This Easy Chicken Biryani is quick, easy and is all made in one pan. A much cheaper – and healthier – alternative to reaching for that takeaway menu! (Plus it’s only 579 calories and it contains 29 grams of protein!)
Chicken Biryani: the quick and easy version!
Love the flavours of Chicken Biryani, but can’t be bothered with the long and complicated recipes to make it?
Then you are going to LOVE my Easy Chicken Biryani!
It’s very easy to make, it takes just 35 minutes AND it’s all made in one pan, so it’s easy on the washing up too.
Not an ‘authentic’ biryani
OK, I’ll be the first to admit, this is not an ‘authentic’ biryani.
Traditional recipes for biryani are often quite long and complicated, and a bit faffy. And you know that’s the opposite of what I do on this website!
My focus is on making quick, easy and delicious recipes, that give you all of the flavour, but none of the faff…
And that’s exactly what I’ve done here with this Easy Chicken Biryani!
So while this recipe is not exactly ‘authentic’, it is delicious and it’s a much cheaper – and healthier – alternative to reaching for that takeaway menu!
How to make Easy Chicken Biryani
This easy peasy Chicken Biryani recipe is so easy to make…
All you need to do is coat chicken breast pieces in garam masala, salt and pepper, then fry. Next fry the onions, peppers, garlic, chilli and spices. Then return the chicken to the pan together with the rice and some coconut milk.
Simmer for 8 minutes then add the frozen peas and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the rice is done to your liking.
Finally stir in the 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander (cilantro).
(Full recipe given in the recipe card below.)
What to serve with Chicken Biryani
This chicken biryani is a complete meal in its own right, but I like to serve it with naan bread, Bombay Potatoes, mango chutney and lime pickle.
Alternatively, you could serve this easy peasy biryani as part of an Indian-themed spread, including other curries and rice dishes such as:
- Easy Chicken Balti
- Easy Beef Mince Curry (Keema Curry)
- Easy Peasy Pork Curry
- Easy Chicken Dhansak
- Multicoloured Pilau Rice
- Fruity Pilau Rice
(You can check out all my Curry and Indian-inspired recipes here.)
Multicoloured Pilau Rice
What to drink with Chicken Biryani
Chicken Biryani goes best with aromatic whites, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris (from Alsace or New Zealand) and Torrontes (from Argentina).
Alternatively it also works well with fruity rosés.
Love biryani?
Here are 5 more variations to try:
- Easy Turkey Biryani
- Chicken Tikka Biryani
- Easy Vegetable Biryani (Vegan)
- Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani
- Lamb Keema Biryani
Chicken Tikka Biryani
Can you reheat chicken biryani?
If you made this with fresh chicken, it should be fine to reheat, so long as you take care to adhere to food safety guidelines for reheating poultry and rice.
Can you freeze chicken biryani?
If you made this with fresh chicken, it should be fine to freeze and reheat, so long as you take care to adhere to food safety guidelines for reheating poultry and rice.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Easy Chicken Biryani
Ingredients
Chicken
- 400 g chicken breast cut into small chunks
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or rapeseed oil, or coconut oil)
Biryani
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or rapeseed oil, or coconut oil)
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 red (bell) pepper sliced
- 3 cloves garlic crushed or grated
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 300 g basmati rice (see Note 1)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 200 ml water (or chicken stock, if you prefer)
- 100 g frozen peas (no need to defrost first)
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander (AKA cilantro) plus extra for garnish (optional)
To serve
- Pickles/chutneys/naan bread/chapattis – or whatever you like to serve with a biryani!
Instructions
Chicken
- Place the diced chicken breast in a bowl and sprinkle over 2 teaspoons of garam masala, plus a little salt and pepper. Turn to get all the chicken pieces evenly coated.
- Put 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan or sauté pan and place over a high heat for 1 minute.
- Tip the chicken pieces into the hot frying pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until browned nicely on all sides, but not quite cooked through. (It will finish cooking later when added to the biryani.)
- Tip the part-cooked chicken out onto a plate.
Biryani
- Turn the heat right down and place the chicken pan back over the heat.
- Put the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan, and then add the sliced onion and red pepper. Fry gently over a low heat with the lid on for 3 minutes or until softened but not browned, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic, chilli and spices and fry for 1 more minute.
- Return the chicken to the pan together with the rice (See Note 1), salt and pepper. Stir to coat the chicken and rice in the spices, then add the coconut milk and water and bring to the boil.
- Put a lid on the frying pan and turn the heat right down, simmer for 8 minutes then add the frozen peas, stir once and replace the lid.
- Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the rice is done to your liking. If it starts sticking before the rice is cooked, add an extra splash of water.
- Finally stir in the 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander (cilantro).
- Sprinkle extra coriander on top and serve with all your favourite extras, such as naan breads, pickles and chutneys.
Notes
- Rice brands vary enormously in their cooking time, so do check the packet and adjust cooking times accordingly. I use Tesco basmati rice or Tilda basmati rice. Both state a cooking time of 10-12 minutes, and are cooked perfectly when the above instructions are followed to the letter. However, if your brand needs a longer cook time, then I recommend you start cooking the rice in the coconut milk / water mixture first, then add in the chicken when the rice has 13 minutes to go, and the peas when the rice has 5 minutes to go. In this way you will avoid over cooking the chicken and peas.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Adie says
Up there as one of our favourites
Eb Gargano says
Aw – yay, that is so wonderful to hear! Thank you for this lovely review and especially the 5* rating 😀