Looking for a deeply comforting chicken and rice dish, with a Louisiana flare?
If you love the cuisine that hails from the great state of Louisiana, then you will love this dish. Serve it with Perfect Steamed Rice for a dish that is just so deeply satisfying and gets even better when served the following day.
How To Make Creole Chicken and Rice
There are several components that make this dish so extremely flavorful. It starts with fresh ingredients, and then an amazing roux, nicely seasoned chicken, and perfectly prepared rice.
We’ll take you through all the steps, and get ready for your house to smell amazing!
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The Ingredients You Will Need
This dish is all about layers and layers of flavor. First, we need to season the chicken. Here’s what you’ll need:
For the Chicken
2 to 3 lbs of chicken – You could cut up a whole chicken, but we go with a mix of thighs and breasts, skinless and boneless
Salt and pepper – Kosher and freshly ground
Cayenne pepper – 2 tsp will give a mild spiciness, 3 tsp for more spice, 1 tsp for less
Chili powder – We love ancho or chipotle, but go with whatever is your favorite
Paprika – smoked adds an amazing depth of flavor
For the Stew
Vegetable oil and flour – To make the roux
Vegetables – Chopped onions, celery, and pepper (we prefer poblano, but you could go with green bell pepper as a substitute)
Garlic – Fresh and finely minced
Whole canned tomatoes – Squeezed and broken up by hand
Fresh tomatoes – Roma tomatoes are perfect
Chicken stock – Fresh or homemade
Fresh herbs – Thyme and bay leaves
Hot sauce – Crystals, Louisiana, and Tobasco are all great choices
For Serving
Rice – You gotta make perfectly steamed rice
Chopped Scallions – For added flavor and beautiful appearance
EXPERT TIP: Before adding in the vegetables, you’ll be making a roux. As is common in Louisiane cooking, you want a darker roux. Not as dark as in gumbo, but more of an amber. The color of peanut butter. Then stand back and add the vegetables.
Read more about the beauty of a roux here.
Tips for Making Perfect Chicken Creole
Lightly Fry the Chicken – Coating the chicken in seasoned flour will not only flavor the meat, but it will provide a slightly crisp exterior that adds a wonderful match to the luxurious sauce. You’ll add another 1/4 cup of flour to the oil in order to make the roux.
Fresh and Canned Tomatoes – As the stew simmers, the tomatoes will break down and not be chunky at all. The combination of fresh and canned tomatoes really works well in this recipe. We go with certified San Marzano canned tomatoes for maximum flavor. Be sure to discard basil, if it’s in the can.
Skim the Oil – As the stew simmers, the oil will naturally rise and pool on the surface. Grab a nice large spoon, and do your best to scoop the oil off the top.
Make the Rice – While the stew is simmering is when to make the rice. Making Perfect Steamed Rice is easy and blends beautifully with the chicken creole.
How To Serve
This dish does take some effort in prepping and then preparing. It’s really a great Sunday afternoon project in the kitchen.
And it makes enough that you can enjoy leftovers throughout the week.
It is also a perfect dish to serve at a tailgating party or at-home game day feast. We often place the stew in our slow-cooker and have rice handy so folks can serve themselves.
Be sure to have plenty of hot sauce and freshly chopped scallions available.
Other Classic Louisiana Dishes
We just love food from Louisiana. It is complex in many cases, but then also simple and straightforward, too. Whether you’re looking for Cajun, Creole, and New Orleans-influenced, you’ll find amazing recipes. Here are some of our all-time favorites:
Jambalaya
Shrimp and Okra Gumbo
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Crawfish Etoufeé
Muffuletta Sandwich
Fried Catfish Po-Boy
Red Beans and Rice
Classic Dirty Rice
New Orleans Beignets
In the meantime, you need to try this incredible stew!
This dish has been one of our all-time favorite chicken dishes.
The flavor profile is classic Louisiana and the chicken is slightly crunchy but so tender and flavorful.
And, remember, leftovers are even better! Of course, that’s only IF there are any leftovers to be had!
Ready to make the best chicken and rice dish this side of the Mississippi River? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Creole Chicken and Rice
Equipment
- 1 Large pot 5 QT is ideal
Ingredients
FOR THE SPICE RUB
- 2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper use 1 teaspoon for less heat
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
FOR THE STEW
- 3 lbs chicken thighs and breasts, skinless and boneless, cut into 1-inch cubes
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 1 poblano chile seeded and diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 Roma tomatoes chopped
- 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes crushed, or whole, crushed with your hands, juice included
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 tbsp thyme leaves dried
- 4 bay leaves fresh, or 2 dried
- 1 tsp hot sauce ie, Tobasco, Crystals, or our favorite: Louisiana
FOR THE STEAMED RICE
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1½ cups water
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- Pinch Kosher salt
- Scallions diced
Instructions
Prepare the Chicken
- In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the rub,
- Heat the oil in a large pot, or Dutch oven, over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke a little.
- Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl, and add the rub mixture. Use your hands to evenly coat. Add the flour to the chicken, and again, use your hands to mix everything together. You will have excess flour in the bowl (this is okay).
- Working in two to three batches, shake off excess flour and transfer the chicken to the hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes total. Use a slotted spoon to transfer chicken to a platter. Repeat with remaining chicken. Set aside.
- From the bowl that held the chick, scoop ¼ cup of extra flour and carefully add to the oil, and cook, stirring constantly, to create a medium-brown, peanut butter-colored roux, about 5 minutes.
- Add the onion, celery, poblano, and garlic, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken, tomatoes (fresh and canned with juice), stock, thyme, bay leaves, hot sauce, and 1½ tsp salt.
- Simmer over low heat for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened to a light gravy and the chicken is very tender.
- Serve over Perfectly Steamed Rice with chopped scallions as garnish (recipe below)
MAKE THE STEAMED RICE
- Combine the rice, water, bay leaves, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce the heat to very low, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat, and keep covered for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid, cool for a few minutes, and then fluff the rice with a fork.
Notes
Nutrition
POST UPDATE: This recipe was originally published in August 2015, but was updated with improved tweaks to the recipe with new tips and photography and a fabulous new video in August 2022!
Another great recipe. Have you two considered writing a cookbook? Every recipe I’ve tried from your site has been great. A cookbook sure would be nice to have.
Thank you so much, Ken! We LOVE that you made the Creole Chicken and Rice and loved it! We are currently in discussions and pre-planning for a cookbook. Long overdue…but it’s in the works. Thank you SO MUCH for your support. That means the world to us. Stay in touch and stay tuned…much more yummy stuff on the way!
I want to make this for my book club. Do you think I can make it the day before? Will the flavor be compromised? I am trying to keep it less hectic the day I am hosting since I will have taught all day.
Thank you for any guidance/suggestions!
Hi Cindy! So sorry for the delayed reply! You can absolutely make this the day before. Don’t combine with the rice until ready to serve! We think it’s even better the next day! Hope this helps! Please let us know how it turns out…and have FUN!!
Another win! Made this last night and we both loved it. The husband and I tend to play hard with our taste-buds though…so we added a teaspoon of habanero sauce and some liquid smoke. Gave it a very nice ‘edge’!
Hi Dart!! We are so so happy you and your hubby enjoyed the Creole chicken and rice. That’s one of our favs, too. The hot sauce and liquid smoke sound great. Heat things up a bit! Why not! Thanks as always for sharing and the great review. We appreciate that so very much!! Kris & Wesley
Another great dish! Looking forward to making this in the winter!
Thanks, Amy! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Have a great week! Kris & Wesley
Hiya!!! I loooooove your recipes! I am thinking about adding some andouille sausage to this…
That would be SPECTACULAR!!! Let us know if you do that and how it turns out! YUM!!!
This recipe caught my attention because my husband is Cajun! I made it last night, and it turned out excellent! He likened it to an étouffée. I confess, though, that where it says to add tomatoes in step 10, I added the chopped plum tomatoes but forgot all about the canned tomatoes (I know, I failed the mise en place test!). I remembered them after the stew had already been simmering for 30 minutes and poured them in at that point. It could be helpful to modify the recipe at step 10 to say “chopped tomatoes and canned tomatoes” to remind people like me!
I also had a question about the poblano chile. I don’t know a lot about different chiles. What is the benefit of using a poblano chile in this recipe as opposed to a jalapeno pepper or a regular green bell pepper? Thanks!
Hi Nikki! We are so so happy you made this dish. This was a very early recipe that we posted back in the day that we didn’t have folks who proofed our work, and, unfortunately, there are some oversights, or just not very well explained steps. We’ve tried to go back and update everything, but a few have slipped through the cracks. This is one of our favorite dishes to prepare, but we haven’t made it in some time. You (and your Cajun husband) have inspired us to re-visit this recipe with a brand new post and video. We will make the instructions much easier to follow. Keep your eyes peeled for it, we’ll publish a newly revised version in the coming weeks. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing with us and for the GREAT review.That always means so very much to us. You are the best!!! xoxo Kris & Wesley
Made this in a restaurant where I work. Everyone loves it.
That is so awesome to hear, Kenny! And thank you very very much for letting us know. That means the world to us!! Stay in touch!! Best, Kris & Wesley
For the canned tomatoes do you mean whole plum in juice, or?
Hi Lulu! Thanks for bringing that to our attention. We’ve updated the recipe: We like whole tomatoes that we squeeze/crush with our hands, or you can use canned crushed tomatoes, too. Juice included. Thanks again and let us know how it turns out!! All the best, Kris & Wesley