My Rice Stuffed Chicken is a whole chicken roasted with a pine nut and currant rice stuffing inside. It's a special dinner for Christmas, Easter, or a Sunday with guests, and it's what we have instead of a whole turkey when there are only a few of us.
The yogurt marinade keeps the meat moist and gives you crisp skin. You can cook the rice filling the day before, and once the chicken is in the oven there's very little left to do. It looks like a lot of work, but there's nothing difficult in it, and the step photos show every stage.
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Why This Recipe Works
- You get the main course and the side dish out of one pan, so there's one less thing to cook.
- A whole chicken feeds six, and it's a better size than a turkey when you're not cooking for twenty.
- The yogurt marinade keeps the meat moist and helps the skin brown. Leave it on overnight if you can.
- Half the rice goes inside the bird and the rest cooks in a pan, so there's enough for everyone at the table.
- The rice cooks in the chicken juices, so it tastes of the chicken, and the meat stays moist.
- I make this for Christmas dinner, and it looks like far more work than it is.
- The leftovers are good weeknight food. I shred the meat into Creamy Chicken Enchiladas or Çerkez Tavuğu.
- There are step photos for filling and tying the bird, which is the part most people worry about.
What Is Iç Pilav?
Iç pilav is the Turkish rice stuffing, and it's what goes inside this chicken. It's short grain rice cooked with onion, pine nuts, currants, cinnamon and allspice, and it's the same rice I use in my Vegan Stuffed Bell Peppers.
In Turkey a whole chicken or a turkey filled with it is a special dinner for family gatherings and New Year's Eve. Most families chop the chicken liver into the rice, and some add chestnuts in winter. Mine leaves the liver out, and you'll find both in the variations below.
Ingredients You'll Need
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
- Chicken - A young, free range, or corn fed chicken of 4 to 4½ lbs, just under 2 kilos, is what I use here. Birds this size cook quickly and have plenty of flavor.
- Rice - Baldo is a short grain Turkish rice, and it's what I use here. It's starchy, so it absorbs a lot of liquid and stays creamy without falling apart. Tosya rice or Italian arborio both work in its place.
- Yogurt - Use plain, full fat natural yogurt. Full fat milk or sour cream work if you have none in the fridge.
- Pine nuts - They add crunch and a nutty flavor to the rice. I use them in Yaprak Sarma and Vegan Lebanese Eggplant Moussaka as well. Turkish and Middle Eastern shops stock them, and so do most supermarkets.
- Currants - These are small dried grapes, not fresh blackcurrants. They turn up in a lot of Turkish rice dishes, and they add a bit of sweetness.
- Olive oil - I use extra virgin, but any oil you cook with is fine.
How to Make Rice Stuffed Chicken?
There are four stages: the marinade, the rice, the roasting and the gravy. The step photos below take you through each one.
Marinate the Chicken
Put the yogurt in a bowl with the salt and freshly ground black pepper and whisk it together. Rub it all over the chicken so every bit of skin is covered. Leave it in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight if you can.
Prepare the Rice Stuffing
Put a large pan on medium to low heat and add the olive oil. Add the onions and the pine nuts and cook them gently until the onions turn translucent. Give them long enough to soften, and let the pine nuts color a little.
Stir in the rice and cook it for a few minutes, until it looks dry and half see through. Add the currants, the cinnamon, the allspice, the salt and the pepper, then pour in the lemon juice and 1¼ cups - 300 ml of water.
Bring it to a boil, put the lid on, and simmer it for 8 to 10 minutes, until the rice has taken up the liquid. Take the pan off the heat and stir the parsley through.
It's only half cooked at this point, and that's on purpose. It finishes cooking inside the chicken and takes on the juices. Let it cool to room temperature before you stuff the chicken.
Cook the rice stuffing a day ahead if you want to save time on the day, and fill the chicken just before it goes in the oven.
Stuff and Roast the Chicken
Take the chicken out of the fridge half an hour before it goes in the oven, and preheat the oven to 356° F - 180° C (fan). Spoon the rice into the cavity loosely and stop at about three quarters full.
Packed rice swells into a solid block and turns to mush, and a bird stuffed too tight can split open. You will only need about half the rice, so keep the rest to cook later as a side dish.
