One Pan Spanish Chicken and Rice

This Spanish Chicken and Rice is made completely in one pan and it’s incredibly flavorful and delicious! It’s filled with bell peppers, roasted red peppers, onion, garlic, saffron, peas, and fresh parsley. It’s a huge crowd pleaser and it’s such a simple comfort food meal!

Quite possibly one of my favorite dishes in the world: Spanish chicken and rice, arroz con pollo, paella, or anything remotely similar to any of those things. First of all, rice is freaking delicious and I love it oh-so-very-much. And always have. Two, I LOVE the taste of saffron. And chicken thighs are so delish because of the dark meat! So much flavor.

And the best part of this, is that it’s made completely in one pan! So that means less dishes for us! And god knows I do enough of those…

So I seasoned these thighs with paprika, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Super simple but amazing! I then seared the heck out of them because crispy chicken > not crispy chicken.

Next, you just throw everything in the pan – green bell peppers, onion, garlic, roasted red peppers, tomato paste, saffron, and chicken broth!

Then you cook it on the stovetop for a bit, and then finish it off in the oven!

I add the peas at the very last minute so they steam and stay super bright green!

Also, I freaking love peas but I feel like they get a bad rap sometimes. Anyone else a pea lover?

I could NOT STOP eating this as I was shooting it. In fact, we’re lucky I had enough left to shoot. I really had to try hard to stop eating this. Story of my life though.

I find something about the taste of saffron, aromatics, and rice SO incredible. It just goes to show you that you don’t need a ton of ingredients to create super flavorful meals! Most all of the spices in this recipe are pantry staples! Winnnning.

My absolute favorite kind of comfort food!

4 from 1 vote

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One Pan Spanish Chicken and Rice

This Spanish Chicken and Rice is made completely in one pan and it's incredibly flavorful and delicious! It's filled with bell peppers, roasted red peppers, onion, garlic, saffron, peas, and fresh parsley. It's such a crowd pleaser and it's such a simple comfort food meal!

Course Chicken, Main

Cuisine One Pan, Spanish

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 4

Author Molly | Spices in My DNA

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs (I used bone-in, skin on)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 of a large sweet onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers
• 1 1/2 cups white rice
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 pinch saffron
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup peas
• chopped flat leaf parsley, for serving

Instructions

1. Combine paprika, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Stir to combine. Rub chicken thighs all over with spice mixture. Heat a large nonstick oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Once hot, add the chicken thighs and sear for about 4 minutes per side, or until golden and crispy. Remove chicken thighs from the pan and set on a plate.

2. Add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the pan and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the roasted red peppers, rice, tomato paste, saffron, and chicken broth and stir to combine. Once thoroughly combined, add the chicken back into the pan in a single layer, and raise heat to high. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. (Don't remove the lid!) Preheat oven to 400℉.

3. Once chicken and rice has simmered for 20 minutes, place covered skillet in the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. After this time, if desired, preheat your broiler to high and broil for a few minutes to get the chicken skin crispy! 

4. Once chicken and rice has finished cooking, add the peas to the pan and cover for a few minutes to let them steam and warm through. Serve chicken and rice with chopped parsley!