There's no prep work necessary for this easy weeknight dinner! My Dump-and-Bake Country Captain Chicken with Rice is an updated shortcut on a Southern classic, and it's ready for the oven in just 10 minutes!
I originally included this recipe for Country Captain Chicken with Rice as an exclusive bonus for my email subscribers in my post, 30 Days of Dump-and-Bake Dinners. It's so darn good, though, I figured it deserves a spotlight of its own!
If you're not from the South, or if you're not familiar with Country Captain Chicken, then let me fill you in! It's a curried chicken and rice dish that was introduced to America through Charleston, Savannah, New York and Philadelphia, but has origins in India (source).
The recipe has obviously changed quite a bit over the years, and any home cook probably has her own version that she swears is the best!
Let me tell ya, though -- you won't need any other recipe once you've tried my dump-and-bake twist on Country Captain Chicken! It's so full of flavor, but it's also incredibly easy and gets you in and out of the kitchen in a matter of minutes!
Original Country Captain Chicken is a mild stew made with browned chicken pieces, onions, and curry powder. A lot of chefs will add almonds, golden raisins, currants, tomatoes, garlic, and/or bell peppers. It's almost always served over white rice, which is why I baked the rice right into my dish here!
The Ingredients You Need To Make Country Captain Chicken And Rice
- Chicken breasts
- White rice
- Tomato pasta
- Curry powder
- Garlic
- Onion
- Bell peppers
- Diced tomatoes
- Mango Chutney
- Chicken broth
- Shredded coconut
In addition to the chicken, curry, and rice, my shortcut Country Captain Chicken includes garlic, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and mango chutney (as a sweet-and-zesty nod to its Indian heritage)!
Of course, you can toss in some golden raisins or sliced almonds of your own, or garnish it with sliced green onions like I do. It's an easy dinner recipe that's hard to mess up, and it's a simple option that I know you'll turn to time and again for a family-friendly weeknight meal. Enjoy, friends!
Dump-and-Bake Country Captain Chicken with Ric
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Dump-and-Bake Country Captain Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1-2 tablespoons curry powder
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 ¼ cups low sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup mango chutney
- 1 ½ cups uncooked instant white rice
- 1 cup diced onion I use frozen diced onion so that there’s no prep work
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, NOT drained
- 1 lb. thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins, diced into bite-sized pieces
- Optional garnish: toasted shredded coconut sliced toasted almonds, sliced green onion, fresh herbs, golden raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F (220C). Spray a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
- In the prepared dish (or in a separate bowl) whisk together tomato paste, curry powder, garlic, chicken broth, and mango chutney. Add uncooked rice, onion, bell pepper, diced tomatoes (with juice), and raw chicken.
- Cover dish tightly with foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and give it all a stir.
- Return the dish to the oven, uncovered, and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender.
- Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with optional toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
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Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
I've never head of this dish before, but I love the sound (and looks) of it! I love the curry flavor and veggies in here. And only 10 minutes of prep? Sign me up! Sounds like such a delicious weeknight meal that would be devoured in no time! And even better that my husband would adore this, too! 🙂
Blair
Thanks so much, Gayle! It's a great combination of flavors!
Alice
Sounds delicious! My family LOVES all of your recipes and they have saved me from being chained to the kitchen! Question: How can I substitute the instant rice with regular rice? Increase the liquid and bake time? I would love to prep it the night before and then bake it for dinner the next night but would the rice be all mushy?
Blair
Hi, Alice! Thanks so much for your kind note -- I'm so glad that your family enjoys the meals! 🙂
I haven't tried this dish with regular white rice, but if you want to give it a shot, here's what I would do:
- Increase the chicken broth to 3 cups total
- Bake (covered) at 375 degrees F for about 60 minutes (or maybe as long as 75 minutes), until rice is tender.
- Everything else can stay the same!
If you want to prep ahead, I wouldn't combine the rice with the other ingredients overnight (because you're right -- I think the rice would get mushy). Instead, I would combine the first 5 ingredients (the tomato paste through the chutney) in a small bowl and keep that covered in the fridge. Then dice the onion, the bell pepper, and the chicken and keep those 3 ingredients in a big Ziploc bag in the refrigerator. That way, when you come home from work and want to bake it the next night, you just need to stir together the liquid mixture with the rice, veggies, chicken, and tomatoes. Dump it in the pan and bake! There really won't be any prep work at that point.
Let me know if you give it a try with the regular rice, and how that works out! 🙂
Alice
Thanks for the tips! I will try it out this week and let you know how it turns out! Mmm, can't wait to have my curry!
Blair
Wonderful! Enjoy, Alice!
Angelina
This sounds divine, I'm sure we'd love it., but I can't find mango chutney around here. Can I substitute anything else. Thanks Blair 🙂
Blair
Hi, Angelina! I can't remember -- are you in this country or are you abroad? Just about every grocery store in the US offers at least 1 type of mango chutney -- I was surprised to even find it in our teeny-tiny little country grocery store here in Madison! 🙂 It's either found on the jams/jellies aisle or with the international foods.
If you're in another country, you could try using apricot preserves as a substitute (or another type of chutney if you can find one). It obviously won't taste exactly the same, but the texture and sweetness will be similar! Enjoy! 🙂
Karly
ALL OF THIS. YES. OMG. LOVE how simple and delicious this is- perfect for busy weeknights!
Blair
Hah! Thanks, Karly! So darn easy!!!! 🙂
Nanetta Grow
I've never heard about this recipe but it looks so colorful and tasty that I'm going to try it very soon!! I will have to look for the mango chutney@
Blair
Thanks, Nanetta! The mango chutney is probably located in either the jams/jellies aisle or in the international foods aisle (often near the Indian food). Even my tiny little rural grocery store carries it! 🙂
Kristy from Southern In Law
I’ve never heard of Country Captain Chicken but this sounds delicious! And so easy!!
Blair
Thanks, Kristy!
Carmen
After a series of unfortunate events that wound up in FIVE separate trips to the grocery store for all the ingredients, I was desperately hoping it was going to be worth my time... and OH was it ever!!!! This is delicious!!! My first recipe of yours that I've tried but definitely won't be the last!
Blair
Oh, good! I'm sorry about all of the trips to the grocery store, but I'm so glad that you enjoyed the meal! Thank you for letting me know! 🙂
Lynn Robinson
Can you use apricot preserves in place of the mango chutney?
Blair
Hi, Lynn! Yes -- that would be a great substitute! 🙂
Jim in Tampa Bay
Thank you for posting the directions for regular rice. I don't like to use Minute Rice so that was a big help for me.
Also I was planning to use 4 whole thighs and figured I would cook them for some 20 minutes before adding them to the recipe.
But with the increased cooking time for the regular rice I can just put them in at the beginning.
I have lived in the south for 70= years and never heard of this recipe.
It sounds wonderful and I an eager to try it.
Thanks for posting it!
Blair
Thanks for your kind note, Jim! I'm so glad that you'll give it a try. I can't wait to hear what you think! It's definitely a unique combination of flavors, but it's one that I really enjoy. 🙂
Kristofer Voeller
I agree with you
Kathy Parrish
The only problem, after loading the Instapot. I plugged it in and it wouldn't come on. I ended up putting it back in a skillet and do it the old way. I hadn't owned it a year and hadn't been used in 5 months.