How to Make Arroz con Pollo (Latin Chicken and Rice)
Arroz con Pollo is an easy one-pot meal that delivers tender, moist chicken and flavorful rice in every bite. It’s my mom’s recipe - the version my brother and I grew up loving - and it never fails. While Arroz con Pollo varies across Latin cultures, this one calls for turmeric, plus roasted chilies, pimiento-stuffed green olives, peas, and tomatoes for depth and color. It’s budget-friendly, family-friendly, and always a hit at the table!
Servings: 6 servingts
Calories: 862kcal
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 large garlic cloves sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 pounds Chicken thighs bone-in , skin-on – see Note below
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 1 3/4 cups chopped onion around 1 large
- 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice uncooked
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth I recommend using Better than Bouillon concentrate and water
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 3/4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes see Note below
- 8 ounces poblano peppers seeded, roasted and chopped – see Note below
- 1 cup frozen green peas no need to thaw
- 1/2 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed green olives
- Lime wedges and chopped cilantro optional garnishes
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of the olive oil, garlic and salt. Cook over medium heat just until the garlic starts to turn brown. Watch carefully so it doesn’t burn. With a slotted spoon, remove the garlic slices and set aside.
- Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towel and brush the garlic-flavored oil over all sides. Place chicken in a glass dish large enough to hold them in one layer, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to overnight. Cover any remaining garlic oil and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a 4- to 5-quart, cooktop-to-oven shallow baking dish, heat any remaining garlic oil and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces all over ground pepper and cook skin side down, for around 5 minutes or until nicely browned. Turn chicken over and continue cooking for around 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from skillet and place on a plate or rimmed cookie sheet. Don’t clean out the pan!
- Reduce heat to low, stir in onion and rice, and cook just until rice begins to brown. Remove from heat and stir in chicken broth and turmeric; cook, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Stir in tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, green chiles, and reserved garlic slices. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper.
- Place browned chicken pieces on top of rice mixture, skin side up, and in a single layer. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Stir peas and olives into the rice around the chicken pieces, uncover, and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, garnish with chopped cilantro and/or lime wedges (if desired), and serve.
Notes
Note on chicken pieces: I like to make this dish with a mixture of thighs and drumsticks. If using breasts and they are large, I cut them in half, breaking the bone as needed.
Note on tomatoes: When fresh tomatoes aren’t in season, for more flavor substitute 1 (15-ounce) can, undrained.
Note on chile peppers: Can substitute 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, undrained, for the fresh poblano peppers.
Make-Ahead Prep Tips:
- Season the chicken the day before. With our recipe, you can brush the chicken with the quick garlic oil up to 24 hours ahead and store it covered in the fridge.
- Chop ahead. Chop the onion, garlic, and tomatoes (if using fresh) up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerate in separate containers.
- Set up your pantry pulls. Group together canned tomato sauce, canned tomatoes (if using), and olives so everything’s easy to grab when cooking.
- Make it a weeknight-friendly plan. Do all the prep the day before (season the chicken, chop the vegetables), then the next day, just brown the chicken, sauté the onion, layer in the other ingredients, and bake.
- Make ahead assembly option. You can assemble the entire dish up to the point of baking 1 day in advance. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before baking. Note: This recipe was originally published in my cookbook Fresh Tastes.
- Season the chicken the day before. With our recipe, you can brush the chicken with the quick garlic oil up to 24 hours ahead and store it covered in the fridge.
- Chop ahead. Chop the onion, garlic, and tomatoes (if using fresh) up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerate in separate containers.
- Set up your pantry pulls. Group together canned tomato sauce, canned tomatoes (if using), and olives so everything’s easy to grab when cooking.
- Make it a weeknight-friendly plan. Do all the prep the day before (season the chicken, chop the vegetables), then the next day, just brown the chicken, sauté the onion, layer in the other ingredients, and bake.
- Make ahead assembly option. You can assemble the entire dish up to the point of baking 1 day in advance. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before baking. Note: This recipe was originally published in my cookbook Fresh Tastes.
Nutrition
Calories: 862kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 26g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 224mg | Sodium: 1337mg | Potassium: 1050mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1217IU | Vitamin C: 55mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 4mg