Crispy chicken thighs on cheesy broccoli rice
Crispy chicken thighs on top of easy peasy cheesy broccoli rice is a great, quick weeknight meal that takes very little effort but delivers big on taste and texture.
Say hello to the crispy chicken thighs of your dreams. All golden, crackly skin and succulent meat. On top of creamy, cheesy, broccoli rice. Is this the stuff weeknight meal dreams are made of? I think so. Because let’s face it, who needs more than crispy-skin chicken ON TOP of cheesy rice for dinner? No-one, that’s who.
But it’s confession time. This cheese-broccoli-rice-thingamabob has been on regular rotation in this house because a) mamma is lazy and b) cheesy-broccoli-rice is a thing that needs to be more present in all of our lives. And most nights when I serve it, I don’t even bother with the crispy chicken thighs because honestly you guys, it is that good. But every now and then I might have a few chicken thighs hanging around and in those instances, I give them a quick treatment with some s&p, olive oil and lemon before placing them in a hot oven to go all crisp and gorgeous. (I mean, can we just take a moment to appreciate that skin?!)
The deal with the rice is equally simple. Fry some onion and garlic until soft and fragrant, add the rice, a splash of wine (optional) and then stock. Slowly simmer until the rice has almost absorbed all the liquid then top with the broccoli florets and allow to steam until the rice and broccoli are both cooked. Add a splash of cream (again: optional) and a good handful of mozzarella then stir through, et voila. There is nothing more joyous than taking a big spoonful of rice from the serving dish only to be met with strands of melty mozzarella. Swoon. And we all know dinners you can swoon over are the best kind of dinners.
Table of Contents
How to make chicken thigh skin crispy?
The best way to ensure crispy skin is to make sure the skin is quite dry before going into the hot oven. I drizzle the chicken with a little lemon juice then season generously with salt and pepper before rubbing the seasoning into the skin. Place in a baking dish or roasting pan and place in a hot oven. Allow the chicken to roast for until golden brown, crisp and cooked through.
How long to bake cook chicken thighs?
For crispy skin and fully cooked thighs, bake the chicken thighs for 30-40 minutes at 200ºC/400ºF.
What to make with chicken thighs?
- Easy side salad with lemon dressing
- Easy marinated cucumber salad
- Crispy salt and pepper smashed potatoes
- Maple butter mashed sweet potatoes
- Easy spicy garlic baked potato wedges
Chicken thigh recipes
- Lemon pepper chicken thighs
- Easy honey garlic chicken thighs
- Chicken Piccata Thighs
- Coconut curry chicken thighs
Crispy chicken thighs on cheesy broccoli rice
Ingredients
for the crispy chicken thighs
- 8 skin-on chicken thighs
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
for the cheesy broccoli rice
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1½ cups Jasmine rice
- ½ cup white wine
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 head broccoli broken into florets
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°c.
- Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice over the chicken thighs then season with salt and pepper and place in the oven to bake for 30-45 minutes or until cooked through and the skin has crisped.
- To make the rice, add a drizzle of olive oil to a medium-sized pot/deep pan (with lid) and saute the onion and garlic until soft and fragrant.
- Add the rice, wine and stock and bring up to a boil.
- Lower the heat and cover with a lid and allow to simmer until 3/4 of the liquid has been absorbed. Add the broccoli then cover again to simmer/steam until the rice and broccoli are completely cooked.
- Turn the heat off then season to taste and add the mozzarella. Stir through.
- At this stage the rice can be allowed to steam, covered, for a further 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
- Serve the chicken on top of the cheesy broccoli rice.
Nutrition
