Mexican Chicken And Rice (Arroz Con Pollo) is a delicious combination of perfectly cooked chicken thighs, fluffy rice and sweet roasted peppers, flavoured with cumin, paprika, chilli and oregano. And the best part? This easy peasy Mexican-inspired Oven Baked Chicken and Rice is all cooked in one pan!
Arroz Con Pollo – my new obsession!
It’s no secret that I LOVE Mexican flavours. But one Mexican dish I had never tried, until recently, was Arroz Con Pollo. Or, in other words Mexican ‘Rice With Chicken’. But since I love Chicken, Rice AND Mexican flavours, this seemed to be a bit of an omission!
My usual MO when coming up with an ‘easy peasy’ version of a classic is to do lots of research on the dish, then figure out how to capture the ‘essence’ of the dish while using as few ingredients and as little kitchen equipment as possible, and also keeping the processes simple.
However, as I began to research this dish, two things because apparent. Firstly, a lot of the recipes are quite complicated and time-consuming. And secondly, there are a bajillion different variations of this dish – there’s no ‘one way’ of making it or even ‘one set’ of more-or-less standard ingredients.
So I created my own version of Arroz Con Pollo – taking inspiration from the many ‘authentic’ Mexican recipes I read, but adding my own twist… and turning it into a dish that is oven baked all in one pan, for maximum easy-peasy-ness!
The result is a delicious combination of perfectly cooked chicken thighs, fluffy rice and sweet roasted peppers, flavoured with cumin, paprika, chilli and oregano. Perfect for when you want that hit of delicious Mexican flavours but don’t have a lot of time or energy.
How to make Mexican Chicken And Rice
My version of Mexican Chicken And Rice is so easy to make!
All you need to do is coat chicken thighs in a simple Mexican-style marinade. Then, place onion wedges, pepper pieces, garlic cloves, oil and seasoning in a roasting dish. Next, place the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables, cover and roast for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix a stock cube, tomato puree and boiling water in a large jug and set aside for later. After the 15 minutes is up, remove the roasting tin from the oven and add the rice and chicken stock. Then return to the oven for a further 35 minutes (15 minutes covered and 20 minutes uncovered).
What to serve with Arroz Con Pollo
Serve this delicious Mexican Chicken and Rice with a side salad and/or with all your favourite Mexican sides. For example:
See my Mexican and Tex Mex Recipe Collection for more Mexican sides inspiration!
What to drink with Arroz Con Pollo
This is an incredibly wine friendly dish, and so will also work really well with lots of different wines, especially white wines such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, White Rioja and Verdejo from Rueda, Spain.
It will also go well with fruity rosés, and light to medium bodied reds such as Spanish Tempranillo or Garnacha, French Grenache or Chilean Merlot.
What to do with leftover Arroz Con Pollo
This easy Mexican Chicken and Rice dish really is at its best when it is freshly made… However, if you do end up with some left over, simply store it in a plastic lidded container in the fridge, where it will keep for 24 hours.
To reheat, place the chicken and rice in an ovenproof dish with add a big splash of water. Cover with foil and cook in an oven, pre-heated to 180C (160C fan / gas mark 4 / 350F), for 15–20 minutes or until piping hot all the way through. (Remove the foil for the last 5 minutes to re-crisp up the skins.)
When reheating rice, always make sure you adhere to food safety guidelines for rice.
Can you freeze Arroz Con Pollo
Yes, you can freeze this Mexican Chicken and Rice dish. Again, it won’t be quite as good as freshly made, but it will still taste delicious. Make sure you cool the rice quickly and get it into the freezer, in a plastic lidded box, within 1 hour of when you finished cooking it. It will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
Again, make sure you always adhere to food safety guidelines for rice.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
- One Pan Oven Baked Chicken and Rice
- Chicken Tikka Biryani
- Chicken and Chorizo Jambalaya
- Homemade Nando’s Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Easy Chicken Breast Traybake
Chicken Tikka Biryani
Mexican Chicken And Rice (Arroz Con Pollo)
Ingredients
Mexican Chicken Marinade
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes (or to taste – see Note 1)
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- Juice of 2 limes
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Mexican Chicken And Rice (Arroz Con Pollo)
- 8 chicken thighs, skin on and bone in (approx. 1kg / 2¼lb)
- 2 red onions cut into wedges / 8ths
- 3 (bell) peppers mix of colours, cut into 2x2cm pieces (¾x¾inch)
- 8 garlic cloves peeled and halved
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper (to taste - see Note 2)
- 250 g long grain rice (see Note 3)
- 1 chicken stock cube I use Kallo Organic
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 750 ml boiling water
- Chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Place all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Place the chicken thighs in the bowl and turn to ensure all the chicken thighs are well coated in the marinade. (I find it easiest to use my hands for this.)
- If you have the time, cover and place in the fridge to marinate for 1 hour. If you don’t have the time, continue on with the recipe – it will still taste good!
- Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark7 / 425F.
- Place the onion wedges, pepper pieces, garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper (see Note 2) in a roasting dish. Use your hands (or a large spoon) to mix everything together.
- Place the marinated chicken thighs on top of the vegetables and spoon any remaining marinade over the veggies.
- Cover the roasting tin with foil, then place in your preