Spanish-Style Chicken with Saffron Rice (Arroz con Pollo)

Underwhelming, as others have said--rice a bit mushy, flavors subtle to the point of bland, chicken tender but pale and unappetizing. Also nearly overflowed my 12" straight-sided skillet, so made a huge stovetop mess, major cleanup required. Moving on.

• jackalucy

• Santa Monica

• 5/31/2021

I love this recipe! It is a very traditional Spanish arroz con pollo. That having been said, it’s important to use bomba rice, Spanish or Persian saffron and olives for finishing. If you use any other rice, it will likely get a little mushy (ick) and not have that wonderful bite to it. Second time making it, I added some Spanish cured chorizo (large dice) with the garlic and fresh parsley at the end. I always use the leftover rice for arrancini. Yummmm.

• manyasolos8696

• Virginia

• 11/22/2020

Very good recipe. After I made the dish, I noticed a lot of reviews said the dish is bland, which I am sure is personal taste. This dish is not supposed to be spicy, it is exactly how it is supposed to be, a traditional Spanish dish! The Saffron smelled so good the first time I lifted the lid after adding it!! I did make some substitutions because I did not have olives on hand so I used capers for the salty briny flavor the olives would have added (as I noticed another review did the same) and also I chopped some piquillo peppers rather than the pimento (from the olives). I had huge bone-in chicken breasts and would make sure they were cooked more thoroughly in the beginning so they would cook more timely with the rice, but other than that, the ratio of wine and chicken broth and other ingredients are (again!) correct for this traditional dish. If you look at the original date of the recipe and where it came from, Gourmet magazine, you would understand this is a legitimate recipe.

• Anonymous

• Louisville,KY

• 3/4/2018

好的配方。非常类似于我的家乡什锦饭, another meat/rice/vegetable dish, but did not add any smoke paprika or cayenne which Jambalaya calls for. I did not use as much liquid for the 2 cups of rice as what is called for in this recipe because from experience I knew it would yield soggy, mushy rice. I like my rice to be fluffy and with the grains to be separate, but not stuck together. I used some salted and peppered organic chicken wings that I browned in 1/4 cup of olive oil. I then poured off the oil and kept it on the side. Added 1 cup of water to pan, turned heat off to get the bits and pieces of chicken from the bottom of pan and then saved it on the side. Added fine Italian saffron powder ("Zafferano del Meneghino") to this to set on side. Added 3 tablespoons of the oil I fried chicken in and then added chopped large onion and 5 cloves of garlic and sauteed until caramelized. Added the cup of stock with chicken scraps and saffron from bottom of pan (set on side) and 1.5 cups of chicken stock to pan. Added 2 cups of long grain rice well rinsed until clear. Then added chicken and 1/2 cup dry sherry. Also added 3-4 bay leaves, a little thyme and brought mixture to boil. Boiled on simmer for 15 minutes, then added 1 1/4 cup of frozen peas. Cooked five more minutes. When rice was done, I always take cover off so extra moisture escapes. I added peas with a large fork so as to not crush/mash rice. It was delicious!!! Thank you for recipe.

• nolasusan

• New Orleans

• 9/15/2015

Very bland. Followed the recipe as written. It makes enough for two dinners. I won't make it again.

• sunshine247

• Florida

• 7/23/2015

I did this as a recipe for left over roast chicken and used Arborio and fried it with the onion, voo, 2 strips of bacon minced. I soaked the saffron in a couple tablespoons of white wine before adding it, then cooked the rice adding chicken stock made from the roast chicken carcass. Then added the diced tomatoes and the chicken cut off of the leftover roast.

• dr_carl

• MI Upper Penninsula

• 4/2/2014

As per the other cooks here I did not make the recipe as written. I used smoked paprika instead of regular. It gives it more heat. I used dry sherry instead of wine. I cooked the rice prior to adding to the pan. I added oregano and Adobo to the seasoning, plus salt and pepper. I didn't have any olives so I added capers instead for the briny flavor. Overall, this dish came out extremely well and I would definitely make it again.

• Lovisa

• Washington, DC

• 2/19/2014

easy and tasty. cut up the chicken into pieces and added to rice

• vbuzzi

• stamford, ct

• 10/18/2013

I liked the dish and would make it again. I didn't love it, because I found the saffron flavor odd. I wonder if I tried a different brand of saffron if I'd have a better experience? In any event, I agree with those who said the olives make the dish (that is if you like green olives). I also added red pepper to give it some heat, used jasmine rice (works best for me), real tomatoes, and fresh cilantro on top. It took about an hour to prep everything and an hour to cook it (because I used fresh ingredients and cooked the chicken longer than suggested).

• ChelleB

• Charleston, WV

• 9/18/2013

This was a very family-friendly one-pot meal. I made this for a weeknight meal and think it will make great leftovers too. I didn't really change much - a little extra olive oil, 2 bay leaves and kosher salt.

• StefanieDawn

• Seattle

• 5/1/2013

I'm giving this two stars because if I had not read everyone else's reviews and had stuck to it by the letter, it would have been an awful dish. With modifications, it was OK. My guy really enjoyed it, but the effort it took to make it come out right kind of killed my enthusiasm for the end result. Here's what I changed: used two onions used double the garlic used 2 cups of wine 28 oz tomatoes with liquid same chicken broth. I used a dutch over as well, on the stove for the first few steps and then in the over for the last 25 minutes - it took more than double the time in the last step to make it cook evenly. If I'd kept it on the stove, the rice would have been unevenly cooked. Definitely put it in at 350 with the top on for the last 25 minutes. I'd make it again, but only because my guy really loved it. I'm definitely still searching for a better one.

• tamsengalloway

• Portland, OR

• 6/12/2012

I would make this again with modifications. 1. There is way too much rice in this dish. It is disproportionate to the amount of chicken. I would half the rice. 2. The rice was under cooked and I added extra time and liquid. Reducing rice should help this. 3. This is tasty, but a bit of heat would help. Might ad some hot pepper next time.

• vollrath0

• Chesapeake VA

• 3/5/2012

I made this dish for my husband and I, we both loved it very much. We had a sweet red wine to go with dinner and both loved it... I will make it again together with my newly discover fabulous dish, http://www.gourmetrecipe.com/recipes/chicken-fruit-salad an easy and nutritious salad! Have to try this one!

• helen89

• 1/8/2012

I changed a few things in this recipe because I am not a fan of tomatoes with rice or peppers. I, also, used chicken thighs only plus brown rice so I won't comment on cooking times. I recommend this recipe for the mix of marinade, spices, onions and garlic. They are delicious! The marinade for the chicken left it moist and tender. I imagine if you like tomatoes with rice and peppers this recipe as directed must be very good. Some commenters recommended adding paprika. As much as I like paprika, I would've missed out on the subtle flavor of the saffron. I tasted the onion and chicken broth before adding the rice and I would recommend that for onion soup. This recipe took time but it was worth the effort. I would use it again.

• Anonymous

• Miami Beach

• 12/31/2011

this was really delicious and healthy. I made some changes: used 1/2 cup sherry instead of wine, added hot pepper, used brown rice, used water instead of chicken stock, used 1-1/2 tsp of salt (to make up for the lack of chicken stock) and used 2 onion instead of one (and cooked the onions alone for about 10 minutes which made them sweeter). After everything was in the pot I brought it to a boil, covered and put in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Delicious! Plus healthy!

• olivia7261

• 10/11/2011