Quick Chicken Paella Recipes

MAKE CHICKEN PAELLA IN UNDER AN HOUR

Steps:

• Stir together lemon rind, juice, and saffron in a small bowl; set aside.
• Heat oil in a 13- to 15-inch paella pan or skillet with lid over medium-high. Sprinkle chicken with black pepper and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Add 4 chicken thighs to pan; cook, skin side down, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Turn chicken over; cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; repeat with remaining 4 chicken thighs. Add onion, thyme, and garlic to pan; cook, stirring often, 4 minutes. Add rice; cook, stirring often, 2 minutes. Add wine; cook until reduced by about half, about 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice mixture, stock, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt. Nestle chicken, skin side up, into rice. Cover and reduce heat to medium; simmer until rice is just al dente, about 18 minutes. Uncover pan.
• Add peas and red pepper pieces. Increase heat to medium-high; cook until rice begins to brown on the bottom and edges of pan, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with parsley; serve with lemon wedges.

EASY CHICKEN PAELLA

Steps:

• To a large skillet (15+ inches in diameter if possible) or paella pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, onion, pepper, and sauté over medium-high heat until vegetables begin to soften and lightly caramelize, about 5 to 8 minutes; stir intermittently.
• Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute; stir intermittently. Remove the sofrito (the onion, pepper, and garlic) from the pan; set aside.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook the chicken until it's about 50% cooked through, stirring and flipping intermittently. Remove from the pan; set aside with the sofrito.
• Add the bomba rice and cook to toast the rice for about 3 minutes, stirring intermittently.
• To the chicken broth, add 1 packet Paellero, and stir to combine. Add the chicken broth to the rice.
• Add the sofrito and chicken back to the skillet, add the tomatoes, 1 cup water, and simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes or until rice is tender, chicken is cooked through, and liquid is absorbed. If necessary, you may need to add more than 1 cup water (or chicken broth) based on the texture of the rice. Taste it near the end of the cooking period and if it's too firm and all the liquid is absorbed or nearly so, add a bit more water using your judgment.
• Add the peas, parsley, stir to combine, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to warm through.
• Taste the paella and add salt and pepper, if necessary, to taste. The saltiness of the chicken broth, tomatoes, whether you used Paellero, and personal preference for salt and pepper will dictate how much to use. I used about 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
• Garnish with lemon wedges and serve immediately.

QUICK CHICKEN PAELLA

Steps:

• In a large deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and brown the chicken all over.
• Remove and set aside.
• Add the onions and garlic to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 5 minutes.
• Add the paprika, salt, turmeric and pepper and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
• Add the tomatoes, rice and stock and bring to a boil.
• Return the chicken to the skillet.
• Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced and the rice is almost tender.
• Add the zucchini and cook, covered, for 6 minutes or until the rice is tender.

QUICK PAELLA WITH CHORIZO, SHRIMP AND CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook until it releases its fat. 8 to 10 minutes. Add the chicken, onions and garlic and brown the chicken on all sides, about 10 minutes.
• Add the rice and toast for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste, followed by the saffron and then the wine, stirring. Add the chicken stock, cover and cook--no stirring--for 20 to 25 minutes. By then the rice should be almost done.
• Add the shrimp, mussels and peas and continue to cook until the rice is fluffy and the mussels have opened. Season with salt and pepper. Finish with the scallions and serve.

QUICK PAELLA

Steps:

• In a straight-sided, 10-inch pan, heat the olive oil over a medium flame. Add the onions, peppers and garlic and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the white wine and tomato puree and reduce the liquid by two-thirds, about 8 minutes.
• Add the smoked paprika and saffron, along with the bay leaf. Fold in the rice and make a bed for the seafood to sit on. Add the mussels, clams and shrimp and season again. Cover the pan, turn the heat to high and cook until the shellfish is finished and the bottom of the pan has started to caramelize the rice, about 5 minutes. This is a challenging step and is based on timing.
• Finish the paella with fresh parsley, and serve with lemon wedges on the side.

QUICK SHRIMP AND CHICKEN PAELLA

Steps:

• In small bowl, mix saffron and hot water; set aside.
• In large bowl, toss shrimp and chicken with seasoning blend until coated. Spray 12-inch skillet with butter-flavor cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add shrimp mixture to skillet; spray mixture with cooking spray. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Stir in saffron mixture, rice and peas, breaking up rice with wooden spoon. Cover; cook 3 minutes or until rice and peas are thoroughly heated, shrimp are pink and chicken is no longer pink in center. Fluff with fork.

EASY PAELLA

Steps:

• In a heavy 12-inch saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Cook shrimp until just pink on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes (do not overcook). Transfer to a plate.
• Add remaining tablespoon oil and sausage to pan; cook over medium-high heat until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and rice; cook, stirring to coat, until rice is translucent, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir in paprika, turmeric, tomatoes, and broth, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover, and cook until rice is tender and has absorbed almost all liquid, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in peas; cook 1 minute. Stir in cooked shrimp; serve immediately.

