One Pan Spanish Chicken and Rice
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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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I added diced tomatoes (drained) and it turned out so well! Also added nice color to the dish. I plan to make this a regular week night meal! DELICIOUS!
This meal was the bomb
My family and I especially loved it! Took a bit longer to prepare but so worth it! Going to make Spanish rice and chicken meal again, this will definitely be on the menu for us. I loved that my youngest daughter volunteered to help make it with me..
Great dish!! What temperature is recommended?
This recipe does not use the oven, it’s written for the stove top. In step 3 it mentions to cook it at medium heat. Another reader, however, has said that they used the oven and cooked this at 350 for 30 minutes with success. Hope it works out for you too 🙂
Is it whole or Ground coriander?
Ground 🙂
Wow! Randomly saw this as a suggestion on social media a few months ago, thought it sounded and looked amazing, and put it on the menu for the week. This Spanish Chicken and Rice DID NOT disappoint and has made a reappearance many times since. Even my pickiest of eaters gave this a 2 thumbs up! Both my husband and I are teachers who are exhausted by the time we get home–to be able to make something this delicious in 30 minutes and it not dirty up more than one pan is amazing! If you’re like me and worried about the amount of spice, don’t be. It will not be the same if you do anything different. It’s rare that I don’t adjust or tweak a recipe. This is perfect as is!
Wow, what a review! Thank you so much! 🙂
Hello, I was looking to make this recipe tonight. I only have jasmine rice on hand, how should I adjust the chicken broth?
The recipe calls for white rice. As Jasmine rice is a white rice, you shouldn’t need to change anything in the recipe.
can you use chicken thighs with bone and skin?
I haven’t personally tried skin on myself, but other people have commented that they liked leaving the skin on. And you can use bone in as well, but the cook time may be slightly longer.
Are we supposed to use cumin & coriander or just one or the other, & if we have no coriander, do we use twice as much cumin?
The recipe calls for both cumin and coriander but yes, if you don’t have coriander, you can use cumin to replace it 🙂
Am I supposed to turn the heat down when add the rice and chicken or keep at medium heat? The bottom of my rice burned at medium heat.
I’m sorry that happened. You do not turn it down but you can double check on the amount of liquid you put in the pan. You can also try and use a thicker, heavier bottom pan so it doesn’t overheat and cook the rice too quickly.
What sides would you do with this thanks!
My Honey Brown Sugar Roasted Carrots, Roasted Broccoli, or even my Best Simple Tossed Salad would go great with this. For more ideas, you can look on my sides tab for all of my side recipes 🙂