One Pot Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice – An incredible chicken meal that would excite your taste buds. Flavored with sofrito sauce, spices, peas and olives. So easy to make and comes together quickly.
Not to long ago I shared with you a recipe for one pot Jerk Chicken and rice. Since then, it has become my go-to rice recipe and to put it mildly – the family is obsessed with it. And I am too!
As usually I decided to switch things up and create something similar but with different flavors and ingredients but same old concept that works all the time. Ratio of rice to liquid and searing the chicken with spices first. Then letting the oven do it’s magic.
This is probably not an authentic Puerto Rican dish but it is made using classic Puerto Rican ingredients. And most the ingredients are pantry staple and some are probably rotting away in your fridge.
What makes it s o tasty is the thigh meat releasing juice to the rice. And rice benefits of the juices from the chicken thigh trickling into it while it slowly cooks. Making it an INCREDIBLY flavor meal.
As always, I use my trusted 12-inch cast iron skillet for this, works all the time. An oven safe Dutch oven would work as well.
Enjoy!!
Watch How To Make It
One Pot Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
Chicken Thighs
- 2 -2 1/2 pound chicken thighs about 5
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chicken Goya Sazon or bouillon powder optional
- 2 Tablespoons Adobo seasoning or your favorite chicken seasoning
One pot rice
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 2- teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ medium onion diced
- 2 small bay leaves
- 1 large bell pepper sliced
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon cumin spice
- 2-3 Tablespoons Fresh cilantro
- 2 cups uncooked long grain rice
- 15.5 oz. can Pigeon Peas/ rinsed and drained
- 1 teaspoon white ground white pepper
- 1 cup pitted olives
- 4 cups chicken broth or water
- 1 packet Goya Sazon
- 1 teaspoons paprika optional
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash chicken thighs, for faster cooking make a ½ " slit into chicken thigh meat on either side of the chicken wipe with a paper towel. Season with salt( about 1½ teaspoons)
- Rub both sides with generous amount of the adobo spice blend. Or your favorite spice mix
- Place chicken skin side up in a skillet / Dutch oven or oven safe pot/pan for about 3 minutes each, be very careful with the chicken, it shouldn’t burn. Remove from the pan and set aside
- Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F
- Meanwhile place the rice into a large bowl, cover with cold water and use your hands to wash the grains. Tip the water out then repeat twice until the water runs clear.
- Wipe pan with paper towel or napkin to remove any burns from pan.
- Add about 2 Tablespoons oil or more followed by onions, bell pepper , garlic , bay leaf, cilantro and cumin. Sauté until soft but not golden, about 2-3 minutes. Then add tomato Sauce and rice. Stir for another minute
- Next add all the remaining ingredients, Chicken stock, pigeon peas, paprika, white pepper ,olives, salt and Sazon/ or bouillon .Add chicken, bring to a boil.
- Place in the oven in pre heated oven uncovered . Cook for about 30- 35 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
- Remove let it cool and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Shannon says
Hello i made this before it was delicious i wanted to know if u knew can i cook this in my eletric skillet?
ImmaculateBites says
I haven’t tried it with an electric skillet ….However, I think it would work, be sure to cover the skillet and you might have to adjust cooking time . If you do give it a try let me know how it works out
JoFi says
This is very very close to my family’s Cuban Arroz con pollo. We sub out some of the water for beer, and omit the Pigeon peas, that’s it! So so good. I usually make this on the stove top, but it works well in the oven, too. Next I’m going to try it in the instant pot. I feel like it would work! Yummy yummy.
Erica says
It sounds good how do u make it
William says
I have made this recipe several times and my wife loves it so guess whats going down tonight? We are cooking it again. Five stars all the way. The recipe its one of my favorites.
imma africanbites says
Yaaay! Thank you for a wonderful feedback, William. I appreciate it. Happy holidays!
Bianka says
I will be making this tonight! I’m excited! Need to buy a cast iron today
ImmaculateBites says
That’s Awesome! I love my cast iron- it’s one of my favorite cooking vessel.
Mira says
Hi. You mentioned you use sofrito for this recipe. But i don’t see it in the ingredient list. I have pre made sofrito, so I’m wondering what I can substitute for it. Thanks
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Mira, add the sofrito when adding the onions and bell pepper. It adds more flavor to the rice .Sometimes , I season the chicken with about a teaspoon of sofrito to add more flavor to the chicken. Hope this helps.
I says
Hi. What should I do if I am using pre -cooked rice?
ImmaculateBites says
Pre-cooked rice would not work well in this recipe.
Adrian says
this looks amazing! can I substitute pigeon peas with red kidney beans?
imma africanbites says
Yes, you sure can!
Barbara says
The rice cooks in the oven without the pot being covered!
Jose says
Thank you! I made this yesterday and loved the flavors. I didn’t have Adobo for the chicken rub so I mixed onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder and cayenne pepper. The chicken came out great. However the rice came out very mushy, definitely overcooked. I used Jasmine rice.. would a different type of rice have been better? Also I washed the rice perhaps a bit too early (sat wet for a good 10 minutes before being added to the pan). Any advice?
imma africanbites says
Jasmine rice works fine for this recipe. Perhaps, that’d be the case that you let it sat wet for too long. I’d also try going with a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Let me know how it works out for you. Happy cooking, Jose!
John says
Great Dish! Easy to put together and the flavor is on point!
Leia says
I really liked the way this recipe came out. I’ve been making it on the stove top for years, so I really liked doing it in the oven. Seems to take less time. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
ImmaculateBites says
Am so thrilled! So happy to hear this. Thanks for the feed back!
Judy Rentz says
The jerk chicken was perfection!!
Thank you!
ImmaculateBites says
YESS! Thank you!
New to Cooking says
So, I made this with a pan that I thought was the same size as yours. I think it may be the 10 inch because I had to pour half of the liquid out. I actually double checked that “4 cups of chicken broth” bullet four times because I knew I was in trouble lol. Anyway, this meant the rice didn’t cook properly and I had to cook it for like 2 hours instead of 30 minutes. I also forgot to boil it on the stovetop beforehand. Anyway, I gradually added back the liquid to try to cook the rice in the process.
It’s now mushy but good. First time for everything. I’ll get it right next time.
Anyway, I posted all of this for others new to cooking to learn from my mistakes. So, to my questions:
1. Did you use the 12 inch Lodge cast iron skillet? If not, do you know the volume of liquid your skillet holds?
2. I’d rather buy another pan than adjust measurements of the food, so if I just get the 13 or 15 inch cast iron skillet, does that change how I would make this recipe? Like will it shorten cooking time? Are there issues when cooking on a stovetop? Should I just get the 12 inch and call it a day?
Thanks for your help and all of these snacking recipes!
New to Cooking says
*amazing recipes (And I was wondering about the bigger skillet just to play it safe, but I wouldn’t get it if I have to adjust anything on your recipes). I’m pretty much trying to make a recipe a week of yours in the New Year lol.
ImmaculateBites says
Sorry to hear about the recipe. In most of my recipes ,I use the 12 inch cast iron skillet , a 13 inch would work as well. I don’t know much about a 15 inch, never used it. Since you are starting out I would go with the 12 inch. Hope this helps and don’t hesitate to ask more questions. Happy Cooking!!!
Chinyere says
Thanks so much! Appreciate the super quick response as all!
Heidi says
I absolutely love your recipes. Thank you so much for sharing
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for taking the time to let me know ! Wishing a Happy Year!!!!
Stephanie says
Did you use boneless or bone-in thighs?
ImmaculateBites says
I used bone-in thighs.
Stephanie says
Thank you. Going to make this tonight!