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Chicken and Rice or “Arroz con Pollo” is a staple dish throughout the Latin World. From Spain to South America to the Southern Border of the US, every home cook has a version of this dish. This version is briny with olives, capers and marinated artichokes, and aromatic with saffron that tints the rice the color of sunshine. An easy and flavorful one-pot meal that the whole family will love. Serve this dish as a side dish or as the main course.
One thing I love about this meal, aside from the fact that it uses only one dish, is the space it gives for variation.
Variations
- Omit saffron, add more paprika and a pinch of turmeric for color if you have it. Or paprika and cumin.
- Add a can of drained and rinsed garbanzo, black or kidney beans.
- Instead of marinated artichokes, add peas in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Add shrimp, mussels or clams in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Add spanish chorizo or smoked sausage.
- Add other vegetables like carrots, mushrooms, or different peppers at the beginning of cooking.
- Use chicken breast or pork loin instead of chicken thighs
- Use long-grain rice like basmati or jasmine instead of short-grain rice.
“Arroz” versus “Paella”
This dish looks lot like paella but paella is cooked in a “Paella.” The dish is named after the type of pan it is cooked in. A Paella pan is made of highly conductive thin metal like steel. It has no cover.
Rice cooked in a paella pan is cooked in a thin layer, uncovered, and gets a delicious crust on the bottom called “socarrat”. The increased surface area allows for more evaporation and produces drier rice. If you made this recipe in a paella, then it would be “paella”. You would want an 18-20″ pan (or two 12″ pans) to make this recipe as a “paella”. Cooked in a brazier or a casserole dish, this dish becomes “Arroz” instead of “Paella”.
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One-Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: One Pot
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Spanish/Latin American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2–3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
3/4 teaspoon salt or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced. Or just diced, or one 14 oz can diced tomatoes drained.
1 Teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 cups short grain rice
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1/2 cup pimento-stuffed olives, sliced
1–2 Tablespoons capers, drained
1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, halved or quartered
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Season your chicken all over.
Measure out your broth in a microwave-proof measuring cup or dish, heat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, then add the saffron and let it steep.
In on oven-safe skillet with a lid or your brazier, heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the chicken until white. Remove the chicken pieces and set them aside for now.
Add the onions, and pepper to the skillet and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, paprika and continue cooking for another 5 minutes or so. If there is a lot of liquid from the vegetables, continue sautéeing until it has evaporated.
Stir in the rice and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the broth, olives, and capers. Bring to a simmer, taste, and season the broth. It should be very well seasoned, add more salt if needed.
Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice, cover the pan with your oven-safe lid, and bake for 30 minutes. Stir in the artichoke hearts, cover, and bake for another 5 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Buying Saffron
Saffron can be purchased from Amazon but I prefer to buy mine from SFHerb. The prices are great (although no free shipping) and I feel like there is more oversight regarding counterfeit or adulterated products. I recommend buying saffron is full strands instead of powdered.
SFHerb is where I bought all my spices at the restaurant. It has a great selection of bulk spices, teas and salts.
yum! we had this last night and it was very good. I wonder about the ‘prep time’. it took way beyond 5 minute prep and quite a bit longer in oven. We ended up eating rather late… I assume oven was supposed to be at 350*, although I cooked at 375*, then still simmered stovetop another 25minutes.
Hi Sally,
Sorry your dinner took longer than expected. Did you cover the casserole dish while it baked? I updated the cooking temp and you were correct with 350F. For prep time, I figured 5 minutes to gather up ingredients plus an additional 5 minutes to chop and dice while the chicken cooks (included in the cooking time). From your comments, I did update the recipe to add a bit more cooking time to factor in sautéing the veggies and bringing the broth up to a boil. I’ve made this many times in the oven and have never had a problem getting the rice perfectly done within 30 minutes. I’m not sure why it took so long for you and required additional simmering…. it’s a mystery.
I loved this dish. I can see how you can change or add ingredients easily and it would also be delicious. I appreciated the information about the “paella” too. I will make this again soon. Nice recipe Kara!
This recipe was easy and delicious! My mom (she lives with us) diced the onion, green pepper and garlic for me while I got the broth/saffron seeping and cooked the chicken. I had to leave out the green olives because my husband won’t eat them. I gently warmed up the artichokes and served them on the side as he won’t eat those either. ( so sad!). Regardless, it was still great. The family gave it a thumbs up, and it will become part of our rotation.
P.S. I cooked it in an enameled dutch oven with a tight lid and it cooked in 30 min. Rice and chicken were cooked fine.
Hi Patty, glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing some of the ways this recipe can be customized.