A quick and simplified version of this Southern classic is perfect for your busy weeknight meals! Easy chicken bog is a one-pot dinner that includes chicken, smoked sausage, rice, and vegetables in a single Dutch oven. Pair it with a side salad, corn muffins, or buttermilk biscuits for the ultimate comfort food supper!
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South Carolina Chicken Bog
If you’re not from the Southeastern United States, it’s very likely that you’ve never even heard of this dish. Chicken Bog originated in South Carolina’s Pee Dee region, which includes the towns of Florence, Conway, and Loris. Closely related to Chicken Perlo, Chicken Pilaf, Chicken Pirlau, Chicken Pilau, or Chicken Perlou, Chicken Bog is a Lowcountry tradition that dates back to the enslaved Africans who worked the rice plantations.
The dish was typically cooked outdoors in large quantities, slowly simmering and building complex flavors over hours of gentle stewing.
Why do they call it chicken bog?
This one-pot meal is a combination of chicken, smoked sausage, and rice. It’s named for its soupy, porridge-like consistency, in which large pieces of meat are “bogged down” in the rich broth. The rice simmers in the broth, releasing starches, and giving the dish a creamy texture that’s similar to risotto. That’s right — there’s actually no milk or cream in this thick and creamy chicken bog!
Ingredients for Easy Chicken Bog
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for our favorite shortcut recipe for chicken bog. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Butter: to sauté the vegetables and add rich flavor to the pot.
- Carrots, onion, celery, and garlic: for a savory taste that pairs nicely with the chicken.
- Smoked sausage: infuses the dish with a rich, smoky flavor. Use a classic smoked beef or pork sausage link, or try turkey sausage or kielbasa.
- Chicken broth: the liquid that cooks the rice. I recommend starting with a low-sodium broth or chicken stock so that your finished dish isn’t too salty.
- Seasoned salt: for extra flavor. I use Lawry’s brand.
- Chicken: you’ll need cooked chicken that’s shredded or diced into bite-sized pieces. I typically use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken, or take advantage of leftover chicken (or leftover turkey) from a previous meal.
- White rice: uncooked long-grain white rice cooks straight in the pot along with the rest of the ingredients. I don’t recommend substituting with other types of rice, such as instant rice or brown rice, since those different varieties require different amounts of liquid and different cooking times.
How to Make Chicken Bog
A classic South Carolina chicken bog recipe starts with bone-in chicken pieces that cook in water, creating a homemade stock. The meat is then pulled from the chicken bones and stirred back into the pot of homemade stock, which also cooks the rice and sausage. This process is obviously more involved and time-consuming than simply starting with cooked rotisserie chicken and store-bought broth! Here, I’m sharing my weeknight “hack” for a cozy, comforting, and easy chicken bog recipe — without all of the effort.
- Sauté the carrots, onion, celery, and sausage in butter. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add the broth and seasoned salt, then bring the liquid to a boil.
- Stir in the chicken and the rice.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. There will still be some broth in the pot, creating that soupy, bogged-down desired consistency that’s a hallmark of this dish.
- Fluff the rice with a fork, garnish with fresh herbs, and serve!
Serving Suggestions
Here are a handful of delicious sides that go well with chicken bog:
- 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits, Sweet Potato Biscuits, Flaky Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits, or Drop Biscuits
- Southern Cornbread, Cake Mix Cornbread, Pumpkin Cornbread, Skillet Cornbread, Sweet Cornbread, Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn, Corn Sticks, Mexican Cornbread, Honey Cornbread or Cornbread Muffins
- Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Muffins, Cranberry Muffins, or Apple Muffins
- Crusty French Baguette, Soft Dinner Rolls, or Homemade Crescent Rolls
- No-Knead Bread
- 3-Ingredient Beer Bread
- Southern Collard Greens
- 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins
- Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette, Mixed Greens with Dijon Vinaigrette, Caesar Salad, Fall Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing, House Salad with Candied Pecans
- Fried Corn
- Southern Fried Apples, Baked Apple Slices, or Applesauce
- Coleslaw or Vinegar Coleslaw
- Roasted Broccoli
- Fried Cabbage with Apples and Onion or Braised Red Cabbage
- Sauteed Kale with Bacon or Sauteed Spinach with Garlic
- Amish Green Beans with Brown Butter, Arkansas Green Beans, or Southern-Style Green Beans
Storage
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can freeze extra chicken bog for a later meal, too — just know that the texture of the rice may be mushy. Allow the dish to cool completely, store in airtight containers, and freeze for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat
Thaw frozen chicken bog in the refrigerator overnight. When ready to serve, transfer the chicken and rice mixture to a pot on the stovetop. Warm over low heat, covered, until it reaches the desired temperature, stirring frequently. The mixture thickens significantly as it sits, so you will need to stir in additional broth or water to thin the rice as it warms. You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Recipe Variations
- Prepare a larger batch of chicken bog by doubling all of the ingredients.
