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Arroz con pollo is the perfect one pot dinner recipe. Fragrant Spanish chicken and rice cooked with onions, peppers and peas is guaranteed to be a winner.
My mom was quite an adventurous eater and she often ear-marked recipes in magazines and cookbooks. I came across a cookbook released by a local women’s magazine in the 90’s the other day. In it, my mom had marked a few recipes she wanted to try. “Easy Spanish chicken and rice”was one of them. I don’t actually remember her every making it but it looked so delicious, I decided to make it for dinner one night. And hot damn, was it tasty! After some research, I found out that my mom’s 90’s Spanish chicken and rice is in fact Arroz con pollo.
This traditional dish (mostly cooked in Spain and Latin America) is kind of a cousin of Paella which happens to be one of my all-time favorite recipes. What makes Arroz con pollo so fabulous is that it takes no time to prep and only requires on pan. My family loved this easy dinner recipe and it’s now on regular rotation in our house. My mom would’ve been so proud. 🙂
How to make arroz con pollo
Use bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces for the most flavor. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels then season generously with salt on both sides. Heat a large, deep pan or skillet over medium high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides then remove and set aside. Fry the onion and peppers until soft and translucent then add the garlic. Cook for 30 seconds then add the spices and tomato paste. Allow to fry until the pan becomes dry then add the long grain rice and chicken stock or broth. Season with salt, add the chicken pieces and all of their resting juices to the top of the rice. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat then allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Add the frozen peas after 10 minutes and simmer until the rice and chicken are cooked through.
You could also place the entire dish in the oven to bake for the last 10-15 minutes to ensure the chicken skin crisps up. Serve the chicken and rice garnished with chopped parsley and lemon wedges for squeezing.
What to serve with arroz con pollo
Because the chicken and rice are cooked with vegetables, you really only need to serve this recipe with lemon wedges for squeezing. A simple salad alongside would be a good side dish should you want to serve one.
Easy chicken recipes
- Lemon pepper chicken thighs
- Easy sticky ginger chicken
- Creamy spinach garlic chicken
- Easy Parmesan crusted chicken
Arroz con pollo
Ingredients
- 8 chicken pieces (drumsticks and thighs)
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 red pepper de-seeded and finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups long grain rice
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup frozen peas
- salt and pepper to taste
- chopped parsley to serve
- lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels then season with salt on both sides.
- Brown the chicken on both sides in a deep pan or skillet. Remove and set aside.
- Fry the onino and pepper until soft then add the garlic. Cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the spices and tomato paste and cook until the pan becomes dry.
- Add the rice and stock. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken on top then cover and reduce the heat. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the frozen peas then simmer for another 10-15 minutes until the rice and chicken are cooked. At this point you can place the whole dish in a hot oven to cook for the remaining 10-15 minutes to ensure the chicken skin crisps up.
- Finish the dish by garnishing with chopped parsley and lemon wedges before serving.
Saw this last night, made it tonight and it was a TOTAL winner! Best is the cooking time so it’s simple enough for a weeknight AND there’s plenty of leftovers! Thanks for this one Alida!
I’m so glad you liked it Veronica. 🙂