This Dump-and-Bake Aloha Chicken and Rice is an entire dinner that cooks in one dish! With just 10 minutes of prep you can stir together uncooked rice, raw chicken, and a sweet-and-savory sauce that’s finished with crispy bacon. It’s an easy weeknight meal that the entire family will love!
This “Aloha” Chicken and Rice brings together so many of my favorites in one meal — it’s no wonder that the supper has become a regular on our family table!
You seriously can’t go wrong with a meal that involves almost ZERO prep work. You don’t have to boil the rice, you don’t have to pre-cook the chicken, and you don’t have to monitor or stir a skillet. Plus, there’s only one dish to wash at the end!
Just whisk together a sweet-and-sour sauce, chop up a bell pepper, and dinner is practically done. The raw ingredients all cook together in the oven for the ultimate EASY weeknight dinner!
I’m a big fan of anything that involves a combination of salty and sweet flavors, plus a variety of textures. The different ingredients keep my tastebuds interested and leave my body happy and satisfied!
I called this dinner “Aloha” chicken because of the combination of pineapple, soy sauce, and crispy bacon. It’s practically sunshine on a plate!
While I might not be jet-setting to Maui any time soon, I can at least savor the tropical flavors and dream of clear blue ocean water as I enjoy another homemade dinner with my family. Hey, with a meal that’s so simple and stress-free, you just might feel like you’re on vacation, too!
Dump-and-Bake Aloha Chicken and Rice
This Dump-and-Bake Aloha Chicken and Rice is an entire dinner that cooks in one dish! With just 10 minutes of prep you can stir together uncooked rice, raw chicken, and a sweet-and-savory sauce that's finished with crispy bacon. It's an easy weeknight meal that the entire family will love!
Ingredients
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup lite soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups uncooked instant white rice
- 1 cup diced onion I use frozen diced onion so that there’s no prep work
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 20 ounce can pineapple tidbits in juice, NOT drained
- 1 lb. thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins, diced into bite-sized pieces
- Optional garnish: sliced green onions diced cooked bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. My square dish was pretty deep, so you might need to use a larger 11 x 7-inch dish (or something similar) to accommodate the ingredients.
- In the prepared dish (or in a separate bowl) whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and chicken broth. Add uncooked rice, onion, bell pepper, pineapple (with its juice), and raw chicken.
- Cover dish tightly with foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and give it all a stir.
- Sprinkle with cooked, chopped bacon (if desired).
- Return the dish to the oven, uncovered, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender.
- Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped green onions.
I just love the name of the dish! Makes it sound so bright and cherry haha. And I love the flavors too…definitely what I need for more easy meals!
Thanks, Gayle! Happy food for sunny days! 🙂
Omg mrs Blair I just made ur recipe and it is the best!! Thank u so much for sharing. Can’t wait to try some other recipes you have!!🤗🤗
Wonderful! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, Jason! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!
Could you do this with regular rice?
Hi, Janis! Yes — you can definitely prepare this with regular rice. There will be two major differences, though — the dish will require a longer cooking time, and you’ll need more liquid. I haven’t tested this exact recipe with regular rice, but based on similar recipes I’ve made on my site, I would suggest starting with 1 cup of rice, 3 cups of chicken broth, and 3/4 c. of soy sauce. The rest of the ingredients can stay the same. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the rice is tender. During the final 10 minutes of cooking, remove dish from oven, uncover, and sprinkle with bacon. Place back in the oven (uncovered) for the final 10 minutes, or until bacon is crispy and rice is tender.
Let me know if you give it a try! 🙂
Most baked rice recipes call for a 2:1 liquid to rice ratio or even less, same as stove top. That’s what I will use anyway. Also adding some freshly grated ginger, just cause I love it. Love the bacon topping idea.
Hi, Cheryl! Yes, rice is typically a 2:1 ratio, but the instant rice is different. This is the ratio that I’ve tested and found works best, but please let me know if you try it a different way. I’m always open to new ideas! 🙂
I’ve just made this, doubling the recipe exactly as listed. When I took from the oven after baking covered for 40 min there is still quite a bit of liquid. Its now back in uncovered. Should there be excess liquid?
