This chicken and rice bake BBQ flavored is the perfect quick fix dinner that’s packed chicken and melty cheese. It’s all made in one skillet which makes for an easy weeknight meal.
If you love simple rice recipes like we do, try our Cheesy Chicken and Rice recipe too!
Chicken and Rice Bake
You are in for one of our favorite simple to prepare dinners, BBQ Chicken and Rice Bake!
It’s no secret that quick and simple weeknight dinner recipes are my favorite. I’ve got another winner to share with you today that will have you in and out of the kitchen in no time. Some of our favorite ingredients you are likely to have on hand! Enjoy!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Flavorful. This simple rice dish is packed with BBQ chicken flavors that the whole family love.
- Easy To Make. With just a handful of easy to find ingredients, you’ll have this dinner on the table in no time at all.
- Great Leftovers. This dinner is delicious as leftovers too!
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What You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this BBQ chicken and rice bake at home. See the recipe card located at the bottom of the post for full instructions.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil– Olive oil is layered at the bottom of the cast iron skillet before the rice is added.
- Cooked Rice– Use your favorite kind of white rice for the recipe. I used Jasmine.
- BBQ Sauce– I use a traditional BBQ Sauce for the recipe.
- Corn Kernels– Make sure to drain the corn before adding to the recipe. You can also omit the corn if you’d like.
- Red Onion– Thin sliced red onion is added as a layer to the rice bake.
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese– Cheese is melted on top of the bake. Shredded mozzarella works great.
- Cooked Shredded Chicken– I like to use a rotisserie chicken for my cooked chicken.
- Fresh Cilantro– Fresh cilantro is added to the top of the bake for color and frehsness.
How To Make Chicken and Rice Bake
Preheat Oven and Prepare Cast Iron Skillet. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and pour oil into 12 inch cast iron skillet, swirling to coat bottom.
Layer Rice, BBQ Sauce, Corn and Red Onion. Layer rice into bottom of skillet. Drizzle 1/2 cup BBQ sauce over rice then layer with corn, and red onion slices.
Add Cheese, Chicken, More BBQ Sauce and Cilantro. Top with mozzarella cheese and chicken. Drizzle with remaining BBQ sauce then top with cilantro.
Bake. Bake for 20 minutes, until hot. Remove and serve warm.
Recipe Tips For Success
Rotisserie Chicken. Use a Rotisserie chicken for speedy prep time. You can also use an 11×7 inch baking dish if you don’t have a cast iron skillet to use.
Make Rice Ahead Of Time. To save more time, cook the rice ahead of time for a speedy dinner prep. You can also purchase rice that is cooked already that you simple heat up.
Using A Cast Iron Skillet
I love using my cast iron skillets. I like serving dinner right out of the skillet. Kind of rustic style. Here are some other great benefits – A well seasoned skillet is stick free. You can sear and move to oven with 1 pan. They are very inexpensive. They last a lifetime if properly cared for.
How To Serve
Serve this dish warm served onto individual serving plates. Note that the handle and skillet stay hot for a long time. Use proper precautions.
Storage Instructions
Store any leftover rice bake in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Reheating Instructions
Reheat rice on a heat proof plate, loosely covered in the microwave for 60-90 seconds, or until hot.
Try More Easy Rice Recipes
BBQ Chicken Rice Bake
Equipment
- Oven
- cutting board
- chef knife
- cast iron skillet
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cups cooked rice I used Jasmine rice
- 1 cup BBQ sauce divided
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups cooked seasoned shredded chicken
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and pour oil into 12 inch cast iron skillet, swirling to coat bottom.
- Layer rice into bottom of skillet. Drizzle 1/2 cup BBQ sauce over rice then layer with corn, red onion slices, mozzarella cheese and chicken. Drizzle with remaining BBQ sauce then top with cilantro. Bake for 20 minutes, until hot. Remove and serve warm.
This was so easy and so good! I made it for my husband’s family and they inhaled it!
This was DELICIOUS, and so easy! Thanks!
I love your recipes that use cooked shredded chicken so thought I should finally post a comment. We’re retired and live very close to our children so I cook supper for everyone regularly to have after work. It is hotter than hell here in Texas so the less prep & heating of the kitchen is appreciated. This dish of yours tastes like it required lots of work and everyone loves it, including the little ones. With so many delicious choices for bottled barbecue sauce here, I never make it anymore which adds to the convenience. Thanks so much for these delicious family recipes.
Looks delicious and easy!
Made this and it was delicious! Husband and kiddo were huge fans. I would love to add one more veggie to this. Any suggestions as to what might be good? Broccoli maybe? Thoughts?
How and what do you use to season your chicken?
My kids absolutely love rice so this sounds like the perfect dish to fix for them. Plus, I love how you do it all in one pan and you have such pretty presentation. I am going to try his bbq chicken rice tomorrow!