Recipe Facts

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs chicken tenders thighs or breast
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 5 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
  • 10-12 oz clamshell cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups rice jamine, basmati, cauliflower, etc.
  • 4 cups chicken stock water can work instead
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles
  • 2 lemons sliced in half, for serving
  • Garlic Parmesan Butter Sauce
  • 1 stick butter
  • 8-10 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 cup parmesan grated
  • 1 tbsp hot sauce more if desired
  • 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
  • 1/3 cup fresh parsley minced
  • 3 green onions, sliced green and white parts
  • Chicken Seasonings
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Download Importable Recipe

Lemon Garlic Parmesan Chicken And Rice

Directions

Prep chicken by drizzling with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Combine your chicken seasoning mixture and coat chicken on all sides. Leave the chicken whole for grilling/air frying or cut them into 3” pieces if packing onto skewers.

Make the Garlic Parmesan Butter Sauce

Add butter and garlic in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until partially melted. Add in remaining ingredients and mix until smooth like a soft paste. (If sauce gets too melted and separates, just add 1-2 tablespoons of softened butter and stir to re-emulsify.)

Scoop out 1/3 of the sauce and use that for basting the partially-cooked chicken to avoid cross contamination. Be sure to wash your basting brush in between.

Cook The Chicken & Make Rice

Place chicken in an air fryer and cook at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Flip the chicken, baste with sauce, return to finish cooking (12-14 minutes total) basting every 4-5 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Meanwhile, bring chicken stock (or water) to a boil in a pot, add rice, cover and simmer until cooked through according to package instructions.

Sauté Veggies

While the rice and chicken are cooking, add 3 tablespoons of butter to a skillet over medium-low heat. Add in 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and sliced tomatoes. Add in the spinach, handfuls at a time. Saute until tomatoes soften and spinach has wilted. Season with salt and pepper.

Assemble and serve:

Add remaining garlic parmesan butter into the cooked rice (about 4-5 tablespoons), tossing to coat.

To plate, start with a bed of rice, top with a few spoonfuls of feta crumbles, then tomatoes and spinach and finally add the chicken on top. Squeeze lemon over the whole dish and enjoy.

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