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.
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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!
Recipe Ingredients
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.
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How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add the rice and mix well to coat each kernel with the oil. Saute for 3 minutes.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
Top tips
- Saving time. To save time, you can use a store-bought jarred sofrito. You can also skip the suggested 2-hour marination process and simply season the chicken after thouroughly drying with paper towels.
- Cooking the sofrito. If making a homemade sofrito, I urge you not to rush making it. Cooking the garlic, pepper, and onion over medium heat until it’s soft may take 12-15 minutes and shouldn’t be rushed. While it doesn’t take as long as making a roux for gumbo, the concept is similar in that the process isn’t to be rushed.
- Crispy bottom. The pegao, or crispy rice that gets stuck to the bottom, is delicious and characteristic of a Puerto Rican arroz con pollo. I highly recommend following my instructions to crisp the bottom. If it starts to smell like it’s burning, remove the pan from the heat.
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Arroz Con Pollo – Puerto Rican Style
Arroz con pollo combines tender chicken, and perfectly cooked rice that's simmered together in a flavorful blend of spices with olives and peas. This incredible dish is comfort food at its very best.
Ingredients
For the chicken marinade
- 3 pounds chicken thighs
- 2 teaspoons sazon seasoning
- 2 teaspoons adobo seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
For the rice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 large onion finely diced
- 1 large green bell pepper finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice rinsed for 30 seconds then lit sit in strainer
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sazon seasoning
- 2 large bay leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro plus more for garnish
- 3/4 cup pimento stuffed green olives sliced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- salt and pepper to taste
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Instructions
Marinate the chicken and sear
- Pat the chicken pieces very dry with paper towels then season well with sazon, adobo, and cumin. Refrigerate for 2 hours or ideally overnight.
- Heat a large wide pan or Dutch oven to medium heat with the olive oil and add the chicken skin side down. Cook until well browned on all sides then remove it to a plate with a slotted spoon leaving the fat in the pot.
Make the rice
- Add the diced onion and peppers along with a pinch of salt and saute until very soft (about 12-15 minutes). If the pot starts to burn add a few ounces of water to scrape up the browned bits. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add the rice and mix well to coat each kernel with the oil. Saute for 3 minutes.
- Add the tomato sauce, chicken stock, sea salt, oregano, sazon, cilantro, and bay leaves and bring to a boil.
- Spread the rice so that it is evely distributed in the pot. Sprinkle in the olives and peas and nestle the chicken pieces into the pot. Pour any remaining chicken juices in as well. Turn the heat to low and cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for 15-18 minutes or until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the rice is tender. Remove the pot from the burner and let sit covered for another 15 minutes.
- Note: You can eat the arroz con pollo as is or crisp the bottom rice for socarrat or pegao. To crisp bottom, 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 more salt and pepper if required. Garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!
Notes
- Rice. I like to use medium grain rice, but other types such as long grain or jasmine can be used. Long grain rice will need about a 1/2 cup more water. Avoid using brown or short grain (arborio) rice. If the rice is still hard after resting, add a few splashes of boiling stock or water, cover tightly and cook for another 5 minutes over low heat. Let rest for 5 minutes before again checking for doneness.
- Chicken. I love to use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs but boneless skinless can be used. Drumsticks are also great.
- Crisping the bottom for pegao. The crispy bits of rice on the bottom of the pan are delicious and are typical of Puerto Rican and Dominican aroz con pollo while not often included in other versions in Cuba and Colombia. To crisp the rice, after resting, 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.
- In a rush. If you don’t have time to marinate, simply remove the chicken and pat very dry with paper towels. Season with spice mixture and let sit at room temp while prepping the other ingredients.
- Leftovers. Arroz con pollo can be saved for up to 3 days in the fridge and can be reheated in the microwave.
