Arroz Con Pollo

With its tender chicken, perfectly cooked rice, olives, peas, and tons of flavor, Arroz Con Pollo is a comforting dish that never disappoints. While there are many ways to make chicken and rice, this method may just be my favorite.

It’s all about the pegao

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to eat authentic arroz con pollo, you know that one of the key textures is in the rice that sticks to the bottom of the pot and gets perfectly crisp.

This toasty rice, also known as pegao, is one of the defining characteristics of arroz con pollo, and probably my favorite one. In fact, we’ll often bicker over who has more on their plate!

My recipe is Puerto Rican-inspired, relies on sazon as one of the key flavor agents, and since it contains annatto, it contributes to the orange color of the dish.

Arroz con pollo is one of those dishes that when the kids hear I’m making it for dinner, they clear their schedules. Everyone loves it!

All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.

• Chicken. I’m using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for my arroz con pollo. You can also use drumsticks. Since the skin is a key flavor component, I don’t recommend using skinless thighs.
• Rice. I’m using medium-grain rice, but you could also use a long-grain rice. I would not recommend using brown rice or short-grain rice.
• Marinade. I let the chicken marinate in a combination of sazon, adobo, and ground cumin. Sazon is also used for the rice.
• Sofrito. I’m using a combination of garlic, onion, and pepper. You could also buy jarred sofrito.
• Chicken stock. Use homemade chicken stock or storebought low-sodium chicken stock.
• Tomato sauce. Canned tomato sauce can be used, or passata, or even crushed tomatoes.
• Peas and olives. I am using frozen green peas and pimento-stuffed green olives. I love the flavors and textures these ingredients add to the arroz con pollo.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to make it

Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.

1. Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels and season with the sazon, adobo, and cumin. Refrigerate for 2 hours, but ideally overnight. Heat a large, wide pan or Dutch oven to medium heat with the olive oil and cook the chicken skin-side down.
2. Once the chicken is well browned on all sides, transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon and leave the rendered fat in the pot.

3. Add the onion, peppers, and a pinch of salt to the pan and sauté until very soft. If the pot starts to burn, add a few ounces of water to scrape the browned bits.
4. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes or until fragrant.
5. Add the rice and mix well to coat each kernel with the oil. Saute for 3 minutes.
6. Add the tomato sauce, chicken stock, sea salt, oregano, sazon, cilantro, and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Spread the rice so it’s evenly distributed, then sprinkle the olives and peas, and nestle the chicken pieces into the pot along with any remaining juice from the chicken.

7. Turn the heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook for 15-18 minutes or until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the rice is tender.
8. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit covered for another 15 minutes. At this point, you can either eat the arroz con pollo as is, or you can crisp the bottom rice for the pegao. To do so, put the pan back on the burner and cook over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. If it smells like it’s burning, remove the pan from the heat. Taste test and season with salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!

More recipes you’ll love

If you love arroz con pollo, give these other recipes a try!

• Jambalaya
• Mediterranean chicken and orzo
• Peruvian chicken with green sauce