You’ll Never Make Plain Rice Again — This Buttered-Onion Chicken Rice Is Comfort Food Perfection. Prepare this dish for tonight, and your family will fall in love with it!
Over the last few years — especially during those long months of 2020 — we got obsessed with variations on “chicken rice”: chicken and rice cooked together in a fragrant broth until everything is tender and utterly comforting. The rice soaks up whatever seasonings and vegetables you add, and the chicken stays juicy. The dish reheats beautifully if you make it hours ahead, and the leftovers are even better. It’s inexpensive and I almost always have the staples on hand to pull it together. Truly, it’s a champion.
I’ve tried lots of regional and seasonal riffs, but the version that keeps coming back is the simplest: onions. I brown bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in a hot pan, then add a knob of butter and a big pile of diced onions to the pan drippings and cook them until they’re golden and sweet, a little darker and caramelized at the edges. I reserve a small portion of those jammy onions to finish the dish, then build the rest on that base — a few thyme leaves, a splash of wine, chicken broth, rice, and the browned thighs all finish together.
At the end I scatter the reserved buttered onions on top and honestly — I want to nap in the pan. It’s like a warm comforter on a gray day: it tastes like the first hot cup of coffee in fall and smells like home after a long day, at least according to my two most opinionated dinner guests.
If you’ll indulge me for a moment, cooking can sometimes feel like a never-ending checklist. But when you make something that tastes, smells and feels this good, it reminds you why it’s worth doing. This dish gives me exactly that feeling.
Servings: 4 to 6
Time: ~70 minutes
Note: I increased the amount of broth after hearing from readers whose rice came up undercooked.
Ingredient | Imperial | Metric | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs | 2–2¼ lb (4–6 pieces) | 900–1020 g | — |
Kosher salt | — | — | To taste |
Freshly ground black pepper | — | — | To taste |
Olive oil | 1 tbsp | 15 ml | — |
Unsalted butter, divided | 3 tbsp | 42 g | Use in separate steps |
Yellow onions, diced just under 1/2″ | 1½ lb (about 3 large) | ~680 g | — |
Fresh thyme leaves | — | — | From a few sprigs |
Uncooked white rice (any variety) | 1½ cups | ~285 g | — |
White wine (optional) | 1/4 cup | 60 ml | — |
Chicken broth | 2 cups + up to 1/4 cup extra if needed | 480 ml + 60 ml | — |
Pat the chicken dry and arrange skin-side up on a plate. Generously season the skin with salt and pepper.
Heat a large sauté pan (preferably with a lid) over medium-high for a minute. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter and heat for another minute. Place the chicken skin-side down and brown deeply, about 4–5 minutes. Don’t crowd the pan — you may need two batches. While the first side browns, season the top side. Flip and brown the second side for another 3–4 minutes. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate.
Keep the pan over medium-high and add 2 tablespoons butter to the fat and juices. When the butter melts, add the diced onions and season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook, stirring every couple minutes, until the onions are golden throughout and darker at the edges — about 15 minutes total. At first they’ll be watery; once the liquid evaporates and they begin to color, reduce the heat to medium for the remainder. Taste and adjust salt and add plenty of freshly ground pepper. Reserve about 1/3 cup of the onions to sprinkle on the finished dish.
Stir in the thyme and the dried rice and cook for 1 minute with the onions. Add the wine if using and cook until it has evaporated, about 1–2 minutes. Scrape down the pan sides so any stuck rice and onion return to the bottom. Nestle the chicken thighs back into the pan, skin-side up, spaced apart. Pour 2 cups of the broth around the chicken. Bring to a simmer, then reduce to the lowest simmer, cover, and cook for 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender. If the rice is still not tender after 25 minutes, add up to the reserved 1/4 cup broth and cook another 5–10 minutes.
Remove from heat and let rest, covered, for 5–10 minutes. Scatter the reserved buttered onions on top and scoop onto plates to serve.
This keeps very well. Reheat covered in an oven-safe dish at 350°F (175°C) for 15–30 minutes until warmed through. To freeze, pack in freezer bags, press out the air, defrost in the fridge overnight and rewarm as above.
Different chicken pieces? Yes — other bone-in, skin-on pieces work. Larger breasts may need longer; halve large pieces so they finish with the rice.
Boneless/skinless? You can use them, though thighs are less likely to dry out. If using boneless, consider skipping the initial browning to avoid overcooking.
No wine? Substitute 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar + 1/4–1/2 teaspoon sugar.
No butter? Olive oil or another fat will work, but the flavor will be different.
Want it richer? When it’s done and resting, dot with 1–2 tablespoons extra butter, cover and let it melt in.
Broth hack: Homemade broth is best. For concentrate (e.g., Better Than Bouillon) you can add a small blob to the pan with the thyme and rice and cook it briefly before adding water.
Thyme: The thyme in the dish is for flavor; any thyme on top is just for looks on a deeply browned plate.
