Barbecue Chicken and Rice

Jump to Recipe

Made all in one pot, this tangy cheesy Barbecue Chicken and Rice is loaded with chunks of juicy chicken, fluffy rice, corn, and black beans. The real magic of the recipe is personalizing it with all your favorite toppings.

Barbecue Chicken and Rice in a dutch oven topped with bacon, cilantro, green onions, tomatoes, red onion, bbq sauce, and ranch dressing,

Jump to:

Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
Variations and Adaptations
How to Make one pot BBQ chicken and rice bowls
Toppings for bbq chicken rice bowls
Expert Tips
Recipe FAQs
More One Pot Recipes with Rice
Get the Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Whether you're camping or just cooking for your hungry crowd, this BBQ chicken and rice will definitely satisfy everyone's hunger.

The beauty of this barbecue chicken and rice recipe is there's very little prep. After chopping a few things, you toss them and everything else in the dutch oven (or camp oven if you're cooking outdoors) and then simply stir in the last two ingredients moments before it's ready to be served.

The range of toppings are absolutely endless, allowing this to be a completely personal, customized chicken rice bowl of goodness.

We love recipes with endless options of toppings like in our Mountain Man Breakfast, Baked Potatoes, and of course, Burgers.

Ingredients

Chicken: we used boneless skinless chicken breast cut into cubes.
Produce: freshly diced onion and bell peppers along with frozen corn.
Pantry: instant rice (like Minute rice), your favorite barbecue sauce, chicken broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and a can of drained black beans.
Seasoning: granulated garlic, salt, and pepper.
Cheese: we used freshly grated colby jack.

See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.

Variations and Adaptations

Chicken: chicken thighs are a wonderful swap. Dark meat tends to be moister than white meat.
Produce: Here's where you can get creative. Leeks, diced zucchini, mushrooms, jalapenos, green beans, and spinach are all delicious options, but you're only limited by your imagination.
Pantry: use pinto beans instead of black. Instant brown rice instead of white. Stir in a can of diced green chilies.
Seasoning: you can use fresh garlic or garlic powder instead of granulated. Spice it up with a bit of cayenne or chipotle powder. Or add a bit of smokiness with a touch of cumin and paprika.
Cheese: cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Swiss, or even mozzarella would make this recipe still cheesy delicious.
Meat: along with the chicken, crumbled bacon or diced smoked sausage would be amazing.

How to Make one pot BBQ chicken and rice bowls

Instant rice, frozen corn, bell peppers, onions, and diced chicken in a dutch oven.

Step 1 — Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the frozen corn, diced bell peppers, diced onions, instant rice, and cubed chicken to a dutch oven.

Instant rice, frozen corn, bell peppers, onions, and diced chicken combined in a dutch oven.

Step 2 — All the dry ingredients thoroughly combined.

Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, BBQ sauce, salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and chicken broth added to the dutch oven mixture.

Step 3 — BBQ sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and chicken broth added to the dry ingredients.

Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, BBQ sauce, salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and chicken broth mixed in with the dry ingredients.

Step 4 — Mix everything completely together. Cover and bake for 45 minutes.

Black beans and colby jack cheese added to the most cooked chicken and rice recipe.

Step 5 — After baking for 45 minutes, fold in the black beans and half of the cheese.

The remaining colby jack cheese added to the top of the dish.

Step 6 — Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the casserole, cover and return to the oven; bake for 15 more minutes.

Freshly cooked bbq chicken and rice in the dutch oven with optional toppings of green onions, tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, red onion, bacon, and cheese.

Step 7 — Serve these BBQ Chicken Rice Bowls immediately with all your favorite toppings.

Toppings for bbq chicken rice bowls

Produce: diced avocado, diced tomatoes, jalapenos (fresh or pickled), chopped cilantro, diced green onions, and/or diced red onions.
Sauces: hot sauce, sour cream, barbecue sauce, and/or ranch dressing.
Extras: crumbled crispy bacon and of course, more cheese.

Expert Tips

Pour some of the chicken broth into the emptied BBQ sauce bottle to get all the sauce that clings to the sides.
Not all barbecue sauces are created the same. Some are really thick and some are really thin. For thin sauces, decrease the amount of broth by 2-4 tablespoons.
If cooking in the oven, you can leave the lid off for the last 15 minutes to brown the top.

Recipe FAQs

Why do I use instant rice when it still takes an hour to cook?

Traditional long grain rice, when cooked like this, tends to come out mushy because the pot doesn't ever come to a full boil which regular rice needs.

Can I used regular rice?

Yes-ish. If you want to use regular long grain rice, we recommend stirring in cooked rice when you add the beans and cheese. Decrease the amount of broth to about a cup.

How long will the leftovers last?

If stored properly in the fridge in an air tight container, this dish will stay tasty for about 5 days. However, the rice will continue to absorb any moisture so we recommend adding a bit of broth, milk, cream, sour cream, or extra cheese when reheating to add the moisture back in.