Nutrition
Calories: 885kcal | Carbohydrates: 46.1g | Protein: 31.2g | Fat: 64g | Saturated Fat: 16.9g | Cholesterol: 165mg | Sodium: 1222mg | Fiber: 2.7g | Sugar: 4.9g | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Very flavorful with the marinated chicken and olives. Added some lemon juice to the broth. Will definitely make again.
why anybody would make this recipe l without “burning ” the rice is missing the BEST part of this dish.it completely transform a good dish to a OUTSTANDING dish I could not stop eating that rice.thighs were delicious but star of show is that unbelievable rice.i don’t normally comment on things but holy shir shout it to the rooftops this meal is transformative p.i haven’t said WOW so much in my life!!!!!!! Thank you for this recipe you are the man
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Frederick, and we totally agree the rice is the star of this show!
This dish was outstanding! I loved the flavors, and it was pretty effortless to prepare, most ingredients are things I had on hand. (I googled sazon seasoning, and mixed my own, pretty simple.)
I used a little chipotle in adobo sauce, since I didn’t have adobo seasoning–worked just fine.
I have enjoyed your recipes, and I am thinking I need your cookbook, but I am wondering if most of your wonderful recipe’s are in there?
Glad you enjoyed, Kathleen! We have a little over 100 recipes in the book but our website has over 600. This particular recipe is new and not in the cookbook.
This recipe was fabulous! I am a huge fan of Arroz con Pollo. And this recipe even competes with my favorite Mexican restaurant. Great flavor profiles, and a nice level of heat.
So glad you enjoyed!
I just made this recipe, and it is savory and delicious! I am definitely adding it to my list of favorite family meals. I largely followed your recipe but I added celery, carrots and substituted 4 ounces of water with a dry white wine.
So glad you enjoyed!
I made it and it came out perfect. I did, however; combine the pepper, onion, and garlic in a food processor to make a “sofrito” and cooked according to your recipe. Excellent!
So glad you enjoyed!
When you say adobo in this recipe, do you mean adobo spice powder?
Yes.
This recipe is right one and the pegao is the best 😍😍😍
So glad you enjoyed, Susana!
Jim, I’m a steadfast user and follower of your recipes. However with your Aroz con pollo I think you have taken what, in Spain, is a very simple dish and made it very complicated with lots of spices and competitive flavors. The Spanish version I learned in Spain has only really two flavor additives in addition to the base dish and they are saffron and Lemon.
Hi Lee, this isn’t the Spanish version of arroz con pollo, rather the Puerto Rican version. They’re quite different.
In Puerto Rico we do NOT add peas to arroz con pollo sorry to say. Take the peas out and then it is a legit recipe!
Hi Mari, thanks for your comment. We have several friends of Puerto Rican descent who have shared their methods of making arroz con pollo with us. Some use frozen green peas like we did, and others use canned gandules. We used the frozen green peas in our recipe because they’re more widely available.
Cubans do not add peas to their arroz con pollo but rather sprinkle on top when the rice is almost finished cooking, so they are warmed but not mushy.
Also, we do use azafran (saffron) as well as roasted red peppers (jarred ones, drained and cut in slivers), add these to top the rice as well.
We substitute some of the stock with dry white wine (vino seco) and or a bottle of good beer. Makes it all quite delicious!
Also to flavor up the rice, make it more well rounded, we use cubed ham and or chorizo sliced (Spanish dry cured chorizo) before adding these chicken to the sofrito. Just adds more oomph and the chorizo is especially good when making the soupy version, Arroz à la Chorrera.
Jim and Tara, explore the Cuban style variation of Arroz Con Pollo à la Chorrera….awesome soupy version. A true favorite of Cuban families for Sunday gatherings. Serve with salted fried green plantains (the twice fried smashed type), or platanos maduros (sweet plantains). It’s a complete meal and budget friendly.
Thanks for all your videos, recipes and newsletters. The book is awesome and I’m exploring and trying several recipes!
GG
Thanks for sharing your variation, Gilda. The Cuban version sounds great too and we’ll check it out!