Make this super easy One Pot Paprika Chicken and Rice dish for dinner tonight! This one pot recipe makes for the perfect weeknight chicken dinner that the whole family will enjoy.

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One Pot Chicken Dinner
What You'll Need
How To Make This One Pot Spanish-ish Chicken and Rice
Recipes Variations
Tips and Notes
Recipe
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One Pot Chicken Dinner

Inspired by Spanish chicken and rice, this is my more budget-friendly spin on it! More traditional one pot Spanish chicken and rice recipes tend to have ingredients such as saffron in it but since a small bottle of a couple standards can set you back $20, I've skipped it for my homemade budget friendly version!

You'll love that this recipe uses mostly pantry and freezer staples and that it takes less than an hour from start to finish.

What You'll Need

paprika: I use sweet paprika but you can also use smoked paprika if you prefer.
garlic powder
onion powder
chili powder
oregano: skip the fresh stuff and use dried oregano.

olive oil
chicken thighs: boneless, skinless
basmati rice
chicken broth: I like using Better Than Bouillon instead of boxed stock/broth.
lemon juice
peas: from frozen
corn: from frozen

You'll also have to make sure you have a pan that comes with an airtight lid. I use a very similar one (a different model) to this one from Zwilling. Alternatively, you could use a Dutch oven for this if you don't have a sauté pan with a lid.

How To Make This One Pot Spanish-ish Chicken and Rice

Combine and stir all the spiced.
In a bowl, drizzle half of your olive oil onto the chicken and then coat with half of the spice mix.

Add the rest of the olive oil onto a pan on medium-high heat. Using tongs, carefully sear each of the chicken thighs, 2-3 minutes on each side (not cooking it through all the way). Set the chicken aside on a plate when seared.

In the pan, add the rice, rest of the spice mix, chicken broth, and lemon juice, stirring and gently scraping the bottom of the pan to make sure there aren't any burnt sections.
Bring the heat to high and let the rice and liquid boil for 3 minutes, stirring every so often.

Lower the heat to low, add the chicken on top of the rice, and cover for 15 minutes.

When done, shift the chicken to a side and stir in the frozen peas and corn into the rice. Turn off the heat. Cover again with the lid for 2-3 minutes for the peas and corn to steam before serving. Top off with the juice from a wedge of lemon.

Recipes Variations

The chicken thighs can be replaced with chicken breasts. You'll have to sear them a little longer as they tend to be thicker than chicken breasts.
You can replace the frozen peas and corn with any frozen vegetable medley.

Tips and Notes

I prefer basmati rice for this Spanish inspired chicken and rice as I find shorter grain rice to come out softer than I prefer.
Boiling the rice uncovered and stirring for the 3 minutes helps a majority of the liquid cook down before using steam on low heat to cook the rest of the rice and chicken. I prefer this method as it's faster than letting it steam on low for longer.

Recipe

One Pot Paprika Chicken and Rice

Make this super easy One Pot Paprika Chicken and Rice dish for dinner tonight! This one pot recipe makes for the perfect weeknight chicken dinner that the whole family will enjoy.

4.50 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 35

Servings: servings

Ingredients

2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 to 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 cup basmati rice
2½ cup chicken broth low sodium
¼ cup lemon juice
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
garnish/top with: lemon juice/wedge and green onions

Instructions

Combine and stir all the spiced.
In a bowl, drizzle half of your olive oil onto the chicken and then coat with half of the spice mix.
Add the rest of the olive oil onto a pan on medium-high heat.
Using tongs, carefully sear each of the chicken thighs, 2-3 minutes on each side (not cooking it through all the way). Set the chicken aside on a plate when seared.
In the pan, add the rice, rest of the spice mix, chicken broth, and lemon juice, stirring and gently scraping the bottom of the pan to make sure there aren’t any burnt sections.
Bring the heat to high and let the rice and liquid boil for 3 minutes, stirring every so often.
Lower the heat to low, add the chicken on top of the rice, and cover for 15 minutes.
When done, shift the chicken to a side and stir in the frozen peas and corn into the rice. Turn off the heat. Cover again with the lid for 2-3 minutes for the peas and corn to steam before serving. Top off with the juice from a wedge of lemon.

Nutrition

Course: One Pot

Cuisine: Comfort

Author: Carmy

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More places to find me: @onepotonlyrecipes on Instagram and One Pot Only on Pinterest.