This Arroz Con Pollo Recipe from the 8×8 Cookbook is easy to make, and a great dish to serve for weeknight dinners.

I love meals where you make the main protein and side, all in one dish.

Arroz Con Pollo - Served on a White Platter with Spoon and Made from Kathy\'s 8x8 Cookbook

Not only does it make for easier preparation, but all the flavors give and take from each other.

The rice gets flavor from the bone-in chicken. And the chicken cooks in the same saffron tomato beer broth that the rice cooks in. It’s one big flavor party.

Serve this with a big salad or vegetable side dish and you’ll really have the whole meal covered.

White Oval Platter with Chicken Thighs and Rice and Spoon

This recipe is from my friend Kathy’s 8×8 cookbook, which is entirely full of dishes that are baked in a square pan, ready to serve from oven to table.

This recipe in particular starts out on the stove, but finishes baking in the oven, so there’s some hands off time where you can clean up or prepare something else like a side salad.

How to Make Arroz Con Pollo:

Start by prepping green bell pepper, onion, garlic, and cumin:

How to Make Arroz Con Pollo - Chop the vegetables, including onion, green pepper, and garlic

Heat a skillet over medium high heat, and brown chicken thighs on both sides:

Browned Chicken Thighs With Crispy Skin

When the chicken is sufficiently browned, you should be left with these brown bits on the bottom of the pan:

Brown Bits on the Bottom of the Skillet from Browning Chicken Thighs

Add the vegetables directly to the pan, and cook the vegetables until they’re slightly softened. Then add a pinch of saffron (a little goes a long way):

Softened Vegetables with Saffron - Including Green Bell Pepper and Onion

Add short-grain rice to the veggies:

Best Arroz Con Pollo - Really easy to make in a skillet and baked in the oven

Toast the rice for a minute, then add it to an 8×8 pan. Pour a mixture of beer, chicken broth, tomato sauce, and water right on top of the rice:

Easy Arroz Con Pollo Recipe - With Tomato Beer Broth Poured Into Dish

Note: if you have a larger skillet that can accommodate all the chicken and broth, you could just keep it in there and cover that with foil or a lid. My skillet is a 10″ and isn’t quite deep enough, so I just transfer it, per the recipe.

Add the chicken back on top of the rice:

Everything ready to be covered and baked in the oven, with the rice soaking up the broth

Cover with foil, and place the pan on a sheet pan. You don’t want juices to bubble over and make a mess in your oven:

Foil Covering the Chicken and Rice Dish

Bake for 30 minutes, until the rice is done, and the chicken is 180F inside.

Best Arroz Con Pollo Recipe - Chicken Thighs and Rice Served in a Red Square Baking Dish

You can serve the baker right at the table, but I find it looks a little nicer to re-plate it. This gives you a chance to fluff the rice as well.

Chicken Thighs On White Platter with Arroz and Spoon

40 Clove Garlic Chicken, Chicken Cacciatore, and Chicken Pot Pie are a few more of my favorite hearty chicken dishes. Enjoy!

Browned Chicken Thighs on White Dish with Pepper Rice

Arroz Con Pollo

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 40 mins
Total Time: 50 mins
This weeknight Arroz Con Pollo Recipe is adapted from the 8×8 Cookbook – Goes from oven to table for a great dinner!
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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 1.5 lbs chicken thighs and/or drumsticks I used bone-in, skin-on
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 cup beer such as a pilsner
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • Pinch saffron
  • 1 cup short-grain rice

Instructions 

  • Heat the oven to 375°F.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with the 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Brown the chicken on both sides, then transfer the chicken to a plate.
  • Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and cumin to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the beer, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt, and 1 cup of water to a simmer.
  • Stir a good pinch of saffron into the vegetable mixture and cook for another minute. Add the rice and stir until all of the rice is coated in oil. Transfer the rice mixture to an 8×8-inch glass or ceramic baking dish, spreading it in an even layer. Carefully pour the broth mixture over the rice. Arrange the chicken on top. Cover the dish tightly with foil.
  • Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Taste the rice for doneness, and check that the chicken is at least 180F inside—set the dish back in the oven for a few more minutes if necessary. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 570kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 28g, Fat: 29g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 141mg, Sodium: 1158mg, Potassium: 624mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 245IU, Vitamin C: 5.4mg, Calcium: 46mg, Iron: 2.7mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Spanish
Author: Joanne Ozug

Post updated in December 2019. Originally published October 2015.