A roasted skin-on chicken leg quarter on a bed of bright yellow rice with diced red pepper and green onion on a white plate. — Photo: Kobako · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Latin American & Caribbean · Lunch · Dinner

Arroz con Pollo

Name: Arroz con Pollo
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Cuisine: Latin American & Caribbean
Ingredients: 600 g (about 6 thighs) boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat and cut into large chunks; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 medium onion, diced; 1 large red bell pepper, diced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1/2 tsp ground turmeric; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed; 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth; 1 cup frozen green peas; 2 tbsp pimento-stuffed green olives, halved; 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped; 1 medium lime, cut into wedges

By BerryFit Kitchen · Nutrition checked with USDA data · Updated Oct 11, 2026 · How we make recipes

Tender chicken thighs and saffron-gold rice simmered in one pot with peppers, tomato, garlic and cumin, finished with sweet peas and fresh cilantro. A comforting Latin classic made lighter with lean skinless chicken, less oil and extra vegetables.

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 60 min
Serves: 4

Easy
Dairy Free
High protein

27%

Per serving549kcal27% of a 2,000 kcal day

40gProtein

71gCarbs

11gFat

5gFiber

Calories come from: Carbs 52% · Fat 18% · Protein 30%

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Ingredients

For 4 servings

600 g (about 6 thighs)boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat and cut into large chunks
1 tbsp14 golive oil
1 medium150 gonion, diced
1 large160 gred bell pepper, diced
4 cloves12 ggarlic, minced
2 tbsp32 gtomato paste
1 tspground cumin
1 tspdried oregano
1 tspsmoked paprika
1/2 tspground turmeric
1/2 tspsalt
1/4 tspblack pepper
1 1/2 cups280 glong-grain white rice, rinsed
3 cups720 glow-sodium chicken broth
1 cup135 gfrozen green peas
2 tbsp18 gpimento-stuffed green olives, halved (optional)
1/4 cupfresh cilantro, chopped
1 medium67 glime, cut into wedges (optional)

Steps

1
Mix the cumin, oregano, paprika, turmeric, salt and black pepper in a small bowl.
2
Toss the chicken chunks with half of the spice mix.
3
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
4
Brown the chicken in a single layer for about 3 minutes per side, then move it to a plate; it will finish cooking later.
5
Lower the heat to medium and cook the onion and red pepper in the same pot for 5 minutes until softened.
6
Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and the remaining spice mix and cook for 1 minute.
7
Add the rinsed rice and stir for 2 minutes to coat and lightly toast the grains.
8
Pour in the chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
9
Return the chicken and its juices to the pot and bring to a boil.
10
Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes without lifting the lid.
11
Scatter the peas and olives (if using) over the rice, cover again and cook 5 more minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.
12
Check that the chicken is cooked through to 74 °C / 165 °F in the thickest piece.
13
Turn off the heat and let the pot rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
14
Fluff the rice with a fork, sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges if using.

Swaps, storage and make-ahead

Swaps

Use bone-in, skin-on chicken leg quarters like the photo for a richer version, browning them longer and checking they reach 74 °C / 165 °F.
Swap the chicken for two drained cans of chickpeas and use vegetable broth to make it vegan, adding the chickpeas with the broth.
Replace the long-grain white rice with brown rice, adding about 1/2 cup more broth and simmering covered for around 40 minutes.
If you don't have smoked paprika, use sweet paprika with a pinch of chili powder instead.

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers in a shallow covered container within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days, reheating with a splash of broth or water until steaming hot throughout. Cooked rice dishes can be frozen for up to 2 months, though the peas and rice soften a little after thawing.

Make ahead

Mix the spice blend and dice the onion, pepper and garlic up to a day ahead, keeping the chopped vegetables covered in the fridge. You can also cut and season the chicken the night before and refrigerate it until cooking.

Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.

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Allergens and nutrition

Contains: Celery

Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.

Full nutrition

	Per serving (529 g)	Per 100 g
Calories	549 kcal	104 kcal
Protein	40.4 g	7.6 g
Carbohydrates	70.8 g	13.4 g
of which sugars	6.5 g	1.2 g
Fiber	4.8 g	0.9 g
Fat	10.7 g	2 g
of which saturated	2.4 g	0.5 g
Sodium	900 mg	170 mg

Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.