Jollof Rice and Chicken
This jollof rice and chicken is an easy yet tasty one-pan meal enjoyed in West African countries. It’s bursting with flavors from the tomato sauce, paprika, scotch bonnet, and the juices coming off the well-seasoned chicken thighs. Serve it on regular weeknights or as a main course during the holidays!
This recipe was inspired by my mini chef’s desire for chicken thighs and rice. It’s a one-pan meal spin-off of the ever-popular jollof rice.
And since we always love rice with chicken, why not make them both in one pot? It saves a lot of time and reduces cleanup. Not to mention that it’s family-approved!
In just a single pan, you’ll get an entire meal – chicken, rice, and veggies. What more would you ask for?
How to Make Jollof Rice and Chicken
- Rinse the rice by covering it with water in a large bowl. Swish the grains with your hands, and then drain the water. Repeat until the water runs clear, drain, and set aside.
- Wash the chicken thighs, then dry them with a paper towel.
- Season – Combine spices and mix well. Sprinkle both sides of the thighs with a generous amount of the spice blend. (Photo 1)
- Sear – Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet, Dutch oven, or oven-safe pan. Brown chicken for about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside. (Photo 2)
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (176℃).
- Toast – Remove excess oil from the pan, leaving 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Add the onions, thyme, garlic, and sauté until soft but not golden, 2-3 minutes. Then add the rice and stir for another 2 minutes. (Photos 3-4)
- Assemble – Gently pour in the tomato sauce, chicken stock, salt, paprika, white pepper, curry powder, and chicken bouillon. Stir, add the chicken back, and bring to a boil. (Photos 5-6)
- Bake – Place in the preheated oven and cook for about 20 minutes. Then, add the vegetables and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. (Photos 7-8)
- Serve – Remove from the oven, let it cool slightly, and serve warm.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Swap out the traditional spices with your favorite blend for a non-traditional twist on a classic chicken and rice dinner.
- Feel free to replace the thighs with drumsticks.
- You could replace the tomato sauce with pureed fresh tomatoes.
- Any white long-grain rice works well with this recipe. If using brown rice, increase the liquid to 2 cups for every 1 cup of rice and extend the cooking time by 30-40 minutes.
- Feel free to omit the scotch bonnet and cayenne pepper for a kid-friendly jollof rice.
Storing and Make-Ahead Instructions
Simply cool and store leftover jollof rice and chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Reheat rice with a splash of water in the microwave or oven.
More One-Pot Chicken and Rice Recipes
- Cilantro Lime Chicken and Rice
- Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Caribbean Jerk Chicken and Rice
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was first published in March 2015 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video
Jollof Rice and Chicken
Ingredients
The Chicken
- 2½-3 pounds (1.2k-1.4k) chicken thighs (about 6 thighs)
- 2 teaspoons (11-12g) salt
- 2 teaspoons (10g) onion powder
- 1 teaspoon (2g) fresh thyme or oregano
- 1 teaspoon (5g) garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon (3g) smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) white pepper
- ½ teaspoon (1g) cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon (2-3g) chicken bouillon powder or salt
Jollof Rice
- 2 tablespoons (28ml) oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium bell pepper, diced
- 1 teaspoon (2g) fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons (10g) minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon (5g) minced ginger
- 2 cups (392g) uncooked rice (I used basmati rice)
- 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 3 cups (710ml) chicken stock or water
- 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
- 1 teaspoon (3g) paprika
- 1 teaspoon (3g) white pepper
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) curry powder
- ½-1 teaspoon (2-5g) chicken bouillon
- ½ pound (225g) or more vegetables (carrots, peas, green beans, etc.)
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper or hot pepper (optional)
Instructions
Chicken Thighs
- Wash the chicken thighs, then dry them with a paper towel. Combine salt, onion powder, thyme, garlic powder, smoked paprika, white pepper, cayenne, and bouillon, and mix well.
- Sprinkle both sides of the thighs with a generous amount of the spice blend. Or you could use salt, pepper, and your favorite spice mix.
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet, Dutch oven, or oven-safe pan. Brown the chicken for about 3 minutes on each side, being careful not to burn it. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Jollof Rice
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (176℃).
- Rinse the rice by covering it with water in a large bowl. Swish the grains with your hands, and then drain the water. Repeat until the water runs clear, drain, and set aside.
- Remove excess oil from the pan, leaving 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Add the onions, bell pepper, thyme, garlic, and sauté until soft but not golden, 2-3 minutes. Then add the rice and stir for another 2 minutes.
- Add onions, thyme, garlic, and ginger, and sauté until soft but not golden, 2-3 minutes. Then add the rice and stir for another 2 minutes.
- Gently pour in the tomato sauce, chicken stock, salt, paprika, white pepper, curry powder, and chicken bouillon—everything else EXCEPT the vegetables. Stir, add the chicken back, and bring to a boil.
- Place in the preheated oven and cook for about 20 minutes. Stir in the vegetables and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, let it cool slightly, and serve.
