Hawaij Chicken Recipe

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This hawaij chicken recipe is truly wonderful! It’s full of flavor and so well spiced with the hawaij rub.

Hawaij means "mixture" in Arabic. It's a spice blend with primarily cumin and black pepper and often contains cardamom, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

Why You’ll Love this Chicken and Rice Recipe

This recipe is a wonderfully comforting combination of chicken, rice, and spice. It's made with an amazing spice blend called hawaij - check out our hawaij spice blend guide.

It's a deeply rich blend of flavors that truly complement the chicken and rice.

What do you need to make Hawaij Chicken?

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ½ lbs bone-in chicken thighs
• ¼ cup hawaij spice
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup mixed brown rice

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How to Make Hawaij Chicken

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven (or other ovenproof pot) over medium-high heat.
• Cover the chicken thighs in the hawaij spice - sprinkling it on both sides and patting it on the chicken to make sure it sticks.
• Add the chicken thighs, skin side down and brown for 3 minutes, then flip and brown for another 3 minutes.
• Remove the chicken breasts and set aside. 
• Add the onions to the pot the chicken was in and sauté till they are translucent, about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• Then add the garlic and let sauté for 30 seconds. 
• Deglaze the pot with a little bit of the chicken broth, scraping up any bits sticking to the bottom. Then add the rest of the broth. Turn off the stove. 
• Add the rice and stir to combine. Then nestle the chicken in the rice. 
• Cover the pot and put in the oven for 35 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. 
• Remove the chicken and rice from the oven and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.   

More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love

If you like this chicken dinner recipe, check out these other flavorful, easy chicken recipes:

• Easy Mediterranean Chicken Salad -  full of delicious flavors – artichokes, bell peppers, beans, chickpeas – it has everything.
• Orzo & Chicken Salad Recipe - this orzo salad with shredded chicken, bell peppers, olives, and a wholegrain mustard dressing is such a wonderful lunch recipe!
• Easy Lemon Chicken Pasta - the bright flavor of the lemon, mixed with the subtle leeks, spinach, and parmesan is unbelievably good!
• Moroccan Chicken - this delicious Moroccan chicken recipe is wonderfully flavored! It’s served with preserved lemon, green olives, and tomatoes.

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Tips for Making this Recipe

• We used the Lundberg Wild Blend rice for this recipe. You can use brown rice or jasmine rice as well.
• We recommend this Le Creuset dutch oven or this Lodge dutch oven.
• Serve this recipe with a simple green salad or our favorite green salad recipe.

I hope you love this hawaij chicken and rice recipe as much as we do!