Chicken Kabsa

Easy chicken and rice dish, Kabsa is Saudi Arabia’s national dish. Tender chicken served over warmly spiced rice, flavored with cardamom, cinnamon sticks, coriander, black lime and turmeric. A classic Middle Eastern dish that shows up in many holidays.

Kabsa is an amazingly flavored rice dish that can be made with chicken, beef or lamb. An aromatic rice pilaf, a one pot meal from the Arabian peninsula.

It is like having a flavorful rice and chicken kebab, all made in one pot. An exotic Saudi rice dish served with raisins and almonds in holidays and any festive season.

Jump to:

• ❓Why This Recipe Works
• 📝 Ingredients
• 🥄 Instructions
• 💡 Tips
• ⌛ Make Ahead
• 🍽️ Serve With
• 🧺 Storage
• 💬 Recipe FAQs
• 📣 Related Recipes
• Chicken Kabsa

❓Why This Recipe Works

• So flavorful even the picky eaters will enjoy.
• A one pot meal to satisfy hungry people in your home.
• This is one of the easiest recipes for Kabsa you will ever find with lots of variations and alternatives.
• A crowd-pleaser recipe that is often the centerpiece of celebrations in many countries.

Kabsa is a traditional Saudi dish that consists mainly of rice and meat. A deliciously spiced chicken and rice dinner usually made with lamb meat but you can use beef/chicken as well.

📝 Ingredients

🥄 Instructions

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.

• In a non stick deep skillet or a dutch oven, heat oil / ghee or butter and toast spices until fragrant.
• Add garlic and onion. Saute until translucent.
• Add chicken thighs and cook for about 2 minutes on each side until no longer pink from outside.

• Add rice, tomato paste and check seasonings.
• Mix everything well together.
• Add water or chicken broth if using and cook rice until done.

Instant Pot Instructions:

• Turn on the IP on the saute option melt ghee then add the spices and toast for a couple of minutes.
• Add garlic and onions and continue to saute until translucent or for about 3 minutes more.
• Add chicken and cook for about 5 minutes on both sides or until no longer pink.
• Mix in rice, tomato paste and salt. Stir well, bringing chicken pieces to top. 
• Close the lid and turn it to pressure cook for 8 minutes. When it is done let it natural release for 5 minutes then release the rest manually. Now it might give you the burn warning. I've used less water, 1.5 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. This water ratio is high as most people recommend 1:1. My IP did not give me the burn warning, rice was a little bit mushy but no one complained. I've had a follower message me that when it gave them the burn warning, they turned their pot off, scraped the bottom then turned it on again and it worked just fine.

💡 Tips

• It is highly recommended to use dried lime, you can easily purchase this from any Middle East store. If you cannot find it, then feel free to leave it out.
• You can use ground cinnamon but in my opinion whole spices is the best way.
• Use any sort of chicken you have. Feel free to use bone-in, skin on chicken pieces. I also made it with Cornish chicken and it was delicious.
• In my little home we like rice more with water than cooked with stock, but you can use stock for more flavor.

⌛ Make Ahead

Like most rice dishes, kabsa can be made ahead and reheated thoroughly when ready to serve. You can make kabsa 2 days ahead, refrigerate when cooled down. If using nuts for garnishing then toast them when ready to serve.

🍽️ Serve With

We usually eat Kabsa with any sort of green salad like this tabouli salad. Also kabsa is usually served with a salty yogurt drink like Ayran to help with digestion.

🧺 Storage

Leftover can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

💬 Recipe FAQs

📣 Related Recipes

• Musakhan is considered a staple traditional dish in the Palestinian cuisine. Roasted sumac flavored chicken on top of taboon bread with caramelized onion and garnished with nuts. A feast on the table.
• These stuffed grape leaves are delicious and easy to prepare. They're perfect for parties or as an appetizer.
• This chicken and yellow rice recipe is easy to prepare and tastes great. It’s perfect for dinner parties or family gatherings.
• Chicken shawarma rice is one of our favorite easy weeknight meals. Tender chicken with flavorful yellow rice topped with an amazing white sahwarma sauce all take just about 30 minutes!
• Chicken Mandi is a traditional Yemeni dish made of tender, slow-cooked chicken is spiced with a blend of aromatic spices and served on a bed of fragrant rice and is often accompanied by a side of Zhoug.

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First published May 2019, Last updated December 2021 for better user experience and clarity.

I've seen Kabsa for the first time in my life when I was in Saudi Arabia and it was made at a wedding banquet. It is usually served in large plates with a big chunk of lamb meat on top of rice. Kabsa is better be eaten- according to Saudi traditions- in large group of people while sitting on the floor and usually with no spoons as they prefer to eat it with right hands or at least this was what I've experienced.

Today I'm going to make Chicken Kabsa. It is one of our family's fav. dishes of all time. This dish can be made with bone-in or boneless chicken so feel free to use whatever best for your family, although I feel it is tastier with bone in chicken I've used boneless chicken so my kids won't nag me about it.