Tips & Notes:
- For brown rice, increase the broth or water to 4 cups, and the cooking time to 50-60 minutes.
- Please note that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly depending on the products used in the recipe.
Hi Imma,
My partner is Ghanaian and I made this for him! He truly loved it and was so happy. As I plan on making this in the future, is it possible to add beef stew meat instead of chicken? Please Advise.
Thank you.
Hello, Yes it is . However , you will have use tender beef like sirloin. Or cook the beef before adding to the rice.
Why not,,,use anything or meat,,,could even use shrimp and smoked sausage,,would almost be like a gumbo
OMG! This was delicious! Thank you for this recipe!
No this is wrong this is all wrong – it does not have ANY paprika and it never cooked with carrots In an iron skillet ??? Nah I’m offended
What cooking vessel is the dish traditionally cooked on? I would sincerely like to know because Of appreciate African cusine and I would like to prepare it correctly.
Gonna be making this for a guy I’m dating once the scotch bonnet is in do I leave it in until serving? Or do I need to remove it at some point?
Thank you
Hi Sharlot!
You may leave it until serving or serve along with rice and chicken- some folks love the heat . So the smash the pepper with the rice for more heat and spice.
Simply Delish!!!! After 2 years of thinking Jellof rice was hard to make! Shalom and thanks for the easiest way I’ve seen to make this dish!!
Chanced on your website in 2018, my whole cooking is transformed my children love my food better and baking fantastic, you are a great person, thank you for all the lovely recipes, I can have effortless stress free cooking and still come out very well.
Thank you
Happy to hear . Thank you so much!!!
I have now made this a few times for an African French girl who lives with me. I don’t eat meat but I followed the recipe and she tells me it’s the best she has had. I must make a vegetarian one for myself
Sorry for my ignorance. But for how long should I pre heat the oven and in what temperature should I cook them. Thanks in advance Imma.
Hi Arnab. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F and cook in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes then throw in the vegetables, cook until cooked another 10-15 minutes.
I made this recipe tonight, and it was delicious! So intensely flavorful and savory. I will definitely make it again. I wanted to thank you for sharing this–much appreciated.
I don’t know if I was supposed to or not, but I covered my big skillet with heavy duty foil and a lid before putting the whole thing in the oven, and it came out perfectly. Blessings to you and yours.
Yaaay! Glad it turned out great for you Danni, although, I don’t cover it when I put it in the oven. Thanks for sharing, too, your results. 🙂
Hi,
I am planning on cooking this for a family event but i would like to use a whole chicken instead is this method still appropriate
Hi Lucy, I haven’t tried this recipe with whole chicken. But I guess it won’t be appropriate as whole chicken cooks longer than the rice. You might end up having dried or burnt rice.
I can’t wait to try this! My daughters are half Ghanaian, and love jollof rice and chicken. I actually spent a year in Ghana myself, but can never seem to get my jollof tasting the way my friends make it. I am hoping cooking it in the oven will do the trick. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, Mary Kate. Your family would surely love this. Let me know how it turns out for you. 😉 Enjoy!
Hey what temperature do you put the oven on it sounds really good I cannot wait to try it
It’s 350 degrees F.
Thank you I was wondering the temp myself!!
Hi,
I plan on making this recipe this weekend. I have a quick question. When so I add the scotch bonnet? Is it Step 6 when I add the vegetables?
Hi, Rhonda.Yes, you add the scotch bonnet in Step 6. Have a great weekend!
Hi let me first and foremost say that I’m so happy to have found your blog! This is amazing! Just wondering would this work just the same if I used drumsticks instead of thighs? Thank you!
Hi Erica, Yes be sure to use the same quantity of chicken and fully cover rice.
What do you remove from the pan in step 2?
The chicken thighs – and any visible burns from the chicken.
I have made this rice n chicken a few times already n I’m making it again today my family loves it soo delicious thanks for sharing
I really want to make this, but would love to put scotch bonnet in it. how much would you suggest? Thank you!!
One has the perfect balance of heat- Hot but not too much . I just throw it in , pierce with fork for more heat.
I have made this dish before my family loved it soo delicious making it again today thanks for sharing
Awesome! So glad to hear it worked out well for you. Thanks for letting me know.
Hi. Just to clarify is it tomato sauce or tomato paste that you used? Confused by puree
Hi Chris! It’s tomato sauce not paste.
Hi. I had a related question – what is meant by tomato sauce? Is it just pureed whole or crushed canned tomatoes?
Hello. I used pureed tomato sauce for this recipe.
You do real MVP. I was just about to make a tomato rice bomb with 8 oz of straight tomato paste.
I am beginning to cook African food since my mom moved backed to Africa and I have to fend for myself lol. This was a great and easy recipe to cook especially for a beginner like me. Thank you!
Awesome! Am glad to hear it worked out well for you.
Very yummy … will keep doing this recipe
Awesome!!!