Garlic butter chicken bites
Golden, bite-size chicken tossed in garlic butter and lemon and piled over fluffy rice, the easy dinner that tastes like more work.
- 35 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.02 a serving
- 570 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 1½ lb chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 tbsp butter
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2¼ cups water
- 1¼ tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Each serving has about 570 calories, 44 g protein, 58 g carbs and 17 g fat, and costs about $2.02 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice in a strainer under cold water until it runs mostly clear, then put it in a medium with the water and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring the rice over high heat, uncovered.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
once, cover, turn the heat to low and cook 18 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and leave the lid on.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heatTimer: 18 min
Dolly’s tip: No peeking. The steam trapped under the lid is what finishes the rice.Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces, then wash your hands, knife and board with hot soapy water.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
the chicken in a bowl with ¾ teaspoon of salt, the pepper and the paprika.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Heat the oil in a large over medium-high until it . Add the chicken in one layer and cook 3 minutes without , until underneath.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 3 min
Dolly’s tip: Crowded chicken steams instead of browning. If it won’t fit in one layer, cook it in two batches.and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, until the biggest piece is white all the way through and reads 165°F.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium-high heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Cut the biggest piece in half to check. If that one’s done, they all are.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Turn the heat to low, add the butter, garlic and pepper flakes, and for 1 minute, until the butter and the garlic smells toasty.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Low heatTimer: 1 min
Dolly’s tip: Low heat keeps garlic sweet. If it turns dark brown it goes bitter.Squeeze in the lemon juice and until every piece is coated.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heat
Fluff the rice with a fork, spoon the chicken and all the garlic butter over it, and scatter the parsley on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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