There should be some extra liquid/sauce at the end of cooking because otherwise the rice will get really dry and sticky. Some liquid will cook off while it’s in the oven uncovered, and then give it a good stir at the end and let it sit for a few minutes and it should be perfect. 🙂
I just made this for dinner, I get weirded out by instant rice so I used regular brown rice… I knew I would have to bake it for longer and I followed your suggestions in the above post for adjusted liquid measurements, but wow! I baked it covered for an hour and 40 minutes, then uncovered for another 20 and the rice was still was a little crunchy. The pineapple and pepper were overcooked by that point so the whole thing was mushy and overly sweet. This is totally not a bad review of the recipe because obviously you said to use instant rice! More of a caveat for anyone that wants to use regular rice. I liked the flavor and the prep was a cinch, I will definitely give this another shot but either get over my hangup on instant rice or par boil the rice before adding it to the dish, then use less liquid. Thank you for the recipe!
Sorry about your crunchy rice. I did mine stove top using 1/2 cup white basmati rice and about 1 1/4 cup total liquids. Brought to boil, then simmered on low heat for about 35 minutes covered until all liquid was absorbed. Made a half recipe for two and we really liked it.
Hi, Michelle! Yes, I have used uncooked regular brown rice in similar casseroles (such as this chicken and rice casserole): https://www.theseasonedmom.com/dump-bake-chicken-rice-casserole/ It requires about 90 minutes of cooking, so the instant rice is a much faster option. 🙂 The idea to cook the rice first is also good — it’s just an extra step that I’m too lazy to want to take. 🙂
What is the oven set on to cook it?
Hi, Starla! It’s set to 425 degrees (step 1). 🙂 Enjoy!
Still had to do N extra 20 minutes uncovered because the chicken was not cooked all the way through maybe next time I’ll cook it 35 minutes before I uncover
What about with cooked rice—adding rice that is already cooked? Thanks!
You can definitely do that, but you’ll need to cut back on some of the liquid because the cooked rice won’t absorb any of it in the oven. 🙂
How does this freeze?
Hi, Jan! I think it would probably freeze well before baking, but I have never tested it. 🙂
This looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it. I was wondering if you have any what the cook time would be if I doubled the recipe, and used a 9×13 instead of a 9×9. I am not great with rice, and don’t want to undercook it.. Thanks in advance!!! 💗💗💗
Any “idea”, that should read.. I hit enter, then realized I left out a word.. hehe
Hi, Shari! Yes — you can definitely double the recipe and use a 9×13 dish. The cook time should be about the same, with maybe a few minutes added to the time. I have found that different ovens and different types of pans often give folks slightly different cook times for these recipes, so the best way to know when your rice is ready is to just give it a taste as it’s cooking. 🙂 I would guess that a larger pan would be finished cooking in about 30-35 minutes. Hope that helps, and enjoy! 🙂
That’s what I was thinking I’d do, but thought I’d ask just in case. Better safe than sorry. Thanks so much for your time. I greatly appreciate it.
This would have so much flavour! I love anything with pineapple so I think we’ll have to try this soon!
Thanks, Kristy! It’s a salty-and-sweet dream! 🙂
Do you have any suggestions for making this with riced cauliflower?
Hi, April! First, I’ll say that I haven’t actually tried this recipe with cauliflower rice, so I make NO guarantees about the final result. 🙂 BUT, I’m happy to offer a few suggestions that will probably work:
– You will want to use at least 3 cups of cauliflower rice (instead of the 1.5 cups of uncooked instant rice)
– You will not need nearly as much liquid since cauliflower rice will not absorb liquid in the same way that regular rice does as it cooks. I would try about 1/4 cup of soy sauce and dilute it with maybe 1-2 tablespoons of chicken broth (at most). You can use the pineapple juice from the can and that should be more than enough liquid — especially since the fruit and vegetables will release additional liquid as it cooks.
The only other thing I will say is that the cauliflower rice does not release any starch as it cooks. The starch from the regular rice helps to thicken up the sauce in the dish, so the end result with the cauliflower rice might be kind of runny. Just a guess, but I bet the flavor will still be good! 🙂
I have a fresh pineapple I’ve been needing to use. This recipe sounds so great, but I won’t have the juice form the can. Could I substitute something for it?
