This one pot chicken and dirty rice is a dish washing hater’s dream! The chicken is cooked on top of the rice for the most flavorful dish ever!
Amazing Cajun-style flavors collide in this one pot chicken and dirty rice! The crispy chicken, spicy andouille sausage and fluffy dirty rice… all made from scratch… make each bite a true explosion of flavor!
Everyone loves a great one pot meal. Anytime you can lessen the amount of dishes that need washed, it’s a huge win. That’s the second reason why I love this one pot chicken and dirty rice SO much.
The first reason why I love this one pot chicken and dirty rice so much… is the FLAVOR!! Yep, that deserves to be in all caps, because it’s. just. that. GOOD! Even the leftovers will knock your socks off.
There really aren’t any surprise or secret ingredients to make it so good, it’s more about HOW it’s cooked. The chicken and andouille cook on top of the rice, which means all the delicious juices go right down into the rice. It’s like cooking the rice in a super concentrated chicken stock full of spices!
I used this cooking method from an amazing blogger, Nagi, from RecipeTin Eats, and just adapted it to these Cajun-style flavors!
If you’re worried about the spice, you can totally customize it to your tastes. Here’s how…
To Make it Hotter:
- Don’t take the seeds out of the jalapeno
- Add more than one jalapeno
- Use more cayenne and red pepper flakes
To Make it Milder:
- Use a green bell pepper instead of the jalapeno
- Use less cayenne and red pepper flakes
- Substitute regular smoked sausage for the andouille
This is one instance where I really love using my enameled dutch oven. There will be baked on bits of food that will probably need soaking (which you can’t do with a regular cast iron), and it browns food like a dream.
Give this one pot chicken and rice a chance this Fall… I really think you’ll love the Cajun-style flavors!! Simply put, you need this dish in your life!
Helpful Tools for This Recipe:
Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Braiser – This is my go-to pot for just about any dish like this… plus, cleanup is a dream!
Long Grain White Rice – I really like this brand!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- MARINADE:
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried minced onion
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- enough olive oil to make a paste about 1 Tbsp, but this will vary from person to person
- REST OF DISH:
- 2 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 link of andouille sausage sliced into 1/4" slices
- 4 bone-in skin on chicken thighs
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup DRY long-grain rice
- 2 1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
- Sliced green onions for garnish
- Minced fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Combine all marinade ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add chicken thighs and turn to coat. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add drizzle of olive oil to dutch oven and heat over MED-HIGH heat. Brown andouille sausage on both sides, then transfer sausage to a plate.
- Add chicken thighs, skin side down, and sear for 2-3 minutes per side, to develop a nice crispy skin.
- Transfer chicken to plate with the sausage, and use a paper towel to wipe out any black bits from the pan. Brown bits and pan drippings are good to leave in though.
- Lower heat to MED-LOW and add in chopped onion, jalapeno and celery. Saute for about 2-3 minutes, until softened.
- Add cayenne, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper and stir.
- Add rice and chicken stock, give it a stir, and let simmer for 1 minute.
- Nestle chicken thighs and sausage on top of the rice (pour in the juices that are left on the plate as well). Return to a simmer, then cover.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes (covered).
- Remove cover and bake another 10-15 minutes, until liquid is absorbed into the rice.
- Garnish with sliced green onions and minced parsley!
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Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Charlotte Wall says
Very flavorful dish! My family loves it!
KJordan says
A new favorite, no question! Thank You! Last night I followed the recipe though added 2 bay leaves, substituted Spanish smoked paprika, and added 14/t of dried thyme to the marinade. Outstanding dish, easy, and can easily feed a crowd. Thank you very much!
Brandy says
I have made this over a dozen times and it is now one of my family’s favorites.
Sophia says
I do not have a proper Dutch oven that you can bake, but I do have a cast iron skillet and regular pots/pans. Would you suggest cooking in a lot and then transferring into a baking dish? Or cooking all in a cast iron skillet and baking that?
