Arroz con Pollo (Rice and Chicken)
Time 1 hour Difficulty 3/5 Ingredients 14 Steps 10
Arroz con pollo (trans: rice with chicken) is a traditional dish common throughout Spain and Latin America especially in Cuba, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. It resembles Spanish paella, both in its ingredients and cooking technique, and may very well be a New World adaptation of it.
Ingredients
- 1 ea. (1.3–1.8 kg) chicken, cut into serving pieces
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Olive oil
- 4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 225 g diced red bell pepper
- 425 g (1 can) diced tomatoes
- 7.5 g (½ tablespoon) sweet paprika
- 14 g (½ oz) chopped cilantro
- 1.4 liter (6 cups) chicken stock
- 8 saffron threads or 1 teaspoon food coloring for yellow rice
- 370 g (2 cups) medium or long-grain rice
- 225 g (8 oz) canned peas (thoroughly drained)
Steps
- Season chicken with two pinches salt and a pinch of pepper.
- Pour enough olive oil into large skillet to barely cover bottom.
- Sauté chicken in oil until brown. Remove from skillet or keep it in.
- Sauté garlic until brown. Do not burn.
- Add onion, bell pepper, tomatoes and paprika. Sauté until vegetables are tender.
- Transfer to large stewing pot.
- Add cilantro, bouillon and saffron (or food coloring). Bring to rolling boil.
- Add rice. Mix well. Simmer over medium heat until rice is cooked and liquid absorbed. Add broth or water if liquid evaporates before rice is cooked.
- If chicken was removed, add to pot. Cover with rice. Wait 2–3 min to warm chicken.
- Sprinkle peas on top of rice.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Arroz con Pollo (Rice and Chicken)” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-06-19, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo. Arroz-con-Pollo.jpg by Kobako, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.