Do you ever find a recipe on Pinterest, pin it, forget about it for months, finally make it, and then immediately regret that you didn’t buy the ingredients and prepare it the first day you found it? No? Just me then.
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That’s how I felt when I finally made Imma from Immaculate Bites’ one pot caribbean jerk chicken and rice. I knew it looked good and sounded good – but I honestly was not prepared for how amazing this recipe is. The chicken is tender and flavorful and the rice has literally the perfect texture. Don’t be hesitant of the long-ish ingredients list, it is well worth it. There are a fair amount of steps and prep, but in the end this is a one-pot meal so there aren’t too many dishes!
I’ve changed up the recipe a bit, mostly because of the spices I had in my cabinet, but the overall steps and ingredients are similar to Imma’s. I have started using creole spice rather than jerk seasoning for one simple reason…one day that is all I had. Other than a knife, cutting board, and a few plates, all you need is an oven-safe pot such as a dutch oven or large cast iron skillet. When I am making something with this many steps/ingredients I like to lay it all out and take stock before beginning.
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Next, pat dry 5-6 chicken thighs and season on both sides liberally with creole spice mix. I have a Kroger brand mix right now, but Tony Chachere’s is a real classic seasoning mix. Next, heat two tablespoons of canola oil in the dutch oven/cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. While that is heating up, finely chop a yellow onion and one stalk celery. When the oil is hot (it should be shimmery but not smoking), add the chicken thighs skin-side down and cook for three minutes. Turn over and cook for another three minutes, then remove to a plate. Turn the heat down to medium and let the pan cool for a few minutes before adding the onion, celery, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook until very soft, stirring regularly so as to not burn them and scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. If it’s looking a little dry, you can add a bit more oil or a little butter depending on your mood. Any excess oil/butter will be soaked into the rice later making it extra luscious. Add two cloves of garlic and stir for about a minute or so. You don’t want to add the garlic too soon because it cooks quickly and burns easily.
Once you’ve cooked up all the aromatics nicely, add jasmine rice, beans, coconut milk, chicken broth, two teaspoons creole seasoning, paprika, and white pepper. Turn heat up and bring it to a boil, stirring regularly. Once it is boiling, place chicken thighs on top and move to the oven. Bake for 35 minutes and don’t do what I always do and forget to use potholders just because it has handles…
You have several options for serving and it all depends on how lazy you feel or how pretty you want it to look. The simplest way to serve is just stir up the rice and beans and serve with a chicken thigh. However, if you want to do less work later (like me), remove the skin and bones from the chicken thighs and shred the meat up, then stir back into the rice and beans. Either way you decide, top with some finely sliced green onions for a great finishing flavor and some lovely color.
I mean, seriously – how amazing does this look? Jess and I can eat on one batch of this creole chicken and rice for several days and it is just as delicious on the second and third day. If you make this dish, let me know how it turns out in the comments! I think there are several ways this can be altered or changed up, I’d love to know what changes you make.
Creole chicken, rice, and beans
Ingredients
- 6-8 Chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- 2-3 tbsp Creole seasoning divided
- 2-3 tbsp Canola oil
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- 1 stalk Celery finely chopped
- 1 sprig Fresh thyme
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 cups Jasmine rice rinsed
- 15 oz Coconut milk
- 15 oz Light red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 tsp White pepper
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 2 cups Chicken broth
- 1 Green onion finely sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 2 tablespoons oil to medium-high heat in an oven-safe pot.
- Pat chicken thighs dry and season liberally on both sides with creole seasoning.
- Once hot, lay chicken thighs in pan in a single layer (skin side down) and cook for three minutes. Flip over and cook an additional 3 minutes. Remove to plate. Turn heat down and let oil cool slighly.
- Add onion, celery, thyme, and bay leaves - add a little more oil if it is dry. Cook until very soft, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute.
- Add rice, beans, coconut milk, chicken broth, white pepper, 2 teaspoons creole seasoning, and paprika, stirring regularly to remove bits on bottom of pan.
- Bring a boil. Lay chicken thighs on top of rice and put in oven. Bake for 35 minutes (uncovered).
- Serve chicken thighs over rice with sliced green onions.