Description
A delicious and easy one-dish Mediterranean-inspired recipe featuring tender chicken breasts baked over rice with creamy tzatziki sauce. This dump bake chicken tzatziki requires minimal prep and delivers maximum flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3–4 pieces (1.5 lbs) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1 cup Greek yogurt (full-fat)
- 1 whole medium cucumber
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill
- 1 whole fresh lemon (juiced)
- 3 pieces garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups water or chicken broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat and Prep: Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Layer Rice Base: In the prepared dish, combine uncooked rice, water or broth, salt, and pepper. Mix well to distribute seasoning.
- Add Chicken: Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place on top of rice mixture, spacing them evenly across the dish.
- Make Tzatziki: In a bowl, mix Greek yogurt, finely chopped cucumber, minced garlic, dill, lemon juice, salt, and olive oil until smooth.
- Top and Bake: Spoon tzatziki sauce generously over each chicken breast. Cover with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes.
- Final Touch: Remove foil during last 10 minutes for golden edges. Check chicken reaches 165°F (75°C) internal temperature.
Notes
- Pat chicken breasts dry before seasoning to help the tzatziki sauce adhere better and create a golden top
- Use full-fat Greek yogurt instead of low-fat versions for richer flavor and better texture that won’t curdle
- Dice cucumber very finely and drain excess moisture with paper towels to prevent watery tzatziki
- Let the dish rest for 5 minutes after baking to allow rice to absorb any remaining liquid
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 485 calories
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 320mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 45g
- Cholesterol: 110mg
Keywords: dump bake chicken tzatziki, one dish chicken, Mediterranean chicken, tzatziki chicken bake, easy chicken dinner, Greek chicken recipe