Crock Pot Chicken and Rice
This Crock Pot Chicken and Rice recipe is Peruvian-inspired and super flavorful. A healthy crock pot recipe full of vegetables, delicious cilantro, fiber-rich brown rice and yummy chicken thighs.
Servings 4 people
Calories 377kcal
Ingredients
- 1 small onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2-3 tsp oil
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup short-grain brown rice
- 4 skinless boneless chicken thighs
- sea salt
- pepper
- 1 Tbsp ají amarillo (optional but recommended. A Peruvian yellow chili, often sold pureed in jars)
Instructions
- Prepare veggies: Peel and dice onion and peel and crush garlic. Wash, deseed and dice bell pepper. Peel and dice carrots. Wash and dice celery.
- Prepare cilantro water: wash cilantro, shake excess water out a little and add to a blender, stems and all. Add water and blend until smooth and more more herb leaves float around.
- Prepare sofrita: Preheat a small pan over medium heat, add a dollop of oil and fry diced onion and crushed garlic until nice and brown. If you have, add Peruvian ají amarillo once onions are translucent.
- Crock Pot Prep: Add sofrita, brown rice, sea salt, pepper and cilantro water to crockpot and give it a quick stir. Add diced vegetables on top without mixing into the rice. Just smooth out into one layer. Then top everything with salted and peppered chicken thighs.
- Cook: Add the lid to the crock pot and seal it. Set the crock pot to high and adjust the timer to 3 hours. Ensure with a meat thermometer that the chicken's internal temperature is at least at 165F.
- Serve: Use two forks to shred the chicken and mix everything well together. Season with more sea salt and pepper if necessary and plate.
Nutrition
Calories: 377kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 152mg | Potassium: 698mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 6720IU | Vitamin C: 53mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2.1mg