Spanish Chicken and Rice is a simple, flavorful, and satisfying dinner that comes together in under an hour. A medley of seasonings like smoked paprika and garlic powder give the chicken mouthwatering flavor, while the rice is cooked in savory ingredients like chicken broth and tomato sauce!
Easy Stovetop Chicken and Rice Recipe
Tender chicken thighs are seasoned and pan seared before being cooked through in the same pan as the flavor packed rice… In other words, this recipe is both simple AND totally delicious!
This Spanish-inspired dinner is sure to become a weeknight staple in your kitchen. It’s hearty and full of flavor, so it’s sure to hit the spot for everyone at the dinner table! It’s not spicy, so kids will eat it up, but you can also easily add spice if you’d like.
For more zesty Spanish-inspired chicken dinners that are sure to satisfy, check out my easy recipes for Instant Pot Salsa Chicken and Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas!
Why You’ll Love this Spanish Chicken and Rice Recipe:
- One Pot: This chicken and rice dinner is made in just one pot! That not only means it’s an easy recipe, but also that there will be less clean up afterwards.
- Customizable: I love this recipe just the way it is, but you can easily customize it by swapping out the chicken thighs for drumsticks or adding spices like cayenne powder to turn up the heat.
- Flavorful: You’re going to love how flavor-packed this recipe is! Each bite is bursting with zesty, savory Spanish flavors.
How to make Easy Spanish Chicken and Rice
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Mix the seasonings together to create a blend.
- Season the chicken.
- Brown the chicken in the pan with a little olive oil.
- Remove the chicken from the pan.
- Sauté the rice until toasted.
- Stir in the chicken broth and tomato sauce.
- Place the chicken back into the pot.
- Simmer, cover and cook.
- Uncover.
- Top with green olives, parsley, and lemon wedges.
- Serve and enjoy!
How do I know when the rice is done cooking?
This is a little tricky. At the 20 minute mark, check if the rice is cooked through by taking a little bite! However, you need to do this quickly. The steam in the pot is what cooks the rice, so if you let too much escape and the rice isn’t quite done, it’ll take even longer to cook.
If at 20 minutes the rice is still not quite done, replace the lid quickly and let it cook for another 5 minutes. It should be ready to go by then!
How can I add a little spice to this chicken and rice?
The easiest way to amp up the spice level is by adding cayenne powder to the seasoning mix that goes on the chicken. If you want more spice than that, stir more cayenne powder into the chicken broth and tomato sauce that mixes with the toasted rice.
How long will my leftovers stay fresh?
In an airtight container in the refrigerator, any leftovers you have will stay fresh for up to 3 days. While the rice reheats just fine in the microwave, the chicken thighs are best when reheated right back in the pan!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- All out of chicken broth? That’s ok! You can substitute it with vegetable broth or just water.
- Bone-in or boneless chicken thighs will both be delicious with this recipe.
- If you’re not a fan of fresh parsley, finely chopped cilantro is also a delicious garnish for this Spanish dinner.
This one pot Spanish chicken and rice recipe is quick, easy, and SO delicious!
More one pot chicken recipes we love
- Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Cheesy Chicken and Rice
- Chicken Dijon in White Wine Sauce
- Chicken Jambalaya
If you’ve made this recipe, please be sure to let us know by leaving a star rating or a comment below. Enjoy!
Spanish Chicken and Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 6 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs about 2 lbs.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
- 1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- ½ cup pitted green olives
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry and sprinkle both sides with the spices.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add in the chicken, skin side down, and cook until browned, about 5-7 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until browned on the second side, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- To the pan, add in the rice and sauté until toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth and tomato sauce. Nestle the chicken back into the pot. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on medium-low for 20-25 minutes until the rice and chicken are cooked through.
- Uncover, top with green olives, parsley, and lemon wedges. Serve.
Notes
Feel free to use 4 chicken breasts instead of thighs. Or boneless skinless chicken thighs. Even drumsticks!
Ann Decoteau says
How to pin your recipes to Pinterest. Clicking on save for later, does not work.
Thanks you
Ann
Becky Hardin says
I was able to pin it! On the lefthand side of the screen you can see the classic Pinterest “P”, just click on that and it will give you the option to pin!