Healthy Chicken & Rice Bake (Easy Sunday Lunch Recipe!)

This Healthy Chicken & Rice bake is made with brown rice and bone-in chicken, so not only is it a healthy dinner option, it’s also budget-friendly! It’s the perfect recipe for Sunday lunch; such a simple comfort food!

Why You’ll Love this Simple Chicken and Rice Bake 

I’ve been making this chicken and rice bake for almost every Sunday lunch the last while and it’s a family favorite, for sure! It’s a simple, yet hearty and healthy dinner option for busy weeknights, too.

It only takes a couple minutes of prep time to layer everything – rice, chicken, beans, onions, chicken broth, salt and pepper in a pan, and let it slowly bake to perfection in the oven! Add a side of steamed broccoli, a garden salad, or Sweet & Sour Green Beans to make it a complete meal.

Add extra chicken to the pan to feed your whole family, and if you forget to marinate the chicken, no worries, you can just coat it in any chicken seasoning.

The bake time is somewhat flexible, so if we get home a little early or late, the tender chicken and fluffy rice is still delicious! Of course, just to be sure, you can always check the internal temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer.

Here’s my Sunday lunch prep timeline:

Sometime on Saturday – get the chicken out of the freezer and add the Italian dressing (or any marinade) and let the chicken thaw/ marinate in the fridge overnight.

Sunday morning – assemble the chicken and rice bake and pop it into the oven around 8:30 AM. 

Sunday lunch is hot and ready when we get home from church around 11:30 AM!

Ingredients 

• Rice – brown rice. I haven’t tried this recipe with white rice so if you do, let me know how it turned out!
  
• Italian dressing – from the bottle makes a quick and easy marinade. Or you can change it up and make your own chicken marinade!
  
• Chicken – I like to use chicken drumsticks (because they’re inexpensive to buy!) but you can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
  
• Beans – black beans are the beans of choice around here, though any should work.
  
• Chicken broth – I use my own homemade chicken bone broth most times, or you can always buy it at the grocery store.
  
• Onion – half an onion, diced. A teaspoon of onion powder sprinkled over everything makes a fine substitute if onion pieces aren’t your thing.
  
• Salt + pepper

Supplies to Grab:

• 9×13 baking dish – or a similar sized casserole dish. I usually use this glass Pyrex pan for this recipe!
  
• A spatula or two
  
• Measuring cups and spoons
  
• Strainer 
  
• Kitchen knife and cutting board or a little vegetable chopper to chop the onion
  
• Non-stick cooking spray

This post contains affiliate links. As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you when you purchase through our links. Thanks for supporting our little family and making this content possible!

How to make the Healthy Chicken & Rice Bake

The night before making the chicken and rice bake, toss the chicken in Italian dressing and let it marinate overnight.

When you’re ready to make the chicken and rice bake, preheat the oven to 250°F.

Grease a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Rinse the uncooked rice until the water runs clear, then spread it in an even layer in the bottom of the prepared pan. 

Dice the ½ onion and spread that on top of the beans.

Drain and rinse the black beans and spread them in an even layer on top of the rice. 

Carefully pour the chicken broth over everything, then sprinkle the salt and pepper on top.

Place the raw chicken drumsticks on the very top, cover the pan with aluminum foil and place the pan in the oven! 

Bake the chicken and rice for approximately 3 hours until the rice is soft and the chicken is fully cooked. (If you’re not sure if it’s done, check the chicken with a meat thermometer – it should be at least 165°.)

Serve and enjoy!💛

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Tips, Tricks & Notes for Healthy Chicken & Rice Bake

• Forgot to marinate the chicken? No problem, you can just toss it with your favorite seasoning for chicken. For best results, I would recommend using thawed chicken in this recipe, though.
  
• I often do 4 pieces of chicken, since that’s a good amount for us for lunch; however, you can totally add a few more pieces to feed a larger family. I’d say 6 pieces of chicken is about perfect for the amount of rice in this bake! And it can be boneless skinless or bone-in chicken!
  
• Be sure to rinse the rice! Rinsing removes any potential dirt and any starchy residue on the rice, so it doesn’t get sticky during baking.
  
• Don’t stress out about the baking time. We’ve already eaten it after two and a half hours of baking time, or even longer like three and a half hours of baking time. If you’re not sure if it’s done, check the internal temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer!

Looking for more easy meals? Check these out:

Share this Healthy Chicken & Rice Recipe!

Thanks, we appreciate it.

As always…

Thanks for visiting our small town! We appreciate you. Make yourself comfy and stay awhile!

’til next time,

We love you and we’ll be praying for you,

Julie