Spanish Chicken and Rice in the Dutch Oven

An oval Dutch oven showing a cooked chicken and rice dish. The food seems to have lots of veggies in the picture peaking through the rice like peppers, onions, olives etc.

This Spanish Chicken and Rice meal cooked in the Dutch Oven makes for a great dinner. I love it because it's a one pot meal, yields leftovers, tastes great, has lots of protein and veggies too.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Gastronomia Latina

Keyword Spanish Chicken and Rice

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings servings

Calories 533kcal

Author Sonila

Equipment

1 Enameled Dutch Oven

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs
3 tbsps olive oil
2 cups basmati rice
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
0.5 cup sliced green olives
1 cup freshly chopped parsley
1 tsp smoked paprika
0.5 tsp crushed red pepper
1.5 tsp oregano
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
0.5 tsp cumin
0.5 tsp turmeric
3 cups chicken stock
14 ozs fire roasted tomatoes, diced

Instructions

Mix the oregano, cumin, paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper into a spice mix. Season chicken thighs on all sides thoroughly.
Add olive oil to Dutch Oven. Heat on medium heat. Add seasoned chicken thighs and brown them for 3-4 minutes on each side.
Dice onion and bell peppers, mince the garlic. Remove chicken thighs from pot when completely browned. If oil is completely gone add an extra tablespoon at this point, no need to add more if oil is still in the surface of the Dutch Oven. Add the diced vegetables and saute using a wooden spoon.
Add rice once veggies have been sauteed for few minutes and are soft. Give it a good mix to coat all the grains and mix them with the veggies.
Pour in chicken stock and fire roasted tomatoes. Add sliced olives. Check for salt and pepper, adjust as needed.
Add chicken thighs back in and nestle them carefully. Make sure you have enough room for rice to grow. As soon as everything starts to boil, lower temperature to low. As soon as there's no more liquid visible, lower to simmer and cover the pot for ten minutes. Turn heat off and let the dish rest, while you set up the table or make a salad. Before serving fluff up the rice a little:). Enjoy dinner!

Notes

I used a 3 qt enameled Dutch Oven, it cooks lots of rice and about 4-5 chicken thighs at the same time. If you want to cook 8 chicken thighs simultaneously, then you might need the 5 qt size Dutch Oven.
I did brown 8 chicken thighs anyway, but only let 4 of them cook with the rice and the other 4 chicken thighs I baked to store for a different meal the next day. You'll have plenty of rice leftover.
I love serving this dish with a fresh salad.
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Warm them up in a pan with a little bit of butter or olive oil or in the microwave. I usually drizzle 1 tbsp of water over the rice when I microwave it so it softens up.

Nutrition