Easy Spanish Chicken & Rice (Grandma's Recipe)
This Spanish chicken and rice is packed with bold flavor, tender chicken, and perfectly seasoned rice cooked in one pan.
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Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs, boneless skinless*
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, 1 cup chopped
- 1 bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 ½ cups white rice*
- 3 cups chicken broth, low-sodium or water warmed
- 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, regular size or petite with liquid
Spanish seasoning:
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Prep:
- Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs. Pat them dry with a paper towel.
- In a small dish, combine the seasoning ingredients. Mix well. You’ll use half of this seasoning to season the chicken, and the other half will be added to the rice.
- In a large bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 ½ tablespoons of the Spanish seasoning. Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and toss to coat both sides of each thigh with seasoning.
Cook:
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sear the chicken thighs 3 minutes per side. Remove them onto a plate on the side. They won’t be fully cooked at this point and that’s ok. They’ll finish cooking with the rice. Heat up the chicken broth now, so it’s warm when you need it in the next step.
- Drizzle an additional 1 tablespoon of oil onto the pan (with the drippings), still over medium heat, and sauté the onions and peppers for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste, rice and remaining seasoning to the skillet and stir. Add the chicken stock (or water), diced tomatoes and mix everything in the skillet.
- Place the seared chicken thighs on top of the rice (pour any juices from the plate into the skillet). Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pan with a lid, and let it cook for 20 minutes. Then, turn off the heat, and let it sit for 5 minutes without opening the lid. Around minute 15, I give the pan (covered) a little shimmy shake.
- Serve hot and enjoy! In Spain, we often garnish this dish with chopped parsley and fresh lemon wedges.
Notes
- In Spain, we don’t put green olives in this rice (although I’ve seen other recipe creators do this in the US). If you like green olives, you can add ½ cup sliced when you add the tomatoes. You can swap diced tomatoes for 1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes plus ½ cup additional liquid to cook the rice.
- Long grain white rice is what I use for this recipe.
- In the US, there are several paprika varieties (each labeled differently). You’ll find smoked, sweet, Spanish paprika, and just paprika. I prefer smoked paprika but if you don’t have it, any of them will work.
- If you want to use chicken breasts instead of thighs, you’ll need 2 breasts (about 1.5lbs), butterflied (sliced in half horizontally) into 4 thin pieces. If you want to use bone-in thighs, sear them skin-side-down first, for about 6 minutes, then another 6 on the second side.
- Tip: if you’re opening a small can of tomato paste, freeze leftovers by measuring 1 tablespoon size dollops on top a piece of parchment, place the parchment on a plate, and freeze it flat for an hour. Then, I transfer each 1 tablespoon clump inside a zip bag where it can stay frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 534kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 142mg | Sodium: 336mg | Potassium: 525mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 874IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg
