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.
Great dish for Sunday after church. The family loves it
Thank you very much!!!
Amazing recipe! I changed it up a bit and since I did not hav garlic powder. I added herbs of the provence instead of italian seasoning, since i did not have that in hand and it turned out wonderful! I would ease up on the lemon, though. i found that the juice from 1/2 a big lemon made the rice a bit too sour. so happy with the ease of this recipe and the little amount of dishes I had to wash afterwards!
Thanks for sharing, Mia! Awesome job using what you had on hand.
Great!
The seasonings wEre on point. I added onions, Minced garlic, bell peppers. AdDed sliced spicy chicken sausage and roasted potatoes BECAUSE I only had 4 chicken yhighs to beef up The Meal. It worked out great. I am going try more recipes!
That sounds yummy!
we’ve made this several times and loved it. I add HALVed Brussel sprouts to add a green vegetable
Oh yum! I bet that addition is delicious. Thanks for sharing!
This was delicious! I doubled up THE rice, used thighs, and waited until most of the liquid had evaporated to add the chicken but wow! It was still DELICIOus. I also added black beans and onions as others SUGGESTED and made it in a caldero for the excess rice. Wow. just wow. I’ll be back
That sounds super delicious!! Awesome job. Thank you for sharing!
I used chicken thighs with bone and skin, provided good flavor but made a little greasy so best to use skinless. I was worried it’d be too spicy but actually wasn’t quite spicy enough, maybe because some of my spices weren’t as fresh as would be ideal. Overall the family really enjoyed!
Happy to hear your family enjoyed this recipe, Jeff!
The flavors in this dish were amazing!! My boyfriend finished off the whole pan even though we were supposed to have leftovers!
i made 1.5x the spice mix. Chopped up half a green pepper, half an orange pepper, half an onion, 6 cloves of garlic, scallions, and one tomato. i sauteed this up with a bit of the spice mix. removed it from the pan then continued with the recipe. i added it back in at the end after the rice and chicken were done cooking. it was amazing!
Dang it about the leftovers- they’re my fav! LOL. Happy to hear this recipe was enjoyed!
Would make this eveRy night if I could !
We all enjoyed the seasoningBlen, the ease of one pan, and that it was quick. However, the chicken itself was pretty plain, we doused it with some Salsa and sour cream to give it more flavor. I’ll try the recipe again, but will marinate the chicken with some oil, lemon juice, and the spices several hours before cooking.
That was supposed to day seasoning blend.
*say. Man i’m having typing problems today!
Thanks for your input, Kathy!
Amazingly delicious Flavor, awesome recipe!
the whole family loved it!!
thank you for sharing😍
Amazingly delicious!
the whole family loved it!!
So glad you and your family enjoyed this recipe!
Just made tHis anD wow! So much flaVour! Be warNed, you will deFinitely go back for SecoNds and probably thirds.question: i want to double thiS recipe but Only the rice and spice/sauce (not the chicken) – Will it still turn oUt as good?
I think more spice would be fine- I can’t say for sure though as I haven’t done that myself!
I sauteed the rice with red bell peppers, the whites of 3 green onions, and 2 cloves of garlic before adding broth. Because I didn’t have lemons, I used lime, and garnished with green portion of onion. Delicious!!!
Sounds like you did a great job!
DelicIous! I added a half can oF rotel mexican style tomatoes. ThIs has become a staple in our home!
Yum!! Thanks for sharing
Love this but you do realise coriander is just the British name for cilantro? It’s the same plant! Your coriander is probably just ground cilantro (we call it ground dried coriander in Britain)