Creole Baked Chicken with Rice and Okra

My new Creole baked chicken with rice and okra puts all of your favorite south Louisiana special recipe ingredients into one piping hot skillet meal, y'all. The browned Cajun trinity and garlic inject lots of flavor into the seasoned rice that's textured-enhanced with Rotel tomatoes and okra. A versatile dish that you can modify to use whatsoever you have on hand, this new staple gluten free recipe is a winner, winner Creole chicken dinner. Yep and yay...

Oh Creole Baked Chicken with Rice and Okra, I Was Made to Love You. Yep.

In my continuous attempt to inject south Louisiana flavor into any recipe ingredient that I can get my hands on, it's rice that often puts me beside myself, y'all. Long-term gluten intolerance has also made me all-grain sensitive. So, I have to ration out my rice portions strategically throughout the month. Or else I will pay the sad, lingering rice tummy upset price for days and days at a time.

In the colder months, I almost always throw gumbo into the rice-menu rotation mix. And for the rest of the year, I make my Cajun chicken stew to get my 30-day rice rotation fix on. 

But here lately, I've been feeling like I've wanted something down-home Creole with rice. I already had Rotel tomatoes in my pantry and a bag of frozen okra in the freezer. And of course, I had lots of chicken on hand. So, yesterday evening I walked around the kitchen, mentally marrying all of my Cajun/Creole ingredients together in my head.

What I ultimately ended up creating was this new Creole baked chicken with rice and okra. Beautiful to look at and oh sooo filling to the tummy, this new naturally gluten free recipe has found its new, yum-delicious home in my heart and my kitchen. Yep. 

How to Make Creole Baked Chicken and Rice with Okra a New South Louisiana Staple Dinner in Your Home

To begin the Creole baked chicken with rice with okra, season the chicken breast halves and set them aside. You can also use whole chicken breasts, just see the notes in the recipe card.

Then, brown the Cajun trinity of onion, bell pepper, and celery in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, for about 1 additional minute. Oh, and preheat the oven. 

Next, add the gluten free chicken broth, rice, seasonings, okra and Rotel tomatoes. I used frozen okra, but you can also use fresh okra. 

Give the ingredients a good stirring, then cover and bake for 40 minutes. Finally, add the chicken breast halves during the last 20 minutes of cooking. They should read 165 F at the 60-minute mark. If they don't, then just cook the Creole baked chicken with rice and okra for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, if necessary.

A jam-packed flavor marriage made in south Louisiana food heaven, this dish first impresses with its rich, beautiful colors. Then, you notice how over-the-top flavorful the veggie and rice blend is, with pops of tender okra and zesty tomatoes lingering so deliciously on your tongue after each bite. Once you get to the tender, paprika-dusted chicken, your eyes are straight rolling into the back of your head, y'all. And you're wondering just how many times you'll make this before you ever, ever get tired of it. (Like never. Yep.)

Perfectly adaptable to whatever chicken pieces you have on hand, this Creole baked chicken with rice and okra puts a special mealtime pop into your usual menu offerings. Share with those you want to introduce to a jazzy new spin on a beloved dinnertime staple. And see y'all on the yum side...

Creole Baked Chicken with Rice and Okra

The browned Cajun trinity and garlic make the perfect flavor base for this Creole Baked Chicken with Rice and Okra that's further enhanced with diced tomatoes and green chiles. 

5 from 5 votes

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Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Cajun/Creole

Keyword: baked chicken and rice, baked chicken with rice, Creole chicken, Creole chicken and rice, Creole chicken with rice, one pot meals

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 402kcal

Author: Lyn Corinne Liner | A Sprinkling of Cayenne

Ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken breast halves

For the Creole chicken seasoning

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

For the Creole Baked Rice

• 2 tablespoons butter or oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 small green or red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, trimmed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 cups gluten free chicken broth
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 cup rice, uncooked
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
• 1 ½ cups chopped frozen okra
• 1 10-ounce can Rotel tomatoes with green chilis, drained

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Season the chicken breast halves with lemon juice, garlic powder, a very generous sprinkling of paprika, and salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste. Set aside. 
• Brown the Cajun trinity of onion, bell pepper and celery in the butter or oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. 
• When the trinity is browned, add the minced garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.
• Remove the skillet from heat. 
• Stir in the remaining ingredients, except for the seasoned chicken. 
• Cover and bake for 40 minutes, then place the seasoned chicken breast halves on top of the rice mixture. 
• Bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until a digital meat thermometer inserted into each chicken breast half reads at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Notes

Store the leftovers covered in the fridge for up to three days. 

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The information shown is an estimate provided by a third-party, online computer-generated nutrition calculator, not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods and individual portion sizes, along with other factors.

See our full nutrition disclaimer here.

Nutrition

Calories: 402kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 664mg | Potassium: 810mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 929IU | Vitamin C: 40mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 2mg