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This One Pot Chicken & Spanish Rice is one of my hallmark recipes! And, if you know me, I am a huge fan of one-pot dishes. Sometimes, I want something comforting and tasty at home, minus the dishes. This chicken thighs and Spanish rice Recipe is my go-to! This recipe is delicious, fast, and easy. The seared chicken thighs combined with the Arroz con gandules, the traditional Puerto Rican rice, take your breath away!

One Pot Chicken & Spanish Rice

Why everyone loves this recipe:

  • It’s Fast and Easy- This One Pot Chicken & Spanish Rice recipe takes 30 minutes tops! Season your chicken ahead of time, and you have a delicious dinner ready when you get home! (and cleanup is super easy)
  • It’s Perfect for Meal-prep- This is one of my go-to meal-prep recipes for the week. I’ll usually pair it with a leafy veggie, and I have four servings of this amazing meal ready!
  • It’s Light and Clean- This recipe is relatively healthy and clean. There are minimal ingredients, dairy free, and a perfect recipe for when you want something easy and clean to prepare. 

The Key Ingredients for One Pot Chicken & Spanish Rice

The Chicken Thighs– Bone-in, skin on, chicken thighs are my recconedation but you can use whatever chicken you have on hand!

The gandules beans, “pigeon peas”- These beans ae buttery and soft and native to many Latin American dishes.

The spices- The sazon, adobo, and sofrito make gives this One Pot Chicken & Spanish Rice the unique flavor that sets it apart from other one-pot recipes!

Notes-

If you are having trouble sourcing the ingredients for this recipe, I recommend using Amazon! Amazon has all of the spices mentioned below, and they are a staple in most of my recipes. Not only do I use Sazon, adobo, and sofrito in the One Pot Chicken & Spanish Rice recipe, I use it in many of my other recipes too! A fully stocked spice cabinet with staple and unique spices will take your home-cooking to the next level!

One Pot Garlic Chicken & Spanish Rice

5 from 7 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Servings: 6
Delicious chicken thighs, spanish rice
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Ingredients 

For the chicken

  • 5-6 bone-in skin on chicken thighs Use whichever you like, this is my personal favorite!
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp Sazon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp adobo
  • 1 tsp oregano

For the rice

  • 2 tbsps oil
  • 2 cups long grain rice *long grain is best for this recipe but you can also use medium gain rice! My favorite brand of rice is canilla. rinse your rice!
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 cup gandules beans also referred to as pigeon peas
  • 2 teaspoons Sazon
  • ¼ cup sofrito
  • ¼ cup tomato sauce
  • 2 tbsps minced garlic
  • ¼ cup chopped onion
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp oregano

Instructions 

  1. Start by patting dry chicken. Then, in a small bowl, combine oil, Sazon, adobo, salt, and oregano.
  2. Pour the oil mixture over the chicken and mix it in.
  3. In a large skillet, add oil and sear the chicken on high heat for 3-5 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside.
  4. In the same pan, sauté the onion, minced garlic and sofrito until softened. Add in tomato sauce, gandules, Sazon, salt, oregano, and water. Mix in rinsed rice.
  5. Cook rice on high for 5-10 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed.
  6. Add the seared chicken on top of the rice and continue to cook the rice covered on low heat for another 20 minutes.
  7. Garnish with cilantro and limes.

Notes

Note- Depending on the size of your chicken thighs, your chicken may cook faster than your rice,  in this case, remove the chicken thighs and cook them a bit longer in the oven!

Nutrition

Calories: 320kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Recipe Rating




11 Comments

  1. Deedee says:

    5 stars
    I love this recipe, all of your stuff just hits

  2. Robin West says:

    Hello! In this recipe do you used canned pigeon peas or dried ones soaked over night? Thank you!

    1. Toni Chapman says:

      Hi the beans are from the can!

  3. El says:

    5 stars
    It’s been really hard to find good Puerto Rican food since I’ve moved from NY and this really hit the spot!

  4. Jazz says:

    5 stars
    Another great dish. Very easy instructions and flavorful!

  5. Caleb says:

    Hey! Love all your recipes! I wanted to know if you have any videos on this ?

  6. Corey says:

    5 stars
    This recipe turned out delicious!!!!!

  7. @ajennalynrush says:

    5 stars
    Excellent! This is my second day making your recipes! Last night we tried the teriyaki pork chops over mash, and honeyyyy ???

  8. Rachel says:

    5 stars
    I literally made this tonight and WOW. super easy directions and reminded me of the authentic rice from the Spanish restaurant. Thank you so much. My 20 month old CLEANED his plate too.

    1. Toni Chapman says:

      So happy you enjoyed it <3

  9. Sarah House says:

    5 stars
    Amazing!