An easy and delicious one-pot meal
My mother used to make this dish for our family quite often when I was younger. I love the combination of the spicy sausage, the tender chicken and the mixture of peas, olives and capers. There are so many wonderful flavors that come together beautifully in this Arroz Con Pollo. It is a very simple arroz con pollo and is ready in under an hour after you have marinated the chicken. Many arroz con pollo recipes call for using bone-in chicken but I prefer to use boneless. My family has a preference towards chicken breast but you can absolutely use boneless thighs if you prefer. In this recipe I used chicken tenders that were cut in half. You do not want the chicken pieces to be too small because you do not want them to be dry. I marinate the chicken in the morning so it has plenty of time to season. It’s best to place the marinade in a ziplock bag with the chicken and gently message it into the chicken. Remove most of the air from the bag before placing it in the refrigerator to marinate. A quick saute with the onions is all that is required before adding the rest of the ingredients. You want the chicken to finish cooking in the broth so it stays nice and tender.
Arroz Con Pollo originated in Spain but there are now several interpretations throughout Latin America and Spain. Most Arroz Con Pollo recipes call for using ham in the recipe. My mother liked things spicy so she substituted the ham for andouille sausage. The sausage is lightly browned and the rendered fat is used to sauté the chicken and onions. The andouille sausage adds a lot of flavor to the dish. The pinch of saffron is also important to the depth of flavors in arroz con pollo. You can play with the ingredients a bit; if you like olives add a few more, if you don’t like capers then add less. Use my recipe for arroz con pollo and make it your own.
Some Variations:
Use brown rice instead of long grain white rice
Add red and green bell peppers when sautéing the onions
Use bone-in chicken instead of boneless
Add a cup of rinsed and drained black beans
Substitute chopped kale or spinach for the peas
Use a few dashes of hot sauce if you want to turn up the heat
Arroz Con Pollo
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- ½ tbsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Arroz Con Pollo
- 1½ lb boneless chicken breast of chicken tenders
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 andouille sausage casing removed, sliced and cut into quarters
- ¾ cup onions chopped
- 2 tbsp capers
- 15 pitted green olives cut in half
- 1¼ cups long grain rice
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes in sauce
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup green peas frozen in fine
- pinch saffron
- 1 avocado as garnish
Instructions
Marinate Chicken
- cut chicken breast into 3 pieces or if using chicken tenders cut in half
- add all marinade ingredients into a ziploc bag.
- add chicken and mix well. Remove air and place in refrigerator
- marinate for at least 1 hour and upto 6 hours
Arroz Con Pollo
- use a large dutch oven or pan with a lid
- saute andouille sausage in pan until starting to brown
- remove sausage and set aside
- add 2 tbsp olive oil and add onions
- cook onions for 2 minutes and add chicken
- lightly cook chicken on all sides with the onions
- put sausage back in pan
- add chopped tomatoes
- add chicken broth
- add olives and capers
- add saffron
- add rice and stir
- bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 20 minutes
- add peas to pan and cook for another 10-15 minutes until rice is tender
- serve with slices of avocado