Arroz con pollo means rice with chicken in the Spanish language. This dish is prepared in many different ways in Spain and Latin America. It reminds me a bit of paella. I have had arroz con pollo a few times at a restaurant, but to be honest I thought the flavor was a bit blend. I therefore tried to improve it at home and result is what you see before you.

I have seen recipes where things like saffron, annatto oil, or even beer are added. That could be good but I didn’t have them on hand and wasn’t sure that they would be key to making this really great. You might already have many of the ingredients for this dish on hand with the exception of red palm oil, turmeric, and the chicken thighs. Note that I recommend bone-in skin-on chicken thighs because it makes the dish richer and less dry than a simple chicken breast.

One great advantage of this dish — in addition to tasting awesome according to my husband — is that you get the complete package in pot. There are vegetables, rice, and meat all in one. In addition, once you put it together you can let it bake in the oven. This makes it pretty simple to make.

Ingredients

Chicken

• 3 lbs. or 6 pieces of bone in, skin on chicken thigh, excess fat trimmed
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Broth

• 3 1/2 cups water
• 2 tbsp. chicken base
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

Chicken and rice

• 1 tbsp. red palm oil
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup chopped green bell peppers
• 4 cloves or 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 cups basmati rice
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/4 cup sliced, black olives

Instructions

Chicken prep. and broth

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Season chicken with turmeric, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix very well to coat the chicken with spices. Set aside for 15-20 minutes.

Whisk water and chicken base well. Add the tomatoes, mix well, then set aside while for later.

Chicken and rice

Heat both oil in a large heavy bottom sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces skin side down. Cook for 5-7 minutes until skin side is nicely golden brown. Flip the chicken pieces over and turn down the heat to low. Cover and cook the chicken for 10-12 minutes, making sure that the chicken doesn’t burn. Remove the chicken pieces and transfer it to a plate leaving the oil in the pan.

Turn up the heat to medium-high heat again, then add the onions, peppers, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring few times in between. Add cumin and oregano to the onion mixture, then cook for 30 seconds. Add the rice, stir well, and cook for couple of minutes, stirring a few times so the rice doesn’t burn.

Add the broth mixture and stir well. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Arrange chicken atop rice mixture. Turn off the heat. Cover and transfer the chicken and rice to preheated oven. Cook for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from the oven and sprinkle peas and olives over the chicken and rice. Cover and leave it for 5 minutes. You can remove the skin and bone, then shred the chicken at this point if you like. Gently mix in the shredded chicken, peas, and olives to the rice.

Serve Arroz con Pollo with a side salad to make a complete balanced meal or serve as it is!

Serves 6-8

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram. If you would to be notified of upcoming posts, please consider subscribing to my blog!