Bursting with flavor, juicy, hearty, and comforting, this Spanish Chicken And Rice makes a delicious one-pot recipe for the whole family. Perfect for a weeknight or Sunday dinner.
For more cozy dinner recipes try my Mustard Chicken Meatballs and Chicken Pumpkin Curry and Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff.
Chicken And Spanish Rice Recipe
Despite that I've been blogging for several years now, I came to the realization that Gazpacho was the only Spanish recipe that I ever shared with you. It's a traditional Spanish soup that I made at the very beginning of my blogging journey.
Recently I republished Gazpacho recipe with much more attractive pictures and I strongly encourage you to try this delicious summer soup for yourself.
Speaking of Spanish...
In the middle of 2000s I had an amazing opportunity to visit this beautiful country. I fell in love with it at first sight.
Despite that Barcelona was the only place that I've been to, I was totally mesmerised by its rich cultural heritage and breathtaking beauty. Every street, every corner of Barcelona can tell its unique story.
Probably one of the most beautiful things that I've ever seen was the architectural design by Gaudí. His unusual and distinctive works are scattered all across the city.
We loved touring the same streets of Barcelona day and nightlight. The beauty of Gaudí design becomes even more prominent at night.
And of course, as any European country, Spain is a famous place for gastronomical delights. Think Gazpacho, Paella, Tapas, Crema Catalana.
While in Barcelona, we were lucky to try a few of those dishes. We were absolutely blown away by the combination of ingredients they use and the incredible flavor of everything that we ordered.
Up to this day, Gazpacho remains one of my favorite soups for hot weather. And Paella is pure comfort food.
My husband hasn't been to Spain yet, but whenever I tell him stories of my international journeys, I can definitely see his interest.
Despite that now, with 2 young kids, it's quite difficult to travel long distances, I hope that one day, I'll be able to come back to Spain and explore even more of its beauty and cuisine.
Speaking of paella. Today, I'm sharing with you a One Pot Spanish Chicken And Rice or Chicken Paella Easy Recipe. It has everything to delight your taste buds and turn a regular supper into a Spanish-inspired family meal.
And speaking of easy. More and more I'm starting to love one pot recipes.
Back in the days, I never really payed attention to how many pans and pots I use.
But now, when a recipe like this is on the menu, it makes my heart happy knowing that more delicious food is on the table and less dishes to clean. Win-win situation!
As with many of my recipes that require some oven time, I'm using my favorite oven-proof Le Creuset Braiser. It's big enough to make a dinner for the family of 6 and is so versatile. You can use it for cooking so many types of recipes.
How To Make Spanish Chicken And Rice
- Start off with preheating your oven to 355 F and rubbing chicken thighs with some salt and pepper. Here you can use chicken drumsticks or chicken breast in place of the thighs. See my substitution tips at the bottom of the recipe card.
- Now, heat a little bit of olive oil in the ovenproof pan and brown chicken thighs until nice and crispy, about 5-4 per side. Remove them to a plate and set aside while you prepare the rice.
- Now you have the remaining tablespoon of olive oil that the recipe calls for, so go ahead and add it to the pan. When the oil is hot, add rice, paprika, white wine (which you can omit if you want), give it a stir and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add saffron, tomatoes, bay leaf, salt, pepper and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Place chicken on top of rice, cover the pan with an ovenproof lid or a foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until rice and chicken is cooked. It's always a good idea to check the doneness of meat with an instant meat thermometer. It should read at least 165 F in the thickest part of the chicken.
- Now, all you have to do is stir in olives, sprinkle with parsley and serve! Yummy!
More Easy Spanish Recipe To Try At Home
- Libritos de Lomo - Spanish pork cutlets stuffed with roasted peppers, cheese and ham and baked until crispy perfection. If this doesn't sound decadent, I don't know what does;)
- Gazpacho - one of the most popular Spanish tomato soup recipes that doesn't require the use of a stovetop.
- Watermelon Tomato Salad With Goat Cheese - simple and delicious Spanish inspired salad that pairs beautifully with meaty dishes.
Recipe
Spanish Chicken And Rice (Best Arroz Con Pollo)
Ingredients
Click the highlighted link to purchase the ingredients
- 6 bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs See the notes
- 1 large onion finely minced
- 5 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 red bell pepper finely chopped
- ½ jalapeño pepper finely chopped
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 c long grain rice rinsed
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 ½ c chicken broth low sodium
- ¾ c dry white wine See the notes
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon saffron
- ¼ c green olives halved
- ¼ c black olives halved
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoon parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 355 F.
