This is the weeknight roast chicken I come back to again and again! Instead of a whole chicken, we’re using boneless, skin-on chicken thighs! Instead of fussing over fresh herbs and garlic we’re using store-bought Italian dressing (it’s already got the garlic, the herbs, the vinegar, the oil…).

We roast the chicken in the pan first to get that nice crispy skin and then we build our pan!

We’re adding wild rice which is nutty and chewy and holds up beautifully to the pan juices. The cannellini beans go soft and creamy, soaking up all that roasting goodness from the bottom of the pan.

And by the time everything comes out of the oven, it looks and smells like you spent hours on it. You did not. You really did not.

Why Italian Dressing, Though?

Listen, it sounds a little vintage-church-cookbook to just throw in a bottle of dressing but Italian dressing is essentially a pre-made marinade. It’s acidic enough to tenderize the chicken, oily enough to help it get that gorgeous golden skin, and already loaded with the kind of savory herb flavor that would otherwise require you to mince things. It’s a shortcut that doesn’t taste like one.

The Wild Rice

Wild rice is one of those ingredients I feel like people don’t use enough, and I want to change that. It has this deep, earthy, almost smoky flavor that pairs beautifully with roasted chicken. It also has a great chew to it. It holds its own in a way that regular white rice just doesn’t. And when you cook it in the same pan as the chicken? It absorbs all the herby, garlicky pan drippings as it roasts. It’s essentially cooking in chicken dressing. Which is a very good thing.

The Cannellini Beans Are Not an Afterthought

Listen, I know beans can feel like a “fine, I’ll add something healthy” move, but in this recipe they are genuinely one of the best parts. They go creamy and almost pillowy as they roast, and they pick up so much flavor from the dressing and the chicken. They make the whole thing feel hearty and satisfying without any extra effort. One can, drained and rinsed, and you’re done.

What Makes This Recipe Worth Making

This recipe lets your pantry staples shine. It’s a one-pan meal that feels like a 4-course dinner. It’s a roast chicken that doesn’t require you to watch twelve videos about dry-brining first.

The next time you’re standing in your kitchen at 5pm wondering what to make, remember the Italian dressing! Remember the wild rice! Remember the canned beans! Remember that a really good chicken dinner is probably closer than you think.

Print