The Chunky Chef says
If your cast iron skillet is big enough to hold all the ingredients, then I would definitely cook/bake it all in the skillet 🙂
Kelly says
This looks fantastic. We have a large family. Can you double this and cook it in the same pot with the same results? Just curious. We will be trying this for sure. Thanks for sharing.
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve not tested doubling it, as this feeds our family as is, so I can’t say for sure that cooking times won’t be altered slightly with a double batch.
Shawn Boucher says
I made this last night. Was amazingly delicious!! I like more heat, so I substituted hot Hungarian sausage. Doubled the jalapeño, and red pepper flakes.
It was terrific!!
Amanda Firby says
This was so good. I doubled the recipe for my 7 qt Dutch oven, and that all fit in fine. I will definitely make this one again. Thanks for a great recipe!
Joel says
Could you add liver to this you think? The recipe looks awesome gonna try it tonight.
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would turn out well.
Ron says
I have to say, I’ve made this several times. I usually like to try a recipe once and then tweak it to my liking, but I can’t think of anything to do to improve on this. The only thing I do is decide how much heat I want and adjust my Jalapeno’s and seasoning accordingly. Also, I recommend following the techniques to make the skin as crispy as possible when cooking this. Just a superb recipe. Since I’m making it again this weekend, I thought I ‘d share my thoughts and compliment Amanda on what has become one of my favorite recipes to make.
Amber says
So I found this recipe on Pinterest after searching chicken thigh recipe as I really needed to go grocery shopping really bad, And only had chicken thighs. Luckily I had all the ingredients and went ahead and made it. THE BEST DINNER EVER!! My boyfriend is in love with the meal. Every time I say I’m making it his eyes get all wide and he gives me this smile. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Kerry Robertson says
Any suggestions on tripling the recipe for a group? I wanna make this Friday night and suggestions would be helpful. I’m using boneless skinless and each person gets 2 so I’m using 24.
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested this recipe on that scale before, so I can’t say for certain that it will turn out the same. You’ll need a VERY large pan, or several pans though.
Kelly says
I have made this dish numerous times and it is absolutely delicious! My local market sells fresh Cajun andouille sausage that pairs beautifully and I use my own homemade chicken stock. I also marinate the chicken the night before to really infuse the flavor. My boyfriend and I love spicy food so I add what the recipe calls for and sometimes more depending on how spicy the jalapenos are. It is amazing leftover and even frozen and reheated! So happy I found this recipe 🙂
Rena says
This was SO good, but the rice was kind of mushy, is it supposed to be pretty soft? I was hoping it had a little chew to it.
The Chunky Chef says
It’s definitely tender, but you could cook it a little less if you prefer more of a bite. Glad you loved the flavor!
Tweshi says
This looks so delicious. DO you think it would work if i substitute with red meat?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested it, so I can’t say for certain since all meats have different cook times.
helen barnes says
Happy I found your site. Just what I needed. I can’t wait to try this.
Kim says
This is a keeper! So delicious! I recommend doubling for leftovers!
Natalie says
So very good! I substituted brown rice because that’s what I had on hand so I upped it to 2 cups for that amount of liquid. Absolutely full of flavor! Going into the rotation
Tonya says
Easy and quick to put together, easy clean up and I almost always have these ingredients on hand. We’re not fans of spicy food so I left out the heat. I also continued cooking my chicken uncovered in the oven after searing it. Let the rice mixture almost fully cook and then added the chicken back in with it’s juice and cooked all together in the oven a few more minutes uncovered. Crispy juicy chicken and a flavorful chewy rice. Amazing!
Vic says
Made this by following the recipe exactly and loved it! Thank you! Would the recipe also work with just chicken drumsticks?
The Chunky Chef says
I think that would work just fine 🙂
Denise says
This was SOOOOOOOO good can’t wait to try another recipe of yours! Do you have a dutch oven section?
The Chunky Chef says
So glad you loved it!! I don’t have a section specifically for dutch oven, but most of my one pot recipes are made in one 🙂