Easy Spanish Chicken And Rice

This easy Spanish chicken and rice dinner recipe is a simple one pan meal that the whole family will enjoy. The tender and juicy chicken thighs are rubbed with a tasty spice blend and then mixed with rice and veggies. It’s easy and tasty and a very family friendly weeknight meal.

You might also like this Middle Eastern chicken & rice dinner.

I used to make something similar to this Spanish chicken and rice recipe a long time ago. After my mother passed away, I used to cook for my father, as did my sister in law and sisters. This was an easy dish that he liked and one that I could make with my limited cooking skills at the time.

Now this is a regular meal in our family because my hubby and son love it. This rice dish tastes very similar to arroz con pollo if you are familiar with that. One pan dinners like this are great because they have your meat, vegetables and starch altogether. And it’s pretty easy to throw together on busy weeknights because it uses simple ingredients.

Recipe ingredients and substitutions.

The simple ingredients I used in this chicken and rice dinner were chicken thighs, olive oil, yellow onion, bell peppers, peas, white rice, chicken stock or broth, garlic and tomato sauce. You can use green bell peppers too but I prefer sweet bell peppers in this dish.

I only have made this with regular white long grain rice and the timing of the dish has mostly to do with the rice. So I would not use brown rice because it takes longer to cook. However if you want to try it just keep that in mind when it comes to how long to cook everything.

The simple seasoning or spice blend was a mixture of garlic powder, cumin, cayenne, paprika, salt and turmeric. It really gives the dish a boost of flavor. If cayenne is too hot for you, try using black pepper instead. 

Turmeric is a spice that makes the rice yellow. It’s something that my family has always add to rice and turmeric is a even good for you! Learn more about the health benefits of turmeric if you are interested.

Should I use chicken thighs or breast?

I prefer skinless, boneless thighs in this recipe. I like them because they are inexpensive and they don’t dry out as easily as breasts. You could also use bone in, skin on thighs. I would just make sure the get the skin crisp when you brown it in the skillet. I find it’s just easier using the boneless and skinless thighs.

However if you prefer you could use skinless chicken breasts and they would work too. Because they are cooking in the liquids and spices they shouldn’t be too dry. 

 Also spicy chorizo sausage would work well too in this dish. You would want to use Mexican chorizo which is fresh ground pork with seasonings. Spanish chorizo is a dried, cured, sausage and wouldn’t work as well. Check out these Mexican chorizo recipes if you are interested in that.

How to make this Spanish chicken and rice recipe.

This is a rather simple recipe. That’s what makes it such a nice weekday dinner. We love the cozy flavor of this dish and it’s a complete meal in one pan.

Step 1: Prepare the spice rub by mixing the salt, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne and paprika in a small bowl. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Next rub the spices on both sides of your skinless chicken thighs.

Step 2: Heat up a large deep skillet  to a medium high heat and add the olive oil. Then place the chicken pieces in and turn the heat down to medium heat. Brown the meat for about 3-4 minutes on both sides.

Step 3: Take them out and add a little water (1 tablespoon spoon or so) to deglaze the the brown bits. Place in the peppers, onion and garlic in the pan and saute them for 1-2 minutes until they soften a little. Then add the rice and mix well to combine.

Step 4: Mix the chicken broth, turmeric and tomato sauce together. Note this is the liquid that will cook the rice. (Note you could substitute 1 ¾ cups water for the chicken broth if you want but the broth adds a bit of extra flavor.) Then add it to the pan and mix well.

Step 5: Return chicken back to the pan and sprinkle your frozen peas over top. Cover and lower the heat to medium low. Cook for about 25-30 minutes until everything is cooked through. Note cooking time may vary.

If you want you can sprinkle some fresh parsley on top for a garnish or added color but it doesn’t really need it. Store leftovers in an airtight container. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

This is an amazing meal and you can just add a simple green salad if you want. Often this is all we eat because again it’s a balance meal with meat, vegetable and starch all in one pan. And it’s very satisfying.

Other family friendly meat and rice one pan dinners to try.

If your family are rice eaters too you might the following family friendly recipes which are ones we eat often. They are very easy and all our served over rice.

• green bean & beef stew
• eggplant & beef stew
• pepper steak
• Paleo beef & broccoli or this easier keto ground beef & broccoli
• tilapia pomodoro (tomatoes)

Rice was one my dad’s favorite foods so I grew up eating a lot of it. I still eat it often with our meals and luckily my hubby and son like it too. Both really enjoyed this delicious rice and chicken dish and I liked how easy it is to make a complete meal on the stove and not in the oven.

I hope you like this Spanish chicken and rice recipe as much as we do and please let me know if you have any one pot meals you’d like to share. Enjoy!

If you are watching your carbs, I also have a low carb Spanish cauliflower rice you might like.