Baked Mediterranean Chicken
One-dish Mediterranean baked chicken is the delicious casserole upgrade you’ve been looking for packed with with Tomatoes, Spinach and Feta
Why this recipe is so good:
- It takes a little over an hour. Plenty of time to clean up and enjoy a glass of wine while the dish bakes.
- It feeds a crowd- this dish feeds 6 for dinner including the rice OR 4 for dinner with leftovers for lunch.
- It is simple. I created this casserole out of frustration- pure simple frustration. I keep seeing an Instagram influencer- a very cute young mom whose “catch” is to wear uber trendy “fast fashion” outfits, loads of make up, perfectly coiffed hair and smile while she dumps a bunch of pre-packaged, processed ingredients into a casserole, top everything with pre-grated cheese from a plastic bag, bake and call it dinner.
Enough. We can do better.
Let’s substitute cream of Fill in the blank, mushy canned vegetables loaded with salt, jarred Alfredo sauce and pre shredded, packaged chicken for bright vegetables, lemon, brown rice and fresh herbs.
Ingredients in One Dish Mediterranean Baked Chicken:
fresh ingredients-
- 4-6 chicken breasts
- block feta cheese
- bell peppers- yellow, orange or red
- cherry tomatoes
- lemon
- yellow onion
- garlic
- fresh herbs: rosemary, dill, mint, thyme, oregano
pantry ingredients-
- long grain brown rice
- sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
- olive oil
- Better than Bouillon or chicken stock
- panko bread crumbs
- salt, pepper, Italian herbs- dried
- frozen chopped spinach
How to make this recipe:
- Chop your veggies and crumble the feta cheese.
- Pour the uncooked rice in a baking dish. Top with the chicken breasts. Season the chicken with fresh herbs, scatter the tomatoes and pour the bouillon or stock over the entire chicken and rice mixture.
- Sauté up chopped onion, garlic and peppers, add thawed frozen spinach, herbs and sun dried tomatoes. Pour this mixture over the chicken. Sprinkle in the feta. Top with lemon slices. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. remove the foil and bake the last five minutes to brown the lemon slices.
A few notes:
This yummy casserole is packed with brown rice, lemon, feta (use block feta) two kinds of tomatoes, onion, pepper, garlic, rosemary, dill, mint and oregano and a 12 oz bag of frozen spinach. I used fresh herbs, which take about 1 minutes to chop, but you can easily use a dried Greek or Italian herb seasoning blend from the spice aisle at your grocery store. Lately I have been ordering organic chicken from Pasturebird (not a sponsored post). This chicken, which is delivered right to your door, is next level. You will never go back to buying supermarket chicken after eating this poultry. No matter what I do- the chicken is moist, tender and incredibly flavorful. Give them a try.
Frequently Asked Questions:
If you want to use instant rice, cook it separately and cut the chicken broth or water in half. Serve the rice on the side.
Sounds like you forgot to cover the dish with a lid or tight fitting foil. This is the MOST important step of the recipe. You may have an oven that is too hot or you are using a baking dish that is metal and not porcelain or ceramic.
Great question- a grocery store style picnic aluminum pan is too thin for this dish. Use a ceramic overproof pan like the one HERE. A dish with a glass top like this one is even better.
Yes- reduce the baking time by 10 minutes and be sure to temp the chicken to make certain it reaches 165 degrees F.
Special Equipment needed for this recipe:
- An ovenproof baking dish with a tight fitted lid
- Heavy Duty aluminum foil if your dish does not have a lid
- 12-inch skillet
Like this recipe? Try these as well:
Baked Mediterranean Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain brown rice
- 2-3 4-6oz boneless skinless chicken breasts , sliced in half lengthwise
- 2 tsp Better than Bouillon chicken stock concentrate (or 16 oz can of chicken stock)
- 16 oz water- delete if using canned stock
- 1 cup Sun dried tomatoes in olive oil , drained
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes , sliced in half
- 1 TBSP fresh thyme , minced
- 1 TBSP fresh oregano , chopped
- 1 TBSP fresh mint
- 2 TBSP fresh dill , chopped fine, stems removed
- 8 oz block Greek feta cheese , crumbled
- 1 large lemon , sliced thinly
- 1 cup pepper , chopped (yellow, red or orange)
- 1 cup yellow onion , chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 12 oz frozen chopped spinach thawed
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp finely ground black pepper
- 1 tsp Italian herbs , dried
- ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
- 3 TBSP Olive oil , divided
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a 9 x 13 inch pan or deep casserole dish, spread out the uncooked brown rice. Top with the chicken breasts. Sprinkle the chicken with the chopped herbs- thyme, oregano, mint and dill. Scatter the sun dried tomatoes and cherry tomatoes around the chicken. Pour the bouillon around the dish to cover the rice taking care not disturb the herb coated chicken.
- In a large sauté pan, heat 1 TBSP of the olive oil. Add in the chopped onions, peppers and garlic. Cook until softened. Sprinkle pepper mixture with the salt, pepper and Italian herbs. Sauté for one minute more. Add the spinach into the pepper mixture and cook until heated through and the vegetables are well mixed. About 2-3 minutes more on medium heat.
- Top the chicken with the sautéed vegetables. Cover with the crumbled feta and top with lemon slices. Sprinkle the entire dish with the panko crumbs and the remaining olive oil.
- Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake, covered,for 40 minutes. Turn the heat up to 375 degrees. After 40 minutes, check the rice to make certain it is fluffy and cooked through. Remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes or until the lemons are slightly charred and the panko is golden brown. The internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165 degrees.
Notes
Nutrition
This dish is to show all the parents or busy folks out there, you can make a quick casserole without sacrificing flavor, fresh ingredients or your health. I try and use pantry staples like long grain brown rice, Better than Bouillon, sun dried tomatoes and frozen spinach (I keep bags and bags of it in my freezer).
