Arabic stuffed chicken with rice recipe! Juicy tender chicken stuffed with flavorful middle eastern spiced rice. This stuffed chicken recipe is a must try!
This stuffed chicken recipe is one of my families favorites. I never attempted to make it until recently because I thought it was going to be so hard to make but it is actually so easy to make!
Basically how you make Arabic style stuffed chicken and rice is make a al Dante rice with ground beef and spices, rub marinade all over a whole chicken, stuff about ⅓ of the cooked rice in the chicken and then bake the stuffed chicken covered. And that is it! Easy stuffed chicken!
Do you love Arabic food and want to learn how to make delicious authentic Arabic recipes at home? Make sure to read my complete guide on Cooking Arabic Food at Home!
WHAT IS ARABIC STUFFED CHICKEN MADE OF?
My easy Arabic stuffed chicken recipe is made with a few surprisingly simple ingredients. First, you'll need a whole chicken.
The whole chicken is marinated in:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Arabic 7 spices (we got ours fresh ground when we were in Jordan)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
And for the Middle Eastern spiced rice, you'll need:
- 1 tablespoon grass fed butter or ghee
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef (you could also use ground lamb)
- 1 ½ cup basmati rice (washed and soaked ~15 minutes)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Arabic 7 spices
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup toasted pine nuts
If you don't have Arabic 7 spices, chances are you live near a middle eastern market where you can pick some up, and if you don't you probably have the spices in your cupboard to make your own Arabic 7 spice blend!
TIPS I LEARNED TO MAKE THE BEST ARABIC STUFFED CHICKEN
- Let your whole chicken marinate overnight if you have time this way it will soak up so much of the flavor.
- Use basmati rice for fluffy rice and don’t over cook it or it will get soggy!
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper, this makes sure all the chicken juice doesn’t evaporate and will give you super juicy chicken.
- Use a Dutch oven! Keeping the lid on will help your chicken stay so juicy it makes the best stuffed chicken ever!
Want a simple way to boost your gut health? Try my delicious and Gut Healing Bone Broth Recipe! It slow cooks for 40 hours and is packed with gut healthy gelatin and collagen! You can drink it as is or use it to cook your rice for an ultra healthy bone broth rice!
HOW TO MAKE ARABIC STUFFED CHICKEN WITH RICE
STEP 1- MARINATE THE WHOLE CHICKEN
First, mix the ingredients together for your chicken marinade. You can marinate your chicken overnight for the best flavor, or if you are low on time you can bake it immediately. I would highly recommend marinating it for at least 1 hour before cooking so the chicken can soak up the delicious flavors of the Arabic 7 spices.
Arabic whole chicken marinade:
- 1 whole halal chicken
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon Arabic 7 spices (we got ours fresh ground in Amman!)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Mix the marinade together in a small bowl then rub all over the chicken and don't forget the inside too! Set this aside while you prepare the rice stuffing.
If you are marinating it overnight, cover it tightly either in a bag or bowl and place in your fridge until you're ready to stuff it with the prepared rice. It can be marinated up to 2 days.
STEP 2- MAKE THE GROUND BEEF ARABIC SPICED RICE
Next, prepare the ground beef rice filling for your stuffed chicken. I use ground beef in my rice stuffing, but you can also use ground lamb if you like lamb better.
To prepare the rice, melt 1 tablespoon butter or ghee along with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Add 1 pound of ground beef along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon Arabic 7 spices.
Brown the beef and then add 1 ½ cups washed basmati rice and 2 cups of bone broth or water. I like to use my homemade gut healing bone broth in all my rice for more nutrients and protein.
Bring your rice to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes only till the rice has just absorbed the water.
Add toasted pine nuts, just 1 /2 cup pine nuts toasted with ½ tablespoon olive oil.
Toss to combine and set aside for 30 minutes to cool off.
STEP 3- STUFF CHICKEN AND BAKE!
Now time for the signature part of Arabic Stuffed Chicken- stuffing the chicken with rice!