Hi, Stephanie! That should work fine! I would just add a splash of fruit juice (do you have orange juice or something similar in the refrigerator)? I’d use about 1/4 cup of the juice. If you don’t have any fruit juice, then you can try about 1/4 cup of chicken broth or other liquid — it just won’t be as sweet as the pineapple juice. Hope that helps!
We’re a family of two (four month old doesn’t count) and we’re terrible about eating leftovers. Is this something I could make and divide into two smaller pans freezing one? I never know what can be made into freezer meals.
Hi, Courtney! Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be a great freezer meal because the raw rice will absorb too much of the liquid and become a funky texture as it sits. I would suggest cutting the recipe in half and cooking it in a smaller dish. Then you won’t have too much leftover. 🙂
Also, if you want some freezer meal ideas, you can check out today’s post here: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/healthy-freezer-meals/
and type in “freezer meals” in the search bar on my right sidebar (below my photo). That will pull up a bunch of my favorite freezer meal posts from the past few years. 🙂 So many easy ideas!
I made this tonight and while it was tasty, I had a LOT of liquid leftover after cooking. I followed the instructions completely. Any thoughts? Also, I subbed some pan fried spam for bacon. Yum 🙂
Hi, Elaine! I’m honestly not sure why there was so much extra liquid at the end. If anything, I often find that it’s a bit thick by the end of cooking. Maybe just decrease the amount of liquid by 1/4-1/2 cup the next time? Glad that you enjoyed the flavor! 🙂
I just made this dish and had the same problem! There was way too much for a 9×9 dish. It made a mess all over my oven, and there was still liquid left over after cooking. Wondering if there was a typo in the recipe?
Hi, Aarin! I used a pretty deep 9×9 dish, so I’m guessing that your dish was more shallow and therefore held less? Or were you using an 8-inch square dish instead of 9-inch square? Sorry that you had trouble with it! Thank you for letting me know — I will update the recipe to specify a larger dish and hopefully that will avoid any similar issues in the future! 🙂
Just fyi, an 11×7 pan is actually slightly smaller than a 9×9 if they are the same depth (77 sq inches vs 81 sq inches). Sorry, the math geek in me had to mention. Maybe go with a 13×9!
too much liquis? use fresh chicken breasts instead of frozen
Making this tonight for dinner, I added a little teriyaki sauce and used instant brown rice! I’m thinking of just serving it with a side salad since it has so many other components. My husband LOVES anything with rice. I can’t wait to taste it, my kitchen smells delicious! I also added a tiny dash of red pepper flakes.
Sounds perfect, Natasha! Let me know how the instant brown rice works! I want to try it, but I haven’t yet. The instant brown rice usually requires a longer cooking time than the instant white rice, so you might have to adjust that a little bit to get the rice to cook through all the way. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I did exactly what you did. Instant brown rice and sprinkled chili flakes. Mine is in the oven now. The rice wasn’t tender enough so I have it in the oven for longer right now.
The brown rice will always take longer to cook than white rice, so that makes sense. 🙂
This looks so good! Although I couldn’t find lite soy sauce, any idea if I can substitute with regular soy sauce and if I should adjust the quantity?
Thank you!
Hi, Stephanie! No worries — the regular soy sauce will work perfectly. The lite soy sauce is just lower in sodium, but you can use an equal amount of the regular without any problem. Enjoy!
I have regular rice, so I cooked it first, which worked fine except there was a lot of extra liquid when it was done. If you do it that way, I’d cut the liquid by half. Still tasted good, however. I also only had half a bell pepper, so I tossed in some leftover corn and broccoli to make up for it. The bacon was a nice touch, perfect compliment to the sweetness from the pineapple. I’d definitely make this again.
Hi, Tami! Thanks for that note — it’s helpful to know that the cooked rice worked well, too. Yes, you will definitely need to decrease liquid with cooked rice since it doesn’t absorb the liquid in the same way that the uncooked rice does. Again, glad that you enjoyed the flavors and thanks so much for letting me know!
