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Cuban Arroz con Pollo – Chicken & Rice

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This Cuban Arroz con Pollo – Chicken & Rice is based on my abuela’s delicious recipe. An easy and flavorful one-pot meal made with sautéed onions, green peppers & garlic, browned chicken thighs, and aromatic spices.

Arroz con Pollo
Hello and welcome to 2019. It’s taken me a while to get here. The start of a new year often feels a bit rushed to me. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the blur that was December and trying to keep up with the pace around me. It seems everywhere I turn there is talk of New Year resolutions. I don’t know about you, but that’s added pressure that I don’t need. Instead, I try to set just a few attainable goals. Nothing crazy. Things like…drink more water, get a check-up, and be more present with my loved ones. My main goal – to do more things that lift me up and less things that drag me down.

One of the things that lifts me up is sharing recipes that I love with you in fun and attainable ways. I’ve learned a little about you, my awesome readers, this past year and will strive to bring you more of what you like. In doing my homework, I found you really loved Latin food this past year. You also really loved to bake. That’s very exciting to me because it’s basically me in a nutshell. I’m so glad we’re on the same page. Along those lines, today I’m sharing a very traditional, comforting, and healthy recipe to get the year off to a delicious start. 

Arroz con Pollo
Arroz con Pollo – Chicken & Rice is one of those recipes that many Hispanic and Spanish households rely on as part of their meal rotation. It’s also one that has has countless variations and can be personalized based on individual taste and ingredient preferences. It may remind you somewhat of Paella, its more sophisticated and intimidating cousin.

Arroz con Pollo
This recipe is based on the way my grandmother made her Arroz con Pollo. She had a very discerning palate and always seemed to know exactly what a dish needed to make it taste just right. Never bound by the ties of ingredient lists or instructions, she usually cooked without recipes. I still have the messy notes I scribbled on a piece of notebook paper while watching her make this Chicken & Rice many years ago. It was my attempt at preserving her recipe.

I’ve done my best to come up with accurate measurements from her vague directions of things like un poquito de oregano and un chorrito de vino (a trickle of wine). I’m pretty sure my version includes more than just un chorrito of wine. Yes, I’m using the obscurity in the recipe to my advantage. I’m very happy with how it turned out and I think I’ve managed to maintain the recipe’s true essence. Let’s make it!

Arroz con Pollo
All the ingredients here, with the exception of maybe the saffron and achiote, are easy to find in any grocery store – chicken thighs, rice, diced tomatoes, peas, green pepper, onion, garlic, white wine, chicken broth, and a few spices. I like using skinless chicken thighs, but you could use (as many Arroz con Pollo recipes do) chicken pieces with the skin on. You could also use any chicken pieces you like. My grandmother sometimes made hers with chicken breasts.

Because this is a quick, one-pot meal, I recommend having all your ingredients ready to go (chopped, measured, etc.) prior to starting the cooking process. To prep the chicken pieces, it’s important to first pat them dry with paper towels. This keeps the oil from splattering too much as the chicken is browning. Once they’re dry, they are seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Don’t be afraid to be generous with the seasoning at this point to make sure the chicken doesn’t taste bland in the end.

Arroz con Pollo
I like to use a wide saucepan with a lid and 2-3″ sides when I make Arroz con Pollo, but you can also use a Dutch oven. To start, the onions, green peppers, and garlic are sautéed in olive oil until softened. Diced tomatoes, broth, wine, and seasonings go in next followed by the rice, peas, and chicken. It then just simmers for 20-25 minutes. That’s it!

Arroz con Pollo
This recipe is truly simple to make. It’s just a matter of doing a little planning while grocery shopping to ensure you have all the ingredients you need. As I mentioned earlier, the only one you may have trouble finding is saffron. I used saffron threads this time because I already had some, but they are pricey and sometimes hard to come by. In fact, saffron is the most expensive spice in the world because it is manually harvested from the delicate bright red center stigma of a crocus flower.

