Spanish-Style Chicken & Chorizo Rice 🇪🇸 (One-Pan Recipe)
Loaded with flavor, high in protein, and deeply satisfying, this Spanish-style chicken & chorizo rice is the perfect meal to feed a hungry tribe. Juicy chicken thighs, and plenty of flavor from the Spanish chorizo, this recipe is smoky, rich, flavorful, and best of all, made in one pan or pot in under an hour.
Equipment
- Large deep-sided Skillet
- Wooden Cutting Board
- Chef Knife
- Large pot with lid (for making the stock)
- Garlic Press (optional)
- Paper towel
Ingredients
- 3-4 chicken thighs
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- Fine Salt for seasoning
- Cracked black pepper
- 300 g fresh chorizo cut into ½ inch rounds
- 1 large onion diced
- 2-3 stalks of celery diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 4 medium tomatoes grated and skin removed
- 1 tbsp pepper flakes we used Spanish Ñora pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 cups Bomba Paella Rice
- 4 cups Chicken Stock
- 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt & pepper for seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat some chicken stock/broth and keep it hot for use later.4 cups Chicken Stock
Step 1 - Season & Brown Chicken
- Season the chicken thighs with garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste.3-4 chicken thighs, 1 tsp Garlic Powder, Fine Salt for seasoning, Cracked black pepper
- Brown chicken on all sides in a large skillet on medium-high heat. This should take about 4-5 minutes per side.
Step 2 - Add chorizo
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the chorizo with the chicken. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the chorizo begins to release its delicious paprika-infused oil. Once done, set aside the chicken thighs and chorizo for use later.300 g fresh chorizo
Step 3 - Cook the veg
- In the same pan used to cook the chorizo, sauté the diced onion and celery for 5 minutes or until golden.1 large onion, 2-3 stalks of celery
- Add the garlic and stir through. Cook until fragrant.6 garlic cloves
- Add the pulped tomatoes and stir through. Continue to simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.4 medium tomatoes
Step 4 - Add the herbs, spices, and rice
- Add the smoked paprika, crushed Ñora peppers, fresh thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and season to taste with some salt and pepper. Give everything a mix, then add the rice and stir through.1 tbsp pepper flakes, 1 tbsp Smoked Paprika, 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme, 1 bay leaf, Salt & pepper for seasoning, 2 cups Bomba Paella Rice
- Add the chicken and chorizo back to the pan.
- Continue to stir constantly so the rice is covered in flavor, then once it begins to crackle (around 2-3 minutes), add the chicken stock. Once you have added around half of the stock, give the pan a little shake to even out the rice in the pan.
- Add enough stock to cover the rice by around a thumb (1cm or half an inch).
Step 5 - Simmer
- Reduce heat to medium and simmer until you see all the chicken stock evaporate. This should take around 15-18 minutes depending on the stove top you use.
- Do NOT stir the rice while it simmers.
- Once the rice is cooked and there are no more bubbles of stock coming up, take the pan off the heat and cover it with some newspaper or paper kitchen towel.
- Leave the rice to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
Cooking Tips:
Spanish chorizo substitute Can’t source Spanish raw chorizo, use any other fresh sausage and add lots of extra paprika and a pinch or two of cayenne pepper to get a similar flavor. Raw Mexican chorizo is also a great substitute. Skin-on or Skinless chicken thighs Totally up to you. Skinless thighs are healthier, however, Skin-on chicken thighs have more flavor. Bomba rice Substitutes If you can’t find Bomba rice, you can substitute it with other rice types that have similar characteristics—mainly short to medium grains with good absorption and the ability to stay firm.Â- Calasparra Rice (Spain)
- Arborio Rice (Italy)
- Carnaroli or Vialone Nano (Italy)
- Sushi Rice (Japanese Short-Grain)
- Baldo Rice (Turkey/Italy)
- Medium-Grain Rice (Generic)