Close the opening with a couple of toothpicks or a few stitches of kitchen thread so the rice stays put.
Push the legs through a slit in the loose skin, the way it's done in Turkey, or tie them together with kitchen twine, and tuck the wing tips under the bird.
Put the chicken in a Dutch oven or on a roasting tray, pour in 2 cups - 500 ml of water, cover it with a lid or foil, and roast it for about an hour.
Take the cover off and give it another 40 minutes to an hour, until the thigh and the middle of the rice both reach 167° F - 75° C.
Take the chicken out of the oven, move it to a cutting board, and cover it loosely with foil. Leave it to rest for 20 minutes before you carve it.
Finish the Rice and Make the Gravy
Use the 20 minutes of resting time to cook the rest of the rice and make the gravy. Put the part cooked rice in a pan with ¾ cup - 200 ml of water and cook it for 10 to 12 minutes, until the rice has taken up all the liquid. Leave it on the side with the lid on.
If the oven is on anyway, you can bake it instead, in a covered dish beside the chicken for the last 30 minutes with the same amount of water.
Skim most of the fat off the juices in the Dutch oven or the roasting tray, then put it on medium heat. Add a tablespoon of flour and stir it in, scraping the sticky bits off the bottom of the pan.
Once the flour has gone in and the juices are bubbling, pour in the chicken stock and bring the gravy back to a boil. Tip in any juices from the resting chicken and cook it for another 5 minutes.
Carve the chicken and serve it with the rice stuffing and the gravy.
How Long to Cook a Stuffed Whole Chicken
A stuffed chicken takes longer than an empty one, because the heat has to work through the rice and the meat. Weigh the bird after you've filled it, then allow 20 minutes per 1 lb - 450 g plus 20 minutes on top. For a 4½ lbs - 2 kg chicken with the stuffing in, that comes to around 2 hours in a 356° F - 180° C fan oven.
The chicken is ready when the thickest part of the thigh reaches 167° F - 75° C. Check the middle of the rice with the thermometer as well, since it has to reach the same temperature.
If you don't have a thermometer, push a skewer into the thickest part of the drumstick. Clear juices mean it's cooked, and pink juices mean it needs longer.
Serving Suggestions
I serve this for Christmas lunch, Thanksgiving or as a Sunday roast. The rice is filling, so the sides can be light.
In Turkey the chicken goes on a bed of the rest of the rice, with the pan juices spooned over, a squeeze of lemon, Çoban Salatası and a bowl of Cacik.
Roast vegetables go well next to it. Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips and Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes are what I put on the table most often, and Swede and Carrot Mash is good if you want something softer.
Beetroot Salad is a fresh side to have next to the gravy, and Cauliflower Cheese works if you're feeding people who want something creamy. Gluten-Free Yorkshire Puddings and Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice round off the roast dinner.
Recipe Tips From the Chef
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels before you rub the marinade on. If you have time, leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight so the skin dries out properly.
- Once the cover comes off, baste the chicken with the liquid in the pan every 20 to 30 minutes. It helps the skin brown evenly.
- Put a sheet of parchment over the chicken before the foil goes on, so the skin doesn't stick to the foil when you take it off.
- Take the chicken out of the fridge half an hour before it goes in the oven. Cold meat browns on the outside before the middle has cooked through.
- Get the oven up to temperature before the chicken goes in. If it is still warming up, the skin comes out soft and pale.
- Cook the rice only halfway on the stove. It carries on cooking inside the chicken, and rice that started off fully cooked turns to mush.
- Fill the cavity loosely and stop at about three quarters full. Around ¾ cup of stuffing per 1 lb - 450 g of bird is the safe amount, and packed rice won't heat through.
- Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wing tips under the bird so they don't burn.
- Don't wash the chicken. Cooking it to 167° F - 75° C kills the bacteria, and rinsing it just splashes them round the sink.
- Rest the chicken for 20 minutes before you carve it, and spoon the rice out after it's rested.
Variations
- Swap the pine nuts for chopped almonds or pistachios. Both are used in Turkish rice stuffings and both toast the same way in the pan.