Arroz con Pollo
Feel free to substitute saffron powder or even turmeric, which is untraditional, but works well to add flavor and the distinctive yellow color normally provided by saffron. In the Latin community, Bijol is also sometimes substituted in recipes containing saffron and/or annatto (achiote). Bijol is a powdered spice blend made up of annatto, cumin, and yellow coloring to give foods flavor and that sought-after yellow hue without the big price tag.

Arroz con Pollo
This simple, one-pot Cuban Arroz con pollo is full of flavor and comfort…the perfect recipe to kick off a new year. We’ve enjoyed it twice this past week and just today, my husband asked me if I could make it again. For an even more authentic Cuban experience, serve it with fried sweet plantains or garnish it with roasted red pepper strips. Buen provecho!

You might also like:

Cuban Chicken Fricassee

Slow Cooker Cuban Black Beans

Cuban Plantain Soup

Cuban Arroz con Pollo – Chicken & Rice

A delicious, easy, and flavorful one-pot rice dish made with sautéed onions, green peppers & garlic, browned chicken thighs, and aromatic spices. Ready in 30 minutes!

  • 3 pounds chicken thighs (with bones), skinless (*see note)
  • salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste (for seasoning chicken pieces)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped small
  • 1 green pepper, ribs & seeds removed, chopped small
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes (do not drain) (I use petite-diced tomatoes)
  • 2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth/stock
  • 3/4 cup white wine
  • 1 large Bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon achiote/annatto powder (Bijol seasoning may be substituted)
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric or a pinch of saffron threads (about 1/4 tsp when minced)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 cups long-grain white rice (I use Jasmine rice)
  • 2 cups frozen peas

  1. Dry chicken pieces well with paper towels and season generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

  2. Heat oil at medium-high heat in a large, wide saucepan with 2-3 inch sides or in a Dutch oven (choose a pan with a lid). Once oil is hot, add chicken pieces. Brown for 3-4 minutes per side or until a light brown color is achieved. Remove chicken to a plate.

  3. Add onion and green pepper to same saucepan where chicken was cooked. Saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute for about 30 seconds more. 

  4. Add tomatoes, broth, wine, Bay leaf, all spices, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt & 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir, cover and bring to a quick boil over high heat. 

  5. Once bubbling, stir in rice and peas. Nestle chicken pieces into rice and bring to a quick boil again. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20-25 minutes. 

  6. Serve garnished with jarred roasted red pepper strips and lime wedges, if desired.  

  • You can use any chicken pieces/parts you like. You can also leave the skin on if you prefer. 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Definitely a crowd pleaser! This chicken and rice is delicious. Highly recommend. I’ll be making this often.

    Reply

  4. Hi Blanca,

    I plan on making the Arroz con Pollo recipe this weekend, however, I have a very stupid question:. 1.) Do you cook the rice beforehand? If so, how do you make the rice?

    Sorry for the simplistic questions, but I really don’t know much about Cuban cooking & yes,
    my mon and dad were Cuban! My mom didn’t cook, only my dad and he didn’t teach my sister or I
    how to cook! That’s my cooking experiences in a nutshell 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Olga! I’m so happy you’re giving this recipe a try. It’s one of my favorites. The rice goes in raw. If you have any other questions, just let me know 🙂

      Reply

  5. Loved this recipe. Declared very authentic and muy delicioso by my Cuban staff member. Served it with Black beans and fried plantains. I did make the mistake of not seasoning my chicken heavily enough and it was a little bland after cooking with the rice. WIll not make this mistake again. My daughter, who is not a big fan of rice, declared the rice to be delicious. It reminded her of what she ate at our airbnb when we visited Cuba. Looking forward to making this again.

    Reply

  6. The closest thing I could get to my Cuban grandmother’s Arroz Con Pollo! I have made this recipe dozens of times since finding it and it never disappoints. I use half a green and half a red bell pepper just for color. This dish is a perfect meal that you can make and take to others — serves several people and easy to reheat. Pair this with some air fryer plantains and you have a perfect dinner!

    Reply

  7. My husband grew up eating chicken and yellow rice (the packaged yellow rice.) I wanted to make something without the preservatives and added junk. Although this recipe isn’t the same, it’s so so so delicious. Definitely a new addition to our menu.

    Reply

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