- Season chicken with ½ teaspoon of salt and ⅛ of pepper on each side.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch Oven pan on a medium heat.
- Cook chicken on both sides for 7 minutes until skin is crispy and brown.
- Transfer chicken to a plate and wipe the pan.
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and saute onion, garlic and both peppers for 3 minutes.
- Add paprika and rice and cook stirring until well coated.
- Add white wine and cook for 3 minutes.
- Stir in saffron, diced tomatoes, bay leaf, remaining salt and pepper, chicken stock and bring to a boil.
- Place chicken on top of rice, cover a pan with an ovenproof lid or aluminium foil and braise in the oven for 30-40 minutes until rice is cooked.
- Remove from the oven, stir in olives.
- Adjust salt and pepper if needed.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you make my Recipe for Spanish Rice And Chicken, make sure to snap a photo and post it on Instagram with a hashtag #lavenderandmacarons.
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mattie says
CHICKEN AND SPANISH RICE RECIPE
Do drain the can of tomatoes. and can you use Rotel diced tomatoes & green chilies? for this recipe?
Iryna says
No need to drain the tomatoes. And yes, you can use Rotel diced tomatoes & green chilies. The dish is going to be a little spicier though:)
Joy Johnson says
What changes would you suggest to make this dish with soy curls instead?
Iryna says
Hi Joy, I've never made this recipe with soy curls. However, this is what I recommend. Soak the soy curls first for about 10 minutes. Squeeze all water and then fry them in some oil for about 2-3 minutes until they start to brown. Then I would remove the soy curls to a plate, cook the rice with the other ingredients until it's tender. Then add the soy curls at the very end and cook for another 5 minutes with the rest of the ingredients.
Joy Johnson says
Thank you! When I soak soy curls, I like to add seasoning to the water to enhance their flavor to match the rest of the dish. I'll try a bay leaf, paprika, and saffron.
Anita says
What can you sub for the saffron?
Iryna says
You can just skip it or replace with 1/4 tsp of turmeric.
Chrissy Creech says
This was a hit with my husband and kids! It is a perfect one pot dinner.
Brooke says
Delicious! My first time using Saffron and I think I have a new favorite. This is such an easy one pot dinner and is just packed so full of flavor and feels like a really fancy dish. Thank you for this! I made this for a dinner party, with Tortilla Española and Gazpacho as starters.. it was such a hit!
Iryna says
Hi Brooke! Oh, I'm so glad you liked this recipe! It's definitely one of my family's favorite meals as well.
Sounds like you had a true Spanish feast. Tortilla Española and Gazpacho are so yummy! Thank you for your wonderful comment!
Vanessa says
I feel like there was more sauce items then rice.
Iryna says
Vanessa, sorry the dish wasn’t what you expected! This is a recipe that I love and have gotten great reviews for. I might give it a go again to see if anything needs tweaking.
Sonia Womack says
What if I do not use white wine? What do I replace ingredient with? Thank you
Iryna says
Sonia, you can just omit it, no need to replace with anything.
virg says
how much more liquid do i put for 3 cups of rice?
Iryna says
I would add 4 1/4 cups of broth.
Claire says
This looks delicious.
I love Spain, I have many fond memories of my travels there.
My in-laws live there and I hope to take the kids one day. Especially for Christmas and the festival of the three kings.
Iryna says
Thanks Claire! That would be so fun to visit the festival. I've never heard of it and now I have one more reason to go to Spain again:)
Taylor Kiser says
Love one pot dinners like this one! It is comfort food for the win! And easy clean up is bonus points!
Iryna says
Thanks Taylor!
Hope says
This looks so hearty and full of flavour! Anything with olives is a winner for me, they add so much flavour to a dish, I bet this one is no exception 🙂
Iryna says
Thank you Hope!
Tatiana says
An explosion of Spanish flavors in one plate-that’s what I call this chicken and rice . Delicious and so flavorful !
Iryna says
Thank you Tatiana!
Kelly says
What size can of diced tomatoes did you use, 14oz?
Also, there is mention of adding wine in the directions but none on the ingredient list. Would that be the same as the broth?
Iryna says
Hi Kelly! Yes, I used 14 oz can size. There is actually wine in the ingredients:) I used 3/4 of a cup of dry white wine. Hope that helps!
Valerie Stevens says
Can this be done with chicken BREASTS? If so, how should cooking time be adjusted? Thanks.
Iryna says
You can definitely use chicken breasts. I would cut it into small pieces, brown on each side for 3 minutes. And then continue with the rest of the steps according to the recipe instructions. Hope this helps!