Easy One Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice Skillet Recipe

This easy One Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice uses the cold pan method for ultra crispy skin, with flavorful marinated chicken thighs, and tasty, tender rice, all done in one skillet.

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Crispy Skin One Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice

uses the cold pan method to cook the chicken thighs for ultra crispy skin, and extra chicken flavor from cooking the rice and aromatics in rendered chicken fat or
"schmaltz".

With super flavorful rice and ultra crispy chicken, this is a recipe the whole family will enjoy, all in one pot!

Ingredients

Chicken/Marinade

To give the chicken great flavor prior to browning, it's marinated in lemon, olive oil and spices.

• Ground turmeric.
• Smoked paprika.
• Olive oil.
• Fresh garlic.
• Fresh squeezed lemon juice.
• A splash of apple cider vinegar.

Chicken and Rice

• 5-6 bone in, skin on chicken thighs. You want them to be bone-in, skin on so you can render the chicken fat for cooking, and get ultra crispy skin.
• A diced onion.
• Long grain white rice.
• Low sodium chicken broth.
• Fire roasted diced tomatoes. If you don't have fire roasted, you can use plain diced tomatoes.
• Spices for big flavor: smoked paprika, garlic powder, ground cumin, ground turmeric, kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, ground coriander and crushed red pepper flakes.

How to make One Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Add chicken to a gallon sized resealable bag, and pour marinade over. Make sure all chicken is well coated in marinade. Transfer to the refrigerator, and marinate chicken for a minimum of 4 hours, and up to overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees f.
4. When ready to cook, remove chicken from marinade and dry well with paper towels. Be sure to get them as dry as possible, as excess moisture will keep them from browning.
5. Season skin side of the chicken thighs with coarse kosher salt and black pepper.
6. Next, arrange chicken thighs skin-side down in a dry, unheated cast iron skillet. Set the skillet over medium heat and cook, undisturbed, until the chicken skin releases easily from the skillet and is a light golden color, 12-14 minutes.
7. Once the chicken is easily released from the pan and lightly golden, move the chicken thighs around a bit with tongs to make sure they brown evenly, moving the chicken around as needed to make sure all the skin has good heat contact( some areas of the pan may be hotter than others, so moving it is key).  Continue to cook the thighs until the skin is crispy and a deep golden brown, about 5-6 minutes.
8. Transfer the thighs to a plate with tongs, skin-side up (chicken will not yet be cooked through).

Finishing the Dish

1. Once chicken is browned, add onion to the pan with the rendered chicken fat, and sauté 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in the dried spices and stir well.
3. Add the diced tomatoes and chicken stock a bit at a time, deglazing the pan as you go to release the brown bits.
4. Stir in the rice.
5. Reduce heat to medium low, and cook rice for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally,
6. Add chicken and juices back to the skillet, crispy skin facing up. Cooking the rice on top of the stove first then placing the chicken on top of the rice skin side up ensures the chicken stays super crispy!
7. Transfer the skillet to the oven for 15-20 minutes, until rice is cooked though (time may vary depending on rice) and chicken is cooked through and the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees f.
8. Optional: place skillet under your ovenʼs broiler for 2-3 minutes for extra crispy skin.
9. Serve with lemon wedges and fresh chopped parsley.

Why use the Cold Pan Method?

The "Cold Pan Method" is a technique for cooking skin-on, bone in chicken. You place the well dried chicken into a cold skillet, and turn the heat on to medium.

This method allows the chicken skin's fat to render slowly, which allows not only for extra crispy skin, but also creates "schmaltz", or rendered chicken fat to cook the aromatics in, This makes for an ultra-flavorful One Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice that requires no additional fat or oil!

Serving the Spanish Chicken and Rice

The chicken and rice is perfect as is, or you can serve it with some fresh lemon wedges and chopped parsley for added freshness and brightness!

Storing Leftovers

Leftovers can be stored for up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Be sure to store the rice in the refrigerator after it cools to room temperature and don't leave it sit out too long, as rice can grow bacteria rather quickly if it is not properly stored.

Tools for the perfect Chicken and Rice

• A 12" cast iron skillet, or oven safe skillet.
• A meat thermometer, for temping the chicken.
• Gallon resealable bags, for marinating the chicken.
• Paper towels, to thoroughly pat the chicken dry before browning.

Substitutions and Additions for the Chicken and Rice Recipe

• If you don't have apple cider vinegar for the marinade, you could omit it, or substitute with red wine vinegar.
• I recommend using long grain white rice for this recipe. You can use any kind you like, but cooking times may vary, and if using brown rice, you may need more time and more liquid.
• If you want to add some chopped bell pepper or frozen peas for more veggies, both are delicious! If adding peas, add right before adding the chicken and transferring to the oven. If adding peppers, add when you saute the onion.

Made this one pot Spanish chicken and rice recipe? Leave a review and rating below!

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