QUICK AND EASY PAELLA

Steps:

• Cook and stir reserved shrimp shells and 2 teaspoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until shells are pink and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir saffron into shells; add chicken broth, bring to a simmer, and cook until broth is a rusty brown and fragrant, about 20 minutes.
• Strain saffron broth through a fine-mesh sieve; measure out 2 cups of broth, pour into a small saucepan, and place over low heat to keep broth hot.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Cook chorizo slices in hot oil until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Add onion to sausage; cook and stir until soft and slightly translucent, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low.
• Stir garlic into chorizo mixture; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add rice to skillet and stir to coat rice completely in oil; stir in peas.
• Pat rice mixture evenly into the bottom of the skillet. Arrange shrimp in a single layer over the top of the rice. Lay pepper strips around and in between shrimp; season with salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
• Increase heat to high. When rice begins to sizzle in the skillet, pour reserved 2 cups hot saffron broth over the shrimp; gently shake the skillet to distribute liquid.
• Bake rice mixture in the preheated oven until rice is almost tender and still a bit wet, about 20 minutes.
• Place skillet over medium-high and cook until rice is tender, liquid is absorbed, and rice caramelizes and crusts slightly on the bottom of the skillet, 3 to 5 minutes.

EASY PAELLA

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil, paprika, oregano, and salt and pepper. Stir in chicken pieces to coat. Cover, and refrigerate.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet or paella pan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, and rice. Cook, stirring, to coat rice with oil, about 3 minutes. Stir in saffron threads, bay leaf, parsley, chicken stock, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Stir in marinated chicken and onion; cook 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and sausage; cook 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp; cook, turning the shrimp, until both sides are pink.
• Spread rice mixture onto a serving tray. Top with meat and seafood mixture.

QUICK CHICKEN AND CHORIZO PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in a large casserole or paella pan over high heat. Add chorizo and cook until browned and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add onion, red bell pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes.
• Add rice (medium or short grain rice), pimenton, saffron, and bay leaves. Stir to combine and coat the rice, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add roast chicken, frozen peas, and tomato; stir to combine.
• Transfer skillet to oven. Cook uncovered until rice is tender and no liquid remains, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

CHICKEN & CHORIZO PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan over a high heat. Brown the chicken all over - don't cook completely. Once browned, transfer to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to low, add the onions and cook slowly until softened, about 10 mins. Add the garlic, stir for 1 min, then toss in the chorizo and fry until it releases its oils.
• Stir in the spices, then tip in the rice. Stir to coat the rice in the oils and spices for about 2 mins, then pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, return the chicken to the pan and simmer for about 20 mins, stirring occasionally.
• Add the peas to the pan and simmer for a further 5 mins until the rice is cooked and the chicken is tender. Season well and serve with the lemon and parsley.

QUICK CHICKEN PAELLA WITH SUGAR SNAP PEAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix white wine and saffron threads in small measuring cup; set aside. Combine salt, smoked paprika, and black pepper in small bowl; rub spice mixture all over chicken thighs. Heat heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chorizo and sauté until fat begins to render and sausage browns, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Transfer chorizo to large plate. Add olive oil to skillet. Add chicken thighs to skillet and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate with chorizo.
• Pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add long-grain rice and stir to coat. Add wine-saffron mixture and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of skillet. Add chicken broth, tomatoes with juice, and roasted red peppers. Bring to simmer. Stir in browned chorizo. Place chicken thighs, skin side up, atop mixture in skillet. Cover skillet tightly with foil, then cover skillet with lid. Bake paella until rice is almost tender, about 25 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to plate. Stir rice; season to taste with salt and pepper. Scatter snap peas over. Return chicken to skillet, nestling into rice. Cover with foil and lid. Bake until snap peas are crisp-tender, rice is tender, and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes longer.
• Sometimes labeled Pimentón Dulce or Pimentón de La Vera Dulce; available at some supermarkets, at specialty foods stores, and from latienda.com.
• ** Spanish chorizo, a pork-link sausage flavored with garlic and spices, is milder than Mexican chorizo. It's available at specialty foods stores and Spanish markets and from latienda.com.

EASY CHICKEN AND SHRIMP PAELLA

Steps:

• Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium-high. Working in batches, cook chicken (do not crowd pot) until browned, 7 to 8 minutes, turning once. Transfer to a plate (reserve pot); set aside.
• Place bell pepper, chorizo, onion, garlic, and tomatoes (with their juice) in pot; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Add rice; cook, stirring, until translucent around edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Add broth and chicken; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover, and cook until rice begins to soften, about 10 minutes. Add peas and shrimp, submerging them in liquid. Cover and cook until shrimp are opaque throughout, 4 to 6 minutes.