- Fry a couple of chopped chicken livers with the onions. That's the traditional version, and it makes the rice taste richer.
- Use walnuts if pine nuts are too expensive, or leave the nuts out completely for a nut allergy.
- Swap the currants for chopped dried apricots if you want the stuffing sweeter.
- Cook the whole batch of rice in a pan and roast the chicken empty if you would rather skip the stuffing step.
- For the red-brown skin you see on a Turkish table, mix a tablespoon of yogurt with a tablespoon of tomato paste and two tablespoons of olive oil, and brush it over the chicken for the last 15 to 20 minutes.
- Add a dozen cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped, to the rice with the currants. That's the Christmas and New Year version in Turkey.
- Fry 7 oz - 200 g of ground lamb with the onion for the Middle Eastern version, and keep the cinnamon and allspice as they are.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
Take the rice out of the chicken before you put anything away, and don't leave either sitting on the counter. Get the leftovers into the fridge within two hours of the chicken coming out of the oven. Carve the meat off the bones, keep it in an airtight container with the rice, and eat it within three days.
Both freeze well. Pack the meat and the rice into a container or a freezer bag and they'll keep for three months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat until piping hot all the way through. A splash of stock over the rice stops it drying out in the oven.
You can cook the rice stuffing the day before. Spread it out on a tray so it cools quickly, then cover it and put it in the fridge. Fill the chicken just before it goes in the oven, not the night before.
Recipe FAQs
No. There isn't enough liquid or room inside the chicken for raw rice to swell, so you get hard grains in the middle and a bird that's overcooked by the time they soften. Half cook the rice on the stove first, and it finishes inside the chicken.
Both. I cover it for the first hour so the meat and the rice stay moist, then take the cover off for the rest of the time so the skin browns.
Yes. Allow 20 minutes per 1 lb - 450 g plus 20 minutes on top, and weigh the bird after you've stuffed it rather than before.
If you carve it straight out of the oven, the juices run out onto the board and the meat comes out dry. Twenty minutes gives the juices time to settle back into the meat.
Three things cause it. The rice was fully cooked before it went in, so it had nowhere left to go. The cavity was packed tight, so the rice turned into a solid block. Or there was too much water in the pan, and it soaked up into the rice. Half cook the rice, fill the bird loosely, and keep to 2 cups of water.
Spoon the rice out into an ovenproof dish, cover it, and put it back in the oven on its own until it reaches 167° F - 75° C. Rest the chicken in the meantime, and nothing is lost.
No. Cook the rice the day before if you like, but fill the chicken just before it goes in the oven. Raw chicken and cooked rice sitting together overnight is the one thing every food safety guide tells you not to do.
Related Recipes
For more chicken recipes why not try:
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I hope you enjoy the process of making this delicious Rice-Stuffed Whole Roast Chicken as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
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Rice Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients
Marinade for the Chicken
- 1 whole chicken (4 to 4½ lbs, just under 2 kilos)
- 2 tablespoon natural yogurt
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Rice Stuffing
- 1 large onion (small diced)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ⅓ cup pine nuts (50 g)
- 1 ½ cups short grain rice such as baldo or tosya (300 g)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoon currants (30 g)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 cups water (1¼ cups - 300 ml, 2 cups - 500 ml, and ¾ cup - 200 ml, used separately)
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
Chicken Gravy
- 1 cup chicken stock (250 ml)
- cooking juices from the chicken
- 1 tablespoon flour
Instructions
Marinate the Chicken
- Put the yogurt in a bowl with the salt and freshly ground black pepper and whisk it together.
- Rub it all over the chicken so every bit of skin is covered.
- Leave it in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight if you can.
Prepare the Rice Stuffing
- Put a large pan on medium to low heat and add the olive oil. Add the onions and the pine nuts and cook them gently until the onions turn translucent.
- Stir in the rice and cook it for a few minutes, until it looks dry and half see through.
- Add the currants, the cinnamon, the allspice, the salt and the pepper, then pour in the lemon juice and 1¼ cups - 300 ml of water.
- Bring it to a boil, put the lid on, and simmer it for 8 to 10 minutes, until the rice has taken up the liquid.
- Take the pan off the heat and stir the parsley through. Let it cool to room temperature before you stuff the chicken.
