With school back in session and fall projects underway, now is an excellent time to rely on your kitchen helpers to make mealtime quick, delicious, and nutritious. To that end, this recipe relies on an Instant Pot, some leftover chicken (I used some rotisserie chicken breast), and some fresh veggies for a quick Greek salad. In about a half hour, dinner was on the table and everyone was happy. Not a bad set of check marks for this time of the year!
You can work some fresh herbs into the rice instead of dried, but this is actually one place where the distinction doesn't matter and the dried saves time. If you do opt for fresh herbs, be sure to chop them finely and use about double the amount called for if you are using dried. The long grain rice takes on the seasoning, oil, and lemon juice without losing its amazing texture and stirring in chunks of tender cooked chicken breast allows the mixture to find a perfect serving temperature while you finish making the salad. Then put everything on a plate and dig in!
I usually just pour some iced tea and maybe add a dollop of Greek yogurt to my plate before serving. There might be other items you could make to serve with this dish (hummus and pita or fresh fruit), but I like to keep it simple and serve a meal that's taken about a half hour to get on the table instead of taking more time on a busy night. Enjoy!
Greek Chicken and Rice
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Pinch of pepper
- ½ cups long-grain brown rice
- ½ cups chicken stock
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium cucumber, halved and sliced
- ½ red onion, sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil
- 1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2–3 tablespoons olive oil
- A generous pinch of salt and pepper
- ⅓ cup Kalamata olives, halved
- 1 lb. cooked diced chicken breast - rotisserie chicken is perfect
Add the first 10 ingredients (garlic through chicken stock) to the Instant Pot; stir well. Add the lid on top, lock, and make sure the top valve is positioned to Sealing. Press Manual/Pressure Cook and set to 15 minutes at HIGH pressure.
While the rice is cooking, cut up the ingredients for the salad (tomatoes through basil) and add them to a large bowl. Dress with the red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and combine. Top with sliced Kalamata olives. Set aside.
Once the timer is up on the Instant Pot, allow 5 minutes for natural pressure release before pointing the top valve to Venting (press it down on newer models) to let off the remaining pressure. Open the lid, the rice should have absorbed all the liquid. Add the chicken to the rice and stir it to combine; let it rest for 5 minutes to warm the chicken.
Serve the chicken and rice on plates with a side of the Greek salad. Enjoy!
- Yields: 4-6 servings
- Preparation Time: 30 minutes