Easy Tropical Chicken and Rice Bake

An all-in-one chicken bake with tropical and bright flavors, yet the comfort of a baked dinner meal.

Aloha Chicken and Rice Bake with pineapple, rice, chicken and turkey bacon/

How to Make Easy Tropical Chicken and Rice Bake

Most classic chicken and rice recipes start off cooking the rice on the stove and then finish in the oven. In an effort to simplify dinner, this recipe just calls for everything to be put into the pan all at once. This makes for a super flavorful baked rice because it soaks up the sweetness of the pineapple juice while is is baking. Plus it is one less dish you have to wash! We love this Easy Tropical Chicken and Rice bake because it has the comfort of a baked chicken and rice dish, with the fresh flavors or red bell pepper, pineapple and green onion.

Easy Tropical Chicken and Rice Bake in small white bowls

What is a Casserole?

Casserole is basically a less appealing word for a ‘bake’. It is technically a large dish cooked in the oven and also used to serve out of it. But a casserole should be everyone mom’s dream recipe! It feeds a lot of little mouths, it typically will have veggies in it, and it is just one pan to worry about. There are a lot of versions of chicken and rice casserole, but we think our fresher version of chicken and rice is one of the best. A lot of people think of a casserole with cream soup, mushy veggies, and kind of bland looking. This Easy Tropical Chicken and Rice Bake has fresh red bell pepper, green onion, sweet and juicy pineapple, chicken and rice and savory bacon. There is definitely nothing bland about it.

Easy Tropical Chicken and Rice Bake in a baking dish with serving spoon

Can you Bake Rice in the Oven?

Yes! If I were going to make just rice by itself, I think there are probably easier methods (rice cooker or InstantPot). But for chicken and rice, the oven is a great method of cooking! Rice is something that you usually don’t get a second chance at if you mess it up the first time. A lot of time, cooking rice on the stove can produce different results, and baking rice in the oven resolves most of the problems! The great thing about baking rice, is you can add flavorings while it bakes and it makes the rice really delicious.

Easy Tropical Chicken and Rice Bake in 3 small white bowls

Turkey Bacon Vs. Pork Bacon

The most common question asked about this: Is Turkey Bacon or Pork Bacon better for you? The short answer is that pork bacon has about 25 more calories, .5 grams of fat and 30mg of sodium per serving that turkey bacon. However, turkey bacon has less than half the protein of pork bacon. The way turkey bacon is made is from ground up turkey and then it is flavored to taste like bacon. Ground up dark meat is layered on ground up light meat. Because there are different types of meat involved, it allows the processors to add in as little or as much fat as they like. In pork bacon, the amount of fat is dictated by how fat the pig belly was.