I tried this recipe tonight and it had a LOT of liquid in the pan when it was done. Have you tried decreasing the amount of chicken broth you used, or is it supposed to be really liquidity?
Hey, Lin! Thanks for your note! I haven’t had a problem with too much liquid in the dish, so I didn’t decrease the amount of broth. If you found that to be the case, you can definitely decrease the liquid the next time around. 🙂
Made this tonight and loved it. Granted I cooked mine on the stovetop in a large cast iron, used 1 full cup long grain rice, added 2 Tbsp cider vinegar and a few dashes of red pepper flakes. Kept the liquids the same and didn’t add the veg until last 10 min of cooking. It turned out perfectly. Thanks for a keeper!
Kris, I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! Thank you very much for sharing your changes — I know that other folks will find that helpful!
Can you do this in the crockpot?
Hi, Ashley! Yes, I think you could — but I’ve never actually tried it. You’d have to keep an eye on it to see when the rice is done cooking — I would guess it would take about 4 hours on low? Total guess, though! 🙂 Also, the bacon won’t get crispy on top at the end the way that it does in an oven…
Hello,
Has anyone tried this with quinoa?
Hi! No, I haven’t tried that so I have no idea how it would work. Let me know if you end up giving it a shot, Tanisha! 🙂
Good grief, helps to spell my own name correctly!! 🙂
Let me try this again. Has anyone tried this with quinoa? What adjustments did you make?
This was delicious! I cooked about 10 minutes longer and used instant brown rice. Also added a jalapeño and some cilantro. Loved all of the fun flavors! Will definitely make this again.
That’s great, Teresa! I’m so glad to know that it works well with the instant brown rice, too. I have some in my pantry right now, so I’m definitely trying that next time! 🙂
I always love the colorful recipes. This looks so tasty. I can’t wait to give it a try 🙂
Thanks, Vivian! I agree — colorful recipes are pleasing to the eye and to the tastebuds! 🙂
I made this tonight, followed the recipe exactly and in a 9×13 inch dish…it made a lot and was delicious!
Awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know, Melanie! 🙂
Do you think a shredded rotisserie chicken
Would work ok? This looks amazing, can’t wait
To make it.
Absolutely, Marsha! That’s often what I use! 🙂 Enjoy!
I made this tonight in a rice cooker with regular rice instead of instant rice. I also used spam instead of chicken/bacon because SPAM. My family likes leftovers for lunch and for meals on weekends (so I don’t have to cook!). I used 2 cans of Spam (again, SPAM!) and pan fried them first. Threw it in the rice cooker. Cut up a large onion, 2 bell peppers and added the pineapple from some pineapple chunks to the rice cooker (reserving the juice). I put in 4 cups of dry white rice). Put the juice from the pineapple in a measuring cup and added 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup low sodium soy sauce and 4 cups of chicken broth, which yielded 6.5 cups liquid. Dumped it in the rice cooker and voila! It cooked up wonderfully. Rice was tender, but not mushy, and rice absorbed just enough liquid to leave the rice “creamy.” So YUMMY! Just sliced some green onions and it was fantastic! Made a HUGE rice cooker full – so plenty of leftovers. Thanks!!!
Hi, Mimi! You’re a genius! Thanks so much for sharing your adaptation! I would have never thought to use my rice cooker for a full meal like this, but I’m glad that it worked well and that you enjoyed the flavors. Thanks again for taking the time to let us know!
What if I don’t have instant rice?
Sorry it’s a be more clear I have jasmine rice that is not instant can I use that?
Hi, Kristy! It’s tricky, because you can definitely use the jasmine rice, but it will not be an equal substitute. If you’re using regular rice instead of instant, it will absorb more liquid in the dish as it cooks. It will also require a longer baking time. If you’re using regular long grain rice, I would suggest using about 2 cups of chicken broth and bake the dish (covered) at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Hope that helps! 🙂
Made iit tonight and it was good….but a lot of liquid after cooking, had to use,a,slotted spoon to serve.
This was delicious! My husband thought it was too sweet so I’m making it again and reducing the sugar. 🙂
Perfect! That sounds great, Ashley! I’m glad that you enjoyed it!
