add the chicken thighs, one at a time, avoiding overlap. Cook until browned and crisp on both sides, about 7 minutes per side. Note: The chicken should be at 165ºF or close after cooking. It will continue cooking in Step 6, so don’t worry if they are not quite at temp. Set the cooked chicken aside on a plate.
- In the same skillet, add the shallot or onion and cook, stirring constantly, until soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic and chopped sage and cook for another minute, stirring continuously, until fragrant.
- Add the rice and nutritional yeast and stir to combine with the shallot-garlic mixture. Let the rice toast for 1 to 2 minutes. Season with a few pinches of salt.
- Stir in the kale, broth, and coconut milk, and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, remove from the heat and place the chicken thighs on top of the rice.
- Transfer the skillet to 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 165ºF, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and cool for 10 minutes at room temperature. Note: If you have excess liquid, it will absorb during the resting time.
- To serve, evenly divide the chicken and rice among four plates.
Notes
- 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.
- *Optional for crispy sage leaves garnish: While the rice cooks, prepare crispy sage leaves for topping by heating a few tablespoons of oil in a small pan over medium heat, then carefully placing 8-10 sage leaves in the oil to crisp up for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and set aside to serve on top as a garnish.
- Chicken thighs: Cook time will vary if your chicken thighs are bigger. You may need to increase the sear time to 8 to 10 minutes on each side, and ensure your chicken reaches 165ºF before removing from the oven.
- If your rice is not cooked after 15 to 20 minutes in the oven, give it a stir and continue cooking until most of the liquid is absorbed. If you’re concerned about overcooking the chicken, remove it from the skillet before cooking longer. If your rice is cooked, but excess liquid remains, remove the skillet from the oven and let it sit, as instructed, for 10 minutes.
- Chicken thighs: Swap for boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or chicken breast. If using chicken breast, reduce the initial cook time to about 4 minutes per side to avoid drying out the chicken.
Nutritional Yeast: Swap for finely grated parmesan cheese, or omit.
Kale: Swap for baby spinach.
Coconut milk: Swap for half and half, light cream, or whole milk.
Sage: Swap dried sage for fresh. Use 3 teaspoons (about 1 tablespoon) very finely chopped sage in place of dried sage in the spice mix.
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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!
Loved this easy one pan meal! I swapped the coconut milk for half and half and didn’t have nutritional yeast so I skipped it, and it was still delicious. Another one pan win from Jenn!
We just got done licking our plates! This was a 10/10! Even my very picky boys loved it!
Absolutely delicious! I will add this to my fall/winter rotation.
So good! I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, chicken broth, subbed full fat for light coconut milk. Turned out great! Will be making again!
Loved this recipe! So flavorful with nourishing spices. The perfect postpartum meal, bonus that my other kiddos loved it too!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this! I didn’t have jasmine rice, substituted arborio, so I also added 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and cooked slightly (10-15 mins) longer, then let it sit covered for 10 minutes. Thank you for a great recipe!
Do you cook it in the oven with the lid at all? See that some people did use a lid the whole time or part of the time. What do you recommend?
If my oven is broken, can I not just continue on the stovetop and add a lid? Why is the oven necessary?