Easy one pan Spanish chicken and rice is made with simple seasoning that come together with zesty, bold flavors in this one pot, 30 minute meal.
Try these other easy one pot recipes like One Pan Garlic Herb Chicken and Asparagus, One Pan Mediterranean Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, and Cajun Shrimp and Rice Skillet.
I’m thinking a little bit outside of the box this week and so far I’m loving the out-of-the-box dishes that are happening. I love chicken and rice together and a couple of days ago I was just craving a good ol’ one pan/one pot chicken and rice, only I really wanted to step up the flavor profile.
I’ve been making my ultra-popular one pot lemon herb chicken and rice for a couple of years now and love how easy it is to make with just a few ingredients I almost always have on hand. This week, I took that same one pan chicken and rice idea and put a fun, delicious new twist on it with some big, bold, Spanish seasonings and you guys…. this might even be better than that lemon herb chicken dish. So if you’ve tried that and love it, you are going to go crazy for this Spanish chicken and rice version.
There is one ingredient you mayyyy not recognize and it’s coriander. If you haven’t cooked with coriander, it’s kind of similar to cumin. I use it occassionally and really love the depth it gives to the flavor of dishes. It’s easy to find in the spice section of any grocery store, but if you have everything but the coriander and don’t want to make a special trip to the store just for one ingredient, you can actually use an equal amount of cumin as a pretty great substitute! If you try this dish, I would love to hear what you think of the flavors so don’t be shy and make sure to leave a comment or send me an email or message!!
What people are saying about this One Pan Spanish Chicken and Rice
“OMG. This was heaven in a skillet. After an exhausting day, I printed out this recipe and gave it to my husband and ordered him to make it. I think he spiced it up with some hot chili powder. But the rice! Strongly recommend the thighs for more flavor.” – Lisa
“Made this for dinner and husband and daughter begged to have it on a regular basis!! We all loved it, and I especially loved how simple it was to make and it’s only one pot! Thank you Tiffany for the awesome recipe!!” – Mona
“I am beyond thrilled with this recipe! To make something so good in thirty minutes after a long night at work…from the bottom of my heart and sore sore feet thank you!!!” – Alison
“Great recipe. the flavors were great and the meat was juicy (i was worried it wouldn’t be). The spice was just the right amount. It seemed like a ton of spice so I was worried it would be too hot for me, but it wasn’t at all.” – Sarah
One Pan Spanish Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - OR 6 chicken thighs
- 3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 ¼ cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 lemon
- chopped cilantro or parsley - for garnish
Spanish seasoning mix
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander - (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together all ingredients for the Spanish seasoning mix. Divide in half and set aside. Cut the lemon in half, then thinly slice one half - for garnish - and reserve the other half for juicing later in the recipe.
- Place chicken in a medium bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil, then toss to coat well. Use half of the prepared seasoning mix to rub on both sides of each piece of chicken.
- Drizzle a large skillet with remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and bring to medium heat. Cook chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned. Transfer to a plate. (It won't be cooked through at this point)
- Add rice, chicken broth, juice from 1/2 of the lemon, and remaining seasoning mix and stir to combine. Return chicken to the pan on top of the rice. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes until liquid is absorbed, rice is tender, and chicken is cooked through.
- Garnish with lemon slices and freshly chopped cilantro or parsley and serve immediately.
This was fabulous! My husband and I enjoyed the flavors so much.
Terrific recipe. Robust flavor. Med-low heat for cooking dish post rice addition.
Love this recipe. It’s a regular at our house.
Very easy and tasty. We used chicken thighs to be more traditional. I also added beans and peas. Will make it again some time soon.
Awesome recipe! Easy to follow, easy to cook and We all loved it! I made this as a last minute option- realized I had to cook the chicken breast by today and it was getting late so I googled ‘easy chicken recipes’ and this came up! I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand, so I substituted the ‘Spanish’ spice mix for a premixed Brazilian BBQ spice I had in my cupboard and I only had beef broth so I used that instead of the chicken broth. Turned out amazing, better than expected! I will definitely make this again, – with the proper ingredients next time, see if I notice any difference. Thank you for posting!
I’m so glad it still turned out well! I hope you continue to enjoy this recipe 🙂
i love wen the meat was inside me
This was super easy to make and delicious. The reason for 4 stars is to tell whoever makes this next to add some crunch. A diced up red pepper would be a fantastic addition
This has become a go to. We all love it. I’m curious why it says white wine in the recipe but not in the instructions. I omitted it without realizing .
I’m glad you enjoy this recipe! 🙂 I am sorry though, where do you see white wine? All I’m seeing is where white rice is mentioned for the recipe.
Made this for dinner and it was a hit. The initial aroma stirred everyone in the house which made the tummy screaming. I will make this again. Thank you for the recipe!!!!!
Oh that’s great! Haha so glad it was a success and that you all were able to enjoy it 🙂
This was great! I halved the recipe for the two of us. Did not add lemon slices but did use the juice of half a lemon still. I also added a few broccoli florets to the pan to steam before it was completely done.
The rice to broth ratio is wrong it came out super sticky
Try using the Uncle Ben’s rice because that’s the ratio for that brand
I feel the rice with the spice mix was amazing! I added sliced onions to my pan and cayenne, onion powder and pepper to the spice mix. Awesome!
The chicken was dryer then I thought but maybe it’s my fault. I feel next time I would add more broth to make more rice as the quantity of rice wasn’t enough for the people I know that are rice lovers. Will redo this recipe!
Just okay. Needs WAY more seasoning and I would recommend turning the heat down – I ended up having a lot of rice burn at the bottom of the pan. Not impressed.
I was running out of idea of what to cook and I’ve been searching through on internet for a good chicken recipe till I saw your one pot chicken recipe photo. I decided to give a try immediately as I have less then an hour to prepare the meal before my kids are back home from school. The dish turned out so GOOD. This is definitely a keeper. Big THANK YOU for a delicious and quick meal.
I’m so glad you were able to find this recipe and enjoy it so much! 🙂 Thank you for your review!
Not a fan of the flavours.