There are few dishes that represent Spain better than a ‘Paella’. Preparing and serving a well cooked Paella from scratch to family or friends is always a special occasion. I have so many memories of eating this delicious rice dish in Spain. One of my favorite memories is eating a traditional Paella Valenciana on the coast of Valencia, Eastern Spain. It comes packed full with runner beans and ‘garrofo’ a variety of butter bean, snails, chicken, rabbit and whole sprigs of rosemary. This ‘Paella de Pollo‘ Chicken Paella will not only please everyone but it uses easy to find fresh ingredients. Juicy chicken thighs, crunchy green beans and sprigs of fresh rosemary simmered in a rich stock with Paella rice flavored with smoky, sweet paprika and aromatic saffron. Most ‘Arroces’ rice dishes are started with a ‘Sofrito’  fried vegetables. This version of Chicken Paella is no exception. Onions and peppers are cooked down until sweet and tender and then fresh, crushed garlic and bright tomato is then added. This is the essential start to the dish and completely necessary to give it depth of flavor it deserves. Do use homemade or the best quality stock you can find, as this too makes a huge difference to how it tastes. I like to serve this with ‘Alioli’ Garlic Mayonnaise. A dollop of this creamy, rich garlic sauce tastes so good with the smoky, aromatic rice and succulent chicken. 

Chicken Paella

Paella with Chicken

  • Cook Time: 20 min prep 45 to cook (total)
  • Persons: 6
  • Difficulty: Medium

  • Ingredients 
  • 1 onion 
  • 1 green pepper 
  • 1 red pepper
  • 3 ripe tomatoes
  • 4 generous cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 1/2 cups of ‘Paella’ rice (I use Bomba)
  • 1.5 lbs of chicken thighs 
  • 1/2 lb of fresh green beans
  • 5 cups of good quality chicken stock
  • 1.5 tbsp paprika
  • 1 generous pinch of saffron
  • 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 3 tpsp salt
  1. Instructions
  2. Start by heating up the chicken stock in a separate pan. It needs to be hot when added to the Paella.
  3. Wash and diced the peppers, onions and tomatoes and peel and crush the garlic cloves.
  4. Wash and cut the green beans and cut in half. 
  5. Dice the chicken into bite sized pieces.
  6. Place the saffron in the (15 inch for 6 people) paella pan and heat gently for 30 seconds to bring out more flavor. Remove and reserve.
  7. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil to medium/high. 
  8. Season the chicken with 1 tpsp of salt and brown for 8 minutes or so. Remove from pan and reserve.
  9. Lower the heat to medium make the ‘sofrito’ add the peppers and onions. Soften for 10 minutes. 
  10. Then add the garlic and soften for 1 minute.
  11. Add the tomatoes and 1 tpsp of salt and cook for a 5 minutes. 
  12. Add paprika and saffron and mix in for 1 minute.
  13. Add all the rice and 1 tpsp of salt and toast the rice in the pan with the mixture for 1 minute.
  14. Add back in the chicken and green beans and mix once to combine.
  15. Add all the hot stock. Give the pan good shake. Put the rosemary in the middle of the pan.
  16. Simmer on a medium heat for 20 minutes or so until the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked.
  17. Remove from heat. Place a clean dish cloth over the top and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
  18. Serve and enjoy!

Top Tips

  • Use homemade or the best quality stock you can find. It makes a huge difference to the flavor. 
  • Unlike other popular rice dishes a paella should not be stirred once you’ve added the stock. You can give the pan a good shake though throughout the cooking process.
  • I always make the ‘sofrito‘ vegetable mixture ahead of time. it simply needs warming in the pan up when you are ready to add it.
  • This is a perfect Paella to introduce kids to if they have never had it before. Most kids enjoy the flavor of chicken and sweet green beans.
  • If you really enjoy that prized ‘socarrat‘ caramelized dark bottom layer that forms between the rice and the pan then turn up the heat for 1 minute at the very end of the cooking time. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for a few minutes under a clean dish cloth before serving.
  • I make paella on the grill or on my gas paella stand. I have an electric stove in my kitchen with rings that aren’t big enough to cook the paella on. Gas is the best stove top to use as the heat can travel up the sides of the edges of the pan to cook the rice evenly. If you have the same issue with your stove top consider cooking it on your outdoor grill.
  • To cook the rice on an outdoor grill put the paella pan in the center of the grill and try to keep heat medium.  The rice should simmer hard but not be boiling.

Chicken Paella – Paella de Pollo

Surprisingly straight forward to make, tastes amazing and looks so impressive in the center of the dinner table served straight from the pan ‘Paella de Pollo’ Chicken Paella. Impress your family and friends with this Spanish classic one-Paella-wonder!