Best Chicken Paella Recipe

Unlike you might be thinking, the best chicken paella recipe I’ve tried is not difficult to make. To be honest, its really easy, you don´t need to have an advanced cooking level at all. And I don´t have to lie because I’ve been honest on this website when a recipe is not this easy.

Chicken is one of the favorite ingredients for paella, apart from the basics (rice, olive oil, water, salt…) but at the same time, it can be kind of tasteless if you don’t do something special. This is what makes this paella recipe so exciting.

Don´t worry, it is “best”, but it’s easy too 🙂

Chicken Paella Ingredients

Luckily, this list of ingredients may be pretty easy to complete anywhere, so the best chicken rice dish won’t be at risk.

🥘 Difficulty: Easy
🥘 Servings: 4
🥘 Nutrition: 400 Kcal

  • 400g (2 1/4 cups) Paella Rice
  • 0.8l (17 US pint) water or chicken broth
  • 2 chicken thighs or hindquarters
  • 150g (0.33 lb) portobello mushrooms, quartered
  • 150g cauliflower, small pieces
  • 4 tablespoons grated tomato
  • 20 strands of saffron (desirable but not a must)
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt

How to cook paella with chicken?

Time needed: 45 minutes.

🥘 Prep time: 15′
🥘 Cooking time: 30′

Here you have how to make the best chicken paella recipe at home.

This delicious paella is very easy to cook as it does not take much preparation and always comes out tasty. Once we have taken the point of rice, the rest is very simple. I recommend you to use two cups of water or broth for each cup of rice, that’s the exact measure.

  • Heat the saffron for 25 seconds in the microwave. Melt it with your fingers in 1 cup of hot broth to infuse it until we need it.
  • Heat the oil over medium heat using only the central ring of the paella pan and brown the previously seasoned chicken. The chicken should be very juicy, we do not have to cook it completely as it will finish cooking together with the rice.
  • Move it to the outside of the paella when ready or reserve on a plate. That’s to avoid overcooking.
  • Sauté the vegetables until they get some color and season. As with chicken, we only want to sauté them lightly to finish cooking them with the rice, otherwise, we will be very soft. Reserve together with the chicken.
  • Add the paprika, mix quickly with the oil, add all the tomato and mix. Sauté
  • Sauté now for a few minutes over medium-high heat until the raw tomato is fried. At this point, all the broth should be hot, the cup in which we are infusing the saffron and the rest.
  • Add the rice and sauté until golden brown. Sauteing the rice it is a great trick to help to keep the rice loose
  • Add the cup of broth with the saffron and the rest of the stock. Add in the salt and stir for the last time
  • Let the stock boil just until it gets evaporated. It will take about 10-15 min, depending on the heat power.
  • Lower the heat to the minimum. Allow cooking for 15 min more
  • And wait 5 more minutes with the heat off. I hope you enjoy it!
Best Chicken Paella Recipe

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