This Spanish Chicken and Rice recipe is a one skillet meal filled with tender chicken and flavorful rice stuffed with green olives and pearl onions. A Spanish inspired skillet dinner that takes only 30 minutes!
Why You’ll Love This Spanish Chicken and Rice Recipe
We love a hearty one-pot dinner that is both filling and packed with flavor, but we love them even more when they are full of our favorite Spanish flavors. So many of you loved our chicken skillet enchiladas, we knew we had to share this old family favorite recipe too! Here are just a few reasons why you’ll love this tasty arroz con pollo dish:
- So Much Flavor: This Spanish chicken and rice recipe combines juicy, tender chicken and flavor packed yellow rice with hidden olives and little pearl onions stuffed inside. Everything you need for dinner is in this one pot, making it as easy as it is delicious.
- Easy: It takes hardly any effort to make this arroz con pollo. Chicken breasts, bagged rice and a few other simple ingredients are all you’ll need.
- Filling: This is one of those recipes that you can serve on its own. Between the chicken and the rice, it is hearty and satisfying.
If you’ve fallen in love with these Spanish flavors, you’ll also love our zesty instant pot taco soup, spicy salsa verde chicken soup, and crockpot Mexican chicken!
What You’ll Need
Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need to make this Spanish chicken and rice recipe. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for exact amounts.
- Chicken Breast: You can also use chicken thighs, if preferred.
- Olive Oil
- Spanish Olives: Also known as Manzanilla olives or cocktail olives.
- Cocktail Onions: Usually located by the olives in your grocery store.
- Diced Tomatoes: We used fire roasted diced tomatoes, but you can also use Rotel or regular canned diced tomatoes.
- Water: Or chicken broth.
- Yellow Rice with Saffron: To keep our ingredients low, we used completely seasoned ready to prepare rice. Vigo Yellow Rice with Saffron is our favorite.
- Butter
Cocktail Onions and Olives?
One of our favorite parts of this dish are the hidden bites of olives and little pearl sized onions within the rice. In fact, our family fights over who will get the last bites with the most onions and olives!
The salty olives and cocktail onions add so much flavor to each bite of this chicken and rice dish. You can not skip them! Manzanilla or Spanish olives are a medium to small olive that are stuffed with pimiento and add just the right amount of saltiness to our dish.
We add the olives and onions to our skillet, while searing the chicken, letting them get a little seared themselves and the flavor is amazing! Using cocktail onions, instead of fresh pearl onions, keeps this recipe simple. You could buy pearl onions and blanche and clean them yourself, but draining a jar of cocktail onions is so much easier!
How to Make Spanish Chicken and Rice
Are you ready to make this easy chicken dinner idea? Here’s how to do it. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for detailed instructions.
- Season: Salt and pepper chicken breasts (or thighs) on both sides.
- Sear: Using a heavy skillet (I use a cast iron skillet) heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts to the hot oil and sear on each side for about 3 minutes. They should turn golden brown in color.
- Onions and Olives: While the chicken is searing add the onions and olives to the skillet, stirring every so often.
- Add: Once chicken is seared on both sides, add the rice, water, tomatoes and butter. Stir until well combined.
- Boil: Bring mixture to a boil, stirring often, and boil for 1 minute.
- Simmer: Reduce heat to a simmer and loosely cover skillet with foil or an off set lid. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is cooked. Serve immediately.
Tips and Tricks
Here are a few insider tips to make your Spanish chicken and rice recipe come out perfectly every time.
- Extra Water: Keep some water by the stove while cooking. You may need to add a little water as the rice cooks and absorbs the water in the skillet. Add a few tablespoons at a time, if needed.
- Tomatoes: You can switch the can of fire roasted tomatoes for regular diced canned tomatoes, or even a can of Rotel. Rotel comes in mild, original and hot, so if you want your Spanish Chicken and Rice to be spicy, I would recommend trying Rotel instead.
- More Flavor: Want a little more flavor? Use chicken broth instead of water!
- Stirring the Rice: While the chicken and rice simmer, you want to stir the mixture occasionally to make sure everything cooks evenly, but don’t stir it too much! If you stir it too often, the rice will turn out gummy/mushy. Traditionally, arroz con pollo (Spanish chicken and rice) is made without stirring or disturbing the rice as it cooks, but this can lead to some crispy bits of dried rice on the bottom of the pan. So we like to stir our rice occasionally to make sure everything cooks evenly.
What to Serve With Spanish Chicken and Rice
This is a hearty meal by itself, but here are a few ideas to bulk up your dinner:
- Side Salad: A light Spanish style side salad would be a great addition to arroz con pollo. Not overpowering, but adding to the meal!
- Beans: Seasoned black beans, charro beans or pinto beans would pair well with this dish.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
One of the best parts of making a big pot of arroz con pollo is the leftovers! Here’s how to handle them.
- Fridge: Store any leftovers in an airtight container up to 4-5 days.
- Freezer: You can freeze Spanish chicken and rice for 3 months. Simply place into ziplock freezer bags, squeeze out any air, lay flat and label.
- To Reheat: Place in the microwave or on the stovetop. If the rice drys out, add a tablespoon or 2 of chicken broth, or a little butter, before you reheat it.
More Easy Chicken and Rice Recipes
Spanish Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 16 oz jar Spanish olives, drained
- 16 oz jar cocktail onions, drained
- 1 10 oz package yellow rice with saffron
- 1 can, 14.5 oz fire roasted tomatoes (do not drain)
- 2 ½ cups water or chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Salt and pepper chicken breasts on both sides.
- Using a heavy bottomed skillet (like a cast iron skillet), heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken breasts to the hot oil and sear on each side for 3 minutes. They should turn golden brown in color.
- While the chicken is searing, add the onions and olives to the skillet, stirring every so often.
- Once chicken is seared on both sides, add the rice, water, tomatoes and butter. Stir until well combined.
- Bring mixture to a boil, stirring often, and boil for 1 minute.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and loosely cover skillet with foil or an off set lid. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is cooked. Serve immediately.
So good! easy to follow and droll worthy! whole family devoured it!