My wife got some boneless skinless chicken breast but no side dishes to go along with it, and she said to do what ever I wanted to do with it. I wanted to do something different something we never had before, and to tell you the truth I’m kind of burnt out on BBQ chicken and I didn’t know what else to do with it until i saw this recipe. When I saw this recipe I said to myself wow this sounds really good and easy to make so I tried it, and I’m glad I did because this dish was freaking awesome. Anyways I just wanted to say thank you and I will definitely be making this dish again in the future.
Awesome, Jesse! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!
Hi, can I use water instead of broth?
Laura
Hi, Laura! Yes, you can. It won’t have as much flavor, but the texture and cooking process will work fine. Think of it like soup that you use water instead of broth for (the recipe will work the same for the cooking process, but the soup wouldn’t have nearly as much flavor, right?). Hope that helps! 🙂
Hey,
If I don’t want to use soy sauce, should I change anything else?
Thank you.
Hi, Elsa! If you leave out the soy sauce, it will significantly change the taste of the entire dish. The soy sauce adds savory, salty, umami flavor to the sauce that the rice cooks in. You will need to replace the 1/2 cup of soy sauce with some other liquid, so you might try tamari sauce or coconut aminos. Again, it won’t be quite the same, but it would be better than just leaving it out altogether. Hope that helps!
I have been making and storing freezer meals for the winter lately (like a squirrel, ha!). Does this work well as a freezer meal?
Hi, Sarah! I love stocking up on freezer meals!
I haven’t tried freezing this particular meal, but I think it would probably work fine. I made a similar freezer meal in this post and it turned out great: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/5-dump-bake-freezer-meals/
Let me know if you give it a shot!
I’m in the UK – what is instant rice? Could I use a pouch rice like Uncle Ben’s? These punches of rice you put in the microwave for 90sec and they’re ready to eat…
Hey, Katie! The instant rice is different than the microwaveable pouches, so it wouldn’t work exactly the same. The instant rice has a bit of a longer cooking time (5 minutes rather than 90 seconds), and it still absorbs some of the liquid in the dish, which the microwaveable rice will not. Here’s a link to the instant rice that I use, in case you can find something similar in the UK: https://www.minuterice.com/en-us/products/99/WhiteRice.aspx
If you can’t find instant rice, I know that some other readers have commented that they used regular rice, which they cooked in advance. Their suggestions might work with your microwaveable pouches, too!
The taste is good. I followed the recipe exactly, except for the onions, and it took almost 20 extra minutes for the liquid to absorb. 🙁
I made this tonight and it was delish! I seared the outside of the chicken ( putting raw chicken in with liquids and rice weirds me out) a bit first, and sauteed the peppers and onions in a some of rice wine vinegar, I used an instant rice blend of wild rice, brown rice, and red and regular quinoa. It turned out perfect. I was worried about using a rice substitute but it turned just right!
That’s great, Holly! Thanks for sharing your tips! Sounds like a delicious twist on the original! 🙂
Should the liquid all be absorbed when it’s done or should there be extra liquid?
Hi, Teresa! I like to have some liquid left in the dish, which is like a thick sauce. Not too watery — but enough so that the rice dish doesn’t seem too dry.
Hi can I mix the ingredients ahead of time so all my husband has to do is put it in the oven or will the rice absorb all of the liquid before it cooks? Thank you
Hi, Diana! I think it would be *okay,* but I would worry about the rice absorbing some liquid and then having a bit of a mushier texture when it’s done baking. I don’t think it would be awful or inedible, just not ideal.
If I were you, I would prep all of the ingredients and stir everything together in a large bowl. Cover and keep that in the refrigerator until your husband is ready to prepare the meal. Then just instruct him to stir in the rice and transfer everything to the baking dish, cover, and bake. That way he adds the rice at the last minute, but everything else is ready to go. 🙂
This is really good! I have made it twice now, but is it 1 cup for a serving? Or much for the 328 calories per servicing.
Hi, Nicole! I’m so glad that you like the recipe! 🙂
One serving is just 1/6 of the total recipe. I don’t know exactly how many cups that measures out to be, but if you take the entire pan and divide it into 6 portions, that’s how I calculated the nutritional information for one serving.
I love this!