Take ⅓ of the rice into a separate bowl, this helps to prevent any cross contamination when you're stuffing the chicken.
Stuff as much of the rice inside the cavity of the chicken as possible. Some people sew their chicken together but I find it easier to just tuck the extra skin over the rice.
Add a lid to your Dutch oven (or other baking pan that has a tight fitting lid).
Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, then 1 ½ hours at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Serve with the reserved rice and enjoy!!
More Authentic Arabic Recipes You Might Enjoy:
- Ouzi Chicken
- Maqluba with Chicken or Lamb
- Galayet Bandora
- Dwali (Grape Leaves)
- Musakhan
- Chicken Kabsa
- Galayet Bandora
- Shorbat Adas
- Sfiha
- Arabic Yellow Rice
- The Best Fluffy Hummus
- Arabic Chopped Salad
- Fasolia with Lebanese Rice
- Saniya Jaj
- Persian Pomegranate Chicken
No Arabic meal is complete without Arabic tea, make sure to try out my Authentic Jordanian Bedouin Tea Recipe!
If you try my Arabic Stuffed Chicken Recipe, please let me know your thoughts by leaving a rating and comment below! Ready for more? Subscribe to my newsletter or follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube!
Arabic Stuffed Chicken with Rice (Jaj Mahshi)
Equipment
- Rice cooking pan
- dutch oven or pan with tight fitting lid
Ingredients
For the Whole Chicken Marinade:
- 1 whole halal chicken
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Arabic 7 spices
- 1 teaspoon paprika
For the Arabic rice stuffing:
- 1 tablespoon grass fed butter or ghee
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef or ground lamb
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp Arabic 7 spices
- 1 ½ cups basmati rice washed and soaked for 15 minutes
- 2 cups bone broth or water
- ½ cup toasted pine nuts
Instructions
How to Marinate the Whole Chicken:
- Start by washing your chicken to get rid of any chicken smell. I rub flour all over my whole chicken and then wash it till the water runs clear. If there is still a chicken smell, I then soak it with lemon juice and salt and then rinse it again till the water runs clear.Next, mix together the chicken marinate: olive oil, salt, 7 spices, and paprika. Rub it all over the chicken and make sure to get the inside of the chicken too for the best flavor.Set your chicken aside to soak up the flavors and prepare your rice.1 whole halal chicken, 3 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon Arabic 7 spices, 1 teaspoon paprika
How to make the Arabic rice stuffing:
- Wash the rice till the water runs clear then cover the rice in water and set aside to rest for about 15 minutes.In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon butter till melted and then add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the ground beef or lamb and sprinkle on the 7 spices while the beef is still raw so it soaks up more flavor. Brown the beef breaking up large chunks to small pieces.1 tablespoon grass fed butter or ghee, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 pound ground beef or ground lamb, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon Arabic 7 spices
- Drain the rice and add it to the ground beef, toss to combine.1 ½ cups basmati rice
- Next add 2 cups of broth or water. Bring the rice to a boil then reduce heat, cover and only cook 10-12 minutes till the rice is Al Dante. You don’t want to overcook it because it will cook more in the oven.2 cups bone broth
- Transfer the rice to a plate, add toasted pine nuts and fluff to let the steam out. Let it cool about 20-30 minutes before stuffing inside your marinated chicken.½ cup toasted pine nuts
How to Stuff and Bake the Chicken:
- Add about ⅓ the rice to a bowl and set the rest aside to reheat and serve later. I like to divide my rice so that I’m not touching the serving rice with the raw chicken. Stuff as much of the rice inside the chicken. Some people sew their chicken but I simply fold the skin over the rice and place the chicken in my Dutch oven lined with parchment paper so the chicken doesn’t dry out!
- Add a lid to your Dutch oven (or other baking pan that has a tight fitting lid). Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, then 1 ½ hours at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.Serve with the reserved rice and enjoy!!
Sam
This is the best stuffed chicken I’ve ever had!!! Thank you so much for making it so simple and easy to follow!!