Healthy Jollof Rice Recipe with Chicken - West African One Pot Chicken & Rice (2024)

Try this Jollof Rice recipe with chicken - you will love this easy, flavorful West African one-pot chicken and rice dish! Perfect for regular nights, big parties, and special occasions!

Coming at you with a legendary one-pot chicken and rice dish that is easy enough for any weeknight but also makes for extremely good party food for feeding a big crowd.

West African Jollof Rice! An AMAZING one-pot dish that everyone at the dinner table is going to shove down their throat in no time at all.

What is Jollof Rice?

Jollof rice is a one-pot rice dish popular in many West African countries. It traditionally consists of rice, cooking oil, vegetables such as tomato, onion, red pepper, garlic, ginger, and scotch bonnet. To enhance the color of the dish, some tomato paste is added to the base and as seasoning, we use typical West African spices like onion powder, dried thyme, cayenne, curry powder and bay leaves.

While you can enjoy this rice without any meat added, I like to add some protein to this dish - chicken, turkey, beef or fish are all great choices.

Jollof rice is characterized by a sweet and smoky flavor, which is achieved by evaporating the water in the rice dish to the point where the rice has absorbed it all. Sometimes it is even a bit scorched at the bottom of the pan, which in turn, imparts the smoky flavor.

I don't go too heavy on the scorching for this Jollof rice recipe as that would also mean having to add way more fat to the bottom of the pan. However, I did make sure to get the ratio water-veggies-rice just right so that you end up with the perfect fluffy rice.

What Rice is best for Jollof?

It depends! Ghanaians love their basmati rice, Nigerians would probably go with long grain rice. You could use either one as long as you follow the recipe and don't lift the lid or add any more liquids. That includes adding more veggies! If you want to play it safe for jollof rice follow this one to the letter. Nobody wants to end up with a soggy, clumped-up mess.

Soggy jollof rice has happened to me on more than one occasion, so please learn from my mistakes. The best thing you can do, to get light and fluffy jollof rice grains is picking the right kind of rice - which is long grain rice. You can use American long-grain rice, jasmine, or basmati rice - this is up to your individual preferences.

How to make this Jollof Rice recipe:

Step 1 - In a small bowl toss the sliced bell pepper with 2 tbsps of vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt. Set the bowl aside while you make the rest of the recipe. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Now, you want to combine onion powder, thyme, cayenne, curry powder, and 1 bay leaf in a spice grinder and pulse all the spices together until finely ground! (Yes, you read that correctly, grind one of the bay leaves). If you don’t have a spice grinder, you can use a mortar and pestle or a small blender. And worst-case scenario, try to chop the bay leave as fine as possible.

Step 2 - Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or a large skillet with a heavy bottom and an oven-proof lid. Generously season the chicken with salt, then add to the hot oil. Cook, turning the pieces occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes - We’re not looking to cook it all the way through here, more like 75%. Don’t crowd the pan; work in batches if you have to. Remove the chicken and place in a bowl next to the stove.

Step 3 - Add the onion and diced pepper to the same skillet and sprinkle with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until they start to soften, about 5 minutes.

Step 4 - 6 Stir in the ginger, minced garlic and spice mixture, and 2 teaspoons salt, then stir in the rice. Cook, stirring, until the rice is toasted, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute, then add the chicken stock and the remaining bay leaf as well as the chicken and bring to a boil.

Step 7 - Cover, transfer to the oven, and bake until the rice is tender and has absorbed all of the liquid, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes.

Step 8 & 9 - Once completely cooked, cover the rice and season with some more salt to taste. Drain the pepper slices from the vinegar marinade (save leftover as a dressing) and scatter over the hot rice along with scallions and/or parsley and serve.

Jollof Rice Recipe Tips:

• You can also make this dish exclusively on the stovetop. Rather than transfer it to the oven, cover and set the element to a low simmer for 20 or until the rice is cooked. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
• You can save the leftover vinegar from soaking the bell peppers for making dressing.
• This recipe tastes great with beef as well.
• For some more color, add some frozen peas.

If you tried this Jollof Rice Recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe below and let me know how it went in the comments – I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram,PinterestandFacebookfor more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!

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• 20 Minute Turkey Chili
• Asian Turkey Fried Rice
• Healthy Chicken Katsu
• Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps