Southern grandmas are unmatched when it comes to making hearty meals to feed the whole family, and this chicken and rice stew from Bress ’n’ Nyam author Matthew Raiford’s nana is no exception. “As I wrote out this recipe, I remembered laughing with my nana while talking about leftovers and how much stock the bones of a whole roasted chicken made,” Raiford says. “Nana always had chicken stock in large mason jars in her deep freeze.” Raiford recommends serving this nourishing stew with freshly baked biscuits and honey butter to make it extra hearty.
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What you’ll need
Dutch Oven
$133 $80 At Amazon
Ladle
$8 At Amazon
Tongs
$21 At Amazon
Ingredients
6 servings
4
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
Preparation
Step 1
Heat butter and oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium. Add onion, carrots, celery, and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Step 2
Season chicken all over with salt and pepper; add to pot. Cook, turning over halfway through, just until exterior of chicken is opaque, about 2 minutes total. Add sage, thyme, 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1 quart water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until chicken is tender and cooked through, 30–35 minutes. Discard sage and thyme. Using tongs, transfer chicken to a plate; let cool slightly, then shred meat with 2 forks.
Step 3
Return chicken to pot and stir in rice, marjoram, rosemary (if using), 1 Tbsp. parsley (if using), and 1½ cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, partially cover pot, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed, 30–35 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let stew sit 5 minutes.
Step 4
Ladle stew into bowls; top with parsley if desired.
Do ahead: Stew can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool completely; cover and chill. Reheat over medium, adding water 1 cup at a time as needed to loosen.
Editor’s note: This recipe was updated to adjust the amount of rice required.
Leave a Review
Reviews (84)
Back to TopExcellent! Made 1 1/2 times recipe and it was very good!
Dave H
MN
1/21/2024
Perfect meal. Subbed water with bone broth + needed a little heat[crushed chili pepper] to give it a kick. A keeper in my book.
ManySummits
San Francisco, CA
12/31/2023
This recipe is seriously amazing. It’s proof of the alchemy that occurs when simple ingredients are brought to their full potential! It’s so delicious and comforting - I’ve made it 4 times now. The only modification I make is doubling the amount of chicken and using homemade bone broth instead of water.
Alexandra
Portland, OR
7/10/2023
This recipe is perfect!
Joan
Maine
3/19/2023
The recipe printed in the magazine calls for two cups of rice but the online recipe only calls for one. I only used one- I get the magazine but always read the reviews. It turned out like a stew, not a soup. Thick like a stew with just a enough of the delicious broth. If you like it more like soup, use less than one cup of uncooked rice.
KarinKrik
Atlanta, GA
3/6/2023
This was delicious! Only changes: I used chicken broth, and in addition to to shiitakes, added some dried mushrooms, and later, the water I used to plump the dried mushooms up in when the rice was added. Also added some Penzey's Spices Fox Point Seasoning. Served with some freshly baked sourdough bread and garlic butter.
Ellen Simmons
South Pasadena, CA
3/6/2023
Are you trying to alienate everyone who had an amazing crowd feeding/healing/hearty cook of a grandma who was not from the Southern United States? Who are you to judge grandmas the world over who feed with their love and culinary expertise? Put me off this recipe from the first sentence…. And those grandmas you are referring to inherited their talents from other nations far and wide. Rude.
Anonymous
Italy Scotland France Vietnam Korea Germany
3/5/2023
I cant print the recipe for chk soup. And I Get on appetite. what up
geo hudak
Pgh area
3/5/2023
Not sure where some of you got 2 cups…recipe says 1 cup rice……..
Anonymous
3/4/2023
I'll definitely make this again. Without reading the other comments, I reduced the rice to 1c, which is perfect. I used 2 whole bone-in leg/thighs. Next time I'll probably reduce the amount of salt.
Kathie
7/24/2022
Super delicious and very fragrant. It’s the perfect soup for a cold day. Love the user feedback. I made the rice separately and let everyone add in as desired. it’s already on repeat.
Anonymous
New York
2/13/2022
Delicious.
Michael Paster
Red Bank, NJ
2/1/2022
Just came off the stove here and it's fabulous. Read through the reviews about the amount of rice that should be use and decided on half a cup. Really because that is exactly what I had on hand. Turned out so nice. Smells so good while it's cooking. This is a keeper.
M.C.
Jersey Shore
1/28/2022
This was easy to make, delicious, made the house smell great and was a nice meal on a cold evening. I read the comments about too much rice but decided to use the full 2 cups, and my family was fine with it being less brothy. However, my son recommended that I make it next time without the rice, because both my kids had tasted - and loved - the broth. In any case, everyone finished their whole bowl, and we have plenty of leftovers for a meal to come.
Lnr Olsen
Los Angeles, CA
1/25/2022
This was delicious. I followed the advice of the reviewers and reduced the quantity of rice (2/3 cup, based on 1:3 ratio uncooked to cooked rice, don't know if that was the "right" amount, but it worked). I noticed many folks used chicken stock; I used water as per the recipe. The relatively long simmer, along with the herbs, did yield a flavorful broth. Stock would no doubt elevate it, if you want to go that route. The Basmati rice held up well when we reheated the leftovers. This is definitely a keeper.
Sooz
Pinch, WV
1/23/2022