Peri Peri Chicken and Rice Bake

Peri peri chicken and rice bake: 55g protein and 456 calories a serving, and one dish to wash. The chicken roasts in garlicky, lemony peri peri paste on rice cooking in bone broth, so every grain catches the drippings. Ten minutes of prep, an hour in the oven, then a blended cottage cheese sauce on top. Perfect for meal prep.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

• Chicken breasts: most of the protein in each serving comes from here. They go in whole so they stay juicy through the long bake; diced chicken overcooks before the rice is done.
• Long-grain white rice: rinse it first to wash off surface starch, or the rice turns gluey. Basmati and jasmine both work. Brown rice and instant rice don’t.
• Chicken bone broth: cooks the rice and adds protein that regular broth doesn’t. Regular broth works, but the protein per serving drops.
• Cottage cheese: the base of the sauce, and where the sneaky protein lives. Blended for a full minute, nobody clocks it. Plain Greek yogurt swaps in with similar protein and a tangier finish, and it only needs stirring.
• Peri peri paste: smoked paprika, garlic, lemon, red wine vinegar, oregano and cayenne. The cayenne sets the heat: ½ teaspoon is mild, 1½ teaspoons is properly hot. A jarred peri peri sauce works in a pinch (about 4 tablespoons); skip the added salt, as most are already salty.
• Bell pepper, onion and peas: the vegetables. The peas go in at the end so they stay bright. Shelled edamame is a higher-protein swap.

How to Make Peri Peri Chicken and Rice Bake

1. Make the paste. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Whisk the paste ingredients together, then spoon 2 tablespoons into a small bowl for the sauce before the rest goes anywhere near raw chicken.
2. Build the rice layer. Add the rinsed rice, onion, pepper, spices and broth to a 9×13 dish. Stir and press it level: any grains sitting above the broth line stay hard.
3. Coat the chicken. Rub the remaining paste all over the chicken breasts, lay them on the rice, and scrape any leftover paste over the top.
4. Seal and bake. Cover with foil and crimp it tight around every edge of the dish. Bake 55 minutes. The rice should be tender with no liquid pooling; if it’s still firm in the centre, re-cover and give it 5 to 10 minutes more.
5. Add the peas and broil. Check the chicken reads 165°F (74°C). Scatter the peas around it and broil (grill) for 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges of the chicken char.
6. Blend the sauce. Let the dish rest 5 minutes. Meanwhile, blend the cottage cheese, reserved paste and a squeeze of lemon for a full 60 seconds, until no curds remain. Add water a teaspoon at a time until it runs off a spoon, then drizzle over the top.

Tips for Getting It Right

Crunchy rice in a chicken and rice bake almost always means steam escaped, either through a loose foil edge or because some rice sat above the broth.

• Crimp the foil on all four sides. If your foil is thin, use a double layer.
• Press the rice under the broth before the chicken goes on. Check the corners.
• Measure the broth. 2¼ cups to 1 cup of rice.
• Watch small breasts. If yours are under 6 oz each, check them at 45 minutes. Lift them out if done, then return them to broil.
• Thin the sauce properly. Unthinned, it’s too thick to drizzle. A squeeze bottle, or a zip bag with the corner snipped, gives clean lines.

Variations

• Chicken thighs: richer and much harder to overcook. Calories and fat go up a little.
• Edamame instead of peas: about twice the protein of peas, and the same timing.
• Mild for kids: skip the cayenne in the paste (use sweet or smoked paprika instead, as long as it’s mild), then stir some into the sauce for the adults.

What to Serve With It

• Vegetable: a crisp cucumber and tomato salad with lemon.
• Sweet: Cottage Cheese Chocolate Mousse to finish.

How to Store and Reheat

• Fridge: airtight containers, up to 4 days. Keep the sauce in a separate small pot.
• Freezer: the chicken and rice freeze for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the fridge. Make the sauce fresh, as blended cottage cheese goes grainy once thawed.
• Reheat: covered in the microwave with a splash of water, until piping hot all the way through. Spoon the sauce on cold rather than reheating it, or it can split.

FAQ

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