- Use homemade chicken broth, or boil your own chicken breasts or chicken thighs to use in this recipe.
- Cajun chicken bog recipe: use andouille sausage; add plenty of Cajun or Creole seasoning to the broth, and serve with a side of hot sauce!
- Chicken bog no sausage: Omit the smoked sausage altogether (it will still taste great!), or use bacon instead. If starting with bacon, fry the bacon in the pot first, and then saute the veggies in the bacon drippings with butter.
- Vegetables and herbs: feel free to season your pot with other vegetables and herbs. Some recipes call for diced tomatoes, and others utilize additional herbs such as parsley or rosemary.
- Don’t have seasoned salt? You can substitute with regular salt, or you can add other spices that are included in the seasoned salt, such as garlic powder, celery seed, and paprika.
Tips for the best chicken bog recipe
- Use a cast iron Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot to avoid burning or scorching. I used this French oven, which is about 4 quarts.
- Do not substitute with other varieties of rice (such as instant rice or brown rice), since different varieties will require different amounts of liquid and different cooking times.
- The chicken bog is done when the rice is tender. There will still be some thick broth left in the pot, but the mixture will continue to thicken as it sits. Do not overcook the rice or it will become mushy.
- Start with a low-sodium broth to avoid an overly-salty finished dish. You can always add extra salt and ground black pepper at the end, if necessary.
- Garnish each serving with fresh herbs or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to brighten up the dish.
More Chicken and Rice Recipes to Try
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One-Pot Easy Chicken Bog
Equipment
- medium Dutch oven (about 4-5 quarts)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 8 ounces smoked link sausage, sliced into ½-inch pieces
- 2 small cloves garlic, grated or minced (about 1 teaspoon total)
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¾ teaspoon seasoned salt (such as Lawry's brand)
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (such as the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
- 1 ¼ cups raw long-grain white rice
- Chopped fresh parsley or thyme, for garnish
Instructions
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion, celery, and sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the chicken broth and seasoned salt; bring to a boil.
- When the broth boils, stir in the chicken and rice. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Fluff the rice with a fork, garnish with fresh herbs, and serve.
Notes
- Use a cast iron Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot to avoid burning or scorching. I used this French oven, which is about 4 quarts.
- Do not substitute with other varieties of rice (such as instant rice or brown rice), since different varieties will require different amounts of liquid and different cooking times.
- The chicken bog is done when the rice is tender. There will still be some thick broth left in the pot, but the mixture will continue to thicken as it sits. Do not overcook the rice or it will become mushy.
- Start with a low-sodium broth to avoid an overly-salty finished dish. You can always add extra salt and ground black pepper at the end, if necessary.
- Garnish each serving with fresh herbs or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to brighten up the dish.
Blair I’m not able t0 save any recipes since the upper right corner doesn’t have the 3 vertical dots to save to my home screen is missing. Did you change your website?
Hi, Cindy! We went through a site redesign a couple of months ago. I’m not sure which three vertical dots you’re referring to, though. You can still save recipes by printing, by taking screen shots, by adding a bookmark on your browser, by pinning in Pinterest, etc. Let me know if I can help with anything else!