Easy Arroz con Pollo made with chicken thighs, long-grain white rice, Mexican seasonings and green peas! This classic chicken and rice dish is a family favorite that you’ll make over and over for years to come.
Arroz con Pollo (or chicken and rice) is the ultimate one-pot dinner that’s perfect to make any night of the week. It’s one of those Latin American dishes that everyone and their mom has their own version of. And I can’t blame them!
Chicken and rice is just the perfect classic combo that once you learn how to make it, it’ll be in your family for generations.
This version is my own Mexican take on the dish. The rice is similar to my Mom’s Authentic Mexican Rice and the seasoning on the chicken includes some Mexican favorites likes chili powder, ground cumin and dried oregano.
How to Make Arroz con Pollo
To infuse as much flavor as possible into the chicken, start by marinating it for at least 30 minutes in a mixture of olive oil, white wine vinegar, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, ground coriander, salt, dried oregano and ground cumin.
Next, brown the chicken on both sides until the skin crisps up and is golden brown.
In the same pan with all the same oil used to cook the chicken, saute some diced onions and bell peppers until softened.
Then add some garlic, salt and rice and cook for 1 more minute to really infuse that garlic flavor into the veggies and rice. I use long-grain white rice, but you could also use basmati rice.
Next, add in some tomato paste, water and a touch more salt. Mix it all up until the tomato paste has completely dissolved. The water should have a red tint to it.
Last but not least, add in the browned chicken thighs (see substitutions below) and bring the water to a boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20-25 minutes.
To add a bit of color and veggies to the mix, I like to add in 1 cup of frozen peas and then fluff them into the rice using a fork. Not only does it look beautiful, but it provides a nice fresh contrast of veggie-liciousness to the savory chicken and rice.
If you (or your children) don’t like peas, feel free to leave them out.
That’s it! The juices and marinade from the chicken cook together with the rice and infuses the whole pot with so much flavor, it’s addicting.
To add a bit more color and some bright citrus notes, I like garnishing the final dish with some chopped cilantro and limes wedges.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Don’t have white wine vinegar for the chicken marinade? You can use the juice of 1 lime instead.
- You can use any cut of chicken that you want – drumsticks, breasts, wings, thighs, whatever you have!
- I love the flavor of arroz con pollo when the skin is left on the chicken, but you can lighten it up by using boneless skinless thighs if you prefer.
- If you love spicy food, you can use serrano peppers or jalapenos peppers instead of green bell peppers.
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 6 chicken thighs (either skin-on or skinless, whichever you prefer)
- 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (or lime juice)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican oregano preferred)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
For the rice
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
- 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained
- 3 1/4 cups water (or chicken broth)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- chopped cilantro and lime wedges, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large freezer bag (or bowl), add chicken, 3 tablespoons olive oil, white wine vinegar, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, ground coriander, salt, oregano and cumin. Seal the bag and toss until everything is completely coated with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
- Heat a large saute pan/deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken thighs to the pan skin-side down and cook for about 6 minutes per side, until skin is is crispy and golden.
- Transfer the chicken onto a plate and cook the remaining chicken the same way. The chicken won't be fully cooked yet – that's okay. It will continue cooking with the rice later.
- In the same pan using the oil that's already in there, add the diced onions and bell peppers. Cook for 5 minutes until onions have softened and are translucent.
- Add the garlic and rice. Saute for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant and rice begins to brown slightly.
- Add the water, tomato paste and salt, Stir together to combine until the tomato paste has fully dissolved.
- Add the browned chicken thighs to the pan skin-side up and bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20-25 minutes until the rice is fully cooked through and the chicken registers an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the cooked chicken pieces to a clean plate. Add the frozen peas to the rice and fluff them in using a fork. The rice will be hot enough to thaw the peas out completely.
- Serve the arroz con pollo immediately with a garnish of chopped cilantro and lime wedges.
Isabel’s Tips:
- Don’t have white wine vinegar for the chicken marinade? You can use the juice of 1 lime instead.
- You can use any cut of chicken that you want – drumsticks, breasts, wings, thighs, whatever you have!
- I love the flavor of arroz con pollo when the skin is left on the chicken, but you can lighten it up by using boneless skinless thighs if you prefer.
- If you love spicy food, you can use serrano peppers or jalapenos peppers instead of green bell peppers.
Nutrition Information
Only time we get Great Mexican or TexMex food is once a year when we Visit my Niece in Texas, that is until I started using Recipes from Isabel eats. Please keep them coming.
I can’t have cumin. I can sub ground coriander for that, but do you have a recommendation for a chili powder sub?
Thanks!
You can try ground red pepper flakes or paprika as a substitute for chili powder. It won’t be the same flavor, but it will be better than omitting it.
Closest thing to my best friend’s Arroz Con Pollo I’ve found. She just adds LOTS of butter. So delicious. Thank you!
I love your arroz con pollo recipe. It was so yummy the whole family enjoyed it. I left out the peas for the kids 🙂
Very good. The marinade was what made it.
I’ve made your picadillo.
Very good everyone loved it.
Thanks
I made this last night. I did add a hot jalapeno but next time will add serrano as well. It had complex flavors and was very tasty. My wife loved it and said to keep it on the list of regulars. I signed up or your newsletter end of Sept and will be exploring your website some more.
Isabel I’m very glad I found your food blog . This was the first recipe I made but it certainly won’t be the last . The family loved it . Can’t wait to make more of your recipes. They all look so wonderful and I’m sure they will be delicious too .
Thank you so much, Greg! That means a lot. I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes.
Absolutely delicious! Served guests last night. They loved it too!
I used my paella pan and put it in the center of table. It looks beautiful and the flavor was amazing. I use lime juice insead of vinegar. My Mom always used lime juice to anythng that had chicken in it. It’s our family secret ingredient. Thanks.
Wow! Made this last night and it was excellent. Used 4 thighs and adjusted ingredients accordingly. Very happy with the recipe.
Great variation on the Cuban-style arroz con pollo I grew up with and still eat today. Followed Isabel’s hint and added diced Jalepenos (in lieu of some of the bell pepper). Easy enough to prep and a snap to clean up. Delicious dish we’ll make again
So delicious!!! I had to do them separately as one of my sons is vegetarian…we piled our plates with chicken on top and his got tofu. Everyone would like to see it for dinner again soon! The chicken was so tender and it has such great flavors!
I’m so happy you were able to make the recipe work for your family, Suzanne!
Made this tonight, and included tenderloins for my 1 year old (I marinated the chicken last night). We loved it! Super easy and delicious. I bbq-ed our chicken so I made the rice on its own. Will def keep this in the rotation.
I’m so happy you and your family enjoyed it! Thanks, Kat!