Make meal time a breeze with a family-friendly recipe for One-Pot Chicken and Yellow Rice.
When it comes to comfort food that has maximum flavor with minimum mess (read: dishes!), it doesn’t get much better than Chicken and Yellow Rice.
My husband grew up eating a variation of this recipe, which was prepared by his Cuban grandmother. They called it arroz con pollo, which is just simply rice with chicken.
Years after my husband and I met, I moved to Spain for 6 months, where I would seek out their variation on chicken and rice, a.k.a. paella.
It’s taken 15 years of knowing my husband (and 5 years of marriage, 2 kids and 1 dog later!) for me to finally create my own spin on arroz con pollo. And I can proudly say this recipe is 100% Cuban husband-approved!
I’ve eliminated as much dish-dirtying as possible by coming up with a technique that involves a single pot. Yes, just one solitary pot will lead you to the most flavor-packed, hearty, stick-to-your-ribs, meal-in-a-bowl ever.
My One-Pot Chicken and Yellow Rice is loaded with peas, carrots, plenty of spices, and the real winning addition (according to my husband and two toddler boys), green olives. They lend saltiness and brininess to cut through the otherwise heaviness of a rice-based dish.
There’s only one trick to ensuring your arroz con pollo doesn’t get clumpy or turn into risotto: rinse your rice before adding it to the pot! Then rinse it again, and again, and again. Then one more time just for good measure.
Looking for more Cuban-inspired meals? Don’t miss my recipe for Cuban Picadillo and Cuban Black Beans!
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Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups diced onions
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
- 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 cup sliced green olives
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups basmati rice, rinsed very well (See Kelly's Note)
- 2 cups chicken stock
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large heavy-bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven set over medium-low heat.
- Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken thighs, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring, until the chicken thighs are no longer pink, about 7 minutes.
- Stir in the turmeric powder, paprika and oregano.
- Add the olives, peas, rice, and stock and stir to combine.
- Increase the heat to medium-high to bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pot then reduce it to a simmer and cook, undisturbed, until the rice is cooked through, about 30 minutes.
- Uncover the pot, stir and serve.
Kelly's Note:
- You must rinse the rice very, very well prior to adding it to the pot, otherwise the rice will stick together and become clumpy.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
I usually bake mine in the oven… thoughts with this recipe?
Hi Gina! I haven’t tried this recipe in the oven so I’m not sure the temp/time. Let me know if you give it a shot!
I made this exactly as written. Found it to be JUST a bit bland, so next time will use a bit more salt and turmeric. I asked the kids and neither of them said, “Don’t make it again,” but they both agreed that it was missing a little flavor. The rice turned out cooked perfectly as written. Definitely a good base recipe to massage to each person’s liking! I did eat two servings. Thanks for sharing. Love the fact that it’s actually a 1-pot meal!
You are so welcome, Justin! Thanks so much for your feedback.
Loved it, my pic 10 year old granddaughter ate 3 helpings! Definitely a keeper loved the green olives, and I don’t like green olives.
Woohoo! I’m so thrilled to read this, Susan!
Wonderful recipe! My mother used to make this but it was a huge production! This one pot, quick, easy, and tasty dish is a winner!
Yay! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Deborah!
So are you using white rice or yellow rice
White basmati rice :)
Have made this multiple times! Delicious! Thank you!
I’m so thrilled you’ve been enjoying the recipe, Jean!
I wondered if I would use tumeric again upon buying it and YES I will when I make this again. Very good!
Yay! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Karen!
I recently lost my wife of 21 years, one of my favorite dishes she would make for me was yellow rice and chicken. She would make a big pot and I would eat it for days And never tire of it .
She never shared that recipe with me so I started scouring the net but none compared, until I came across yours, when I saw the olives I just knew.
I made this tonight and it was perfect! Brought back some great memories! I made a big bowl and smiled the whole time eating it. I can’t wait to eat it over this long weekend. Thank you so much!
I’m so sorry for your loss, Scott, but I’m glad that this recipe was able to bring back such great memories. :)
I’ve cooked chicken and yellow rice for 50 years and it’s never been this good.
The rice being more grainy and not gummy was yummy. Also the olive addition.
This will be my forever recipe
This comment made my day! Thanks, Harriet!
I’ve made this recipe twice now and enjoy it a lot. For me the recipe is large enough to freeze for a few future meals. The spices make it full of flavour, yet it’s a comfort food. I used brown basmati rice, so added a cup and a half of extra liquid and simmered it about half an hour longer. The chicken thighs always seem to have a lot of fat which I remove ahead of cooking. I dislike that job so next time I’ll try chicken breast. But it’s a great recipe, delicious! Thanks.
So glad you’re enjoying the recipe, Patricia!
I found this recipe after a friend sent me your onion dip recipe. The meal looked easy enough and filling. My awesome husband prepared the meal and we love it!
We did add salt to it since the recipe doesn’t call for it. And we added a smidge more stock; basmati rice tends to need a little more liquid.
We may throw in a little pepper and chickpeas next time. And we swapped the peas for lima beans, which worked really well!
Thanks for sharing your recipe!
You are so welcome! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!