Stuff and Roast the Chicken
- Take the chicken out of the fridge half an hour before it goes in the oven, and preheat the oven to 356° F - 180° C (fan).
- Spoon the rice into the cavity loosely and stop at about three quarters full. You will only need about half the rice, so keep the rest to cook later as a side dish.
- Close the opening with a couple of toothpicks or a few stitches of kitchen thread. Push the legs into the loose skin, or tie them together with kitchen twine, and tuck the wing tips under the bird.
- Put the chicken in a Dutch oven or on a roasting tray, pour in 2 cups - 500 ml of water, cover it with a lid or foil, and roast it for about an hour.
- Take the cover off and give it another 40 minutes to an hour, until the thigh and the middle of the rice both reach 167° F - 75° C.
- Move the chicken to a cutting board, cover it loosely with foil, and leave it to rest for 20 minutes before you carve it.
Finish the Rice and Make the Gravy
- While the chicken rests, put the part cooked rice in a pan with ¾ cup - 200 ml of water and cook it for 10 to 12 minutes, until the rice has taken up all the liquid. Leave it on the side with the lid on.
- Skim most of the fat off the juices in the Dutch oven or the roasting tray, then put it on medium heat. Add a tablespoon of flour and stir it in, scraping the sticky bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Once the flour has gone in and the juices are bubbling, pour in the chicken stock and bring the gravy back to a boil.
- Tip in any juices from the resting chicken and cook it for another 5 minutes.
- Carve the chicken and serve it with the rice stuffing and the gravy.
Video
Notes
- Marinate the chicken in the yogurt for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight in the fridge.
- Pat the skin dry before the marinade goes on. Leaving the bird uncovered in the fridge overnight dries the skin out and helps it crisp.
- Take the chicken out of the fridge half an hour before it goes in the oven, and get the oven up to temperature first.
- Cook the rice only halfway on the stove. It finishes cooking inside the chicken, and fully cooked rice turns to mush.
- Fill the cavity loosely, about three quarters full, which is roughly ¾ cup of stuffing per 1 lb - 450 g of bird. You'll only need about half the rice.
- Tie the legs together and tuck the wing tips under the bird so they don't burn.
- Allow 20 minutes per 1 lb - 450 g plus 20 minutes, weighing the bird after it is stuffed. Cover it for the first hour, then uncover it to brown the skin.
- The thigh and the middle of the rice both need to reach 167° F - 75° C. Don't wash the chicken, because cooking it to temperature is what kills the bacteria.
- Rest the chicken for 20 minutes before carving, then spoon the rice out.
- Leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer. Take the rice out of the bird before storing, and get it into the fridge within two hours.
- Swap the pine nuts for almonds, pistachios or walnuts, or leave them out for a nut allergy. Chopped chicken livers fried with the onions is the traditional version.
Melba Custer says
This was Excellent. Thank you!!
Ayla Clulee says
It is my pleasure Melba! I am glad you enjoyed it.
Best Wishes
Ayla
Tina says
This is a great way of cooking chicken with a twist!!
Faisal says
I made this delicious chicken recipe this past weekend for my family Sunday roast dinner. What a wonderful recipe. I have not tried rice stuffed chicken before and just love the flavour! This is a keeper recipe for sure!! My family loved it too!
Patricia says
Best roast chicken recipe. Ever!! Huge success in our home tonight! Saved and it will be my go-to from now on!
Michelle says
I made it for my family, they love it, and I will make it for my friends today. It’s really something u can make it any time. We love it
Ayla Clulee says
I am so pleased that you enjoyed it, Michelle!
Lisa says
Well I am not a beginner but I really like this method of roasting chicken. Makes a nice moist bird. This recipe was simple and delicious. The gravy instructions were easy enough for anyone to do and the result was excellent!
Pam says
This recipe is fantastic. I made it yesterday and the whole family enjoyed it. Definitely a keeper!
Cherry says
I just made this tonight. Very easy & so delicious. The chicken was juicy and the taste was amazing!
Ayla says
I have been wanting to make this for years and never came round to it. But now that I’ve done it, it will be on my repeat list for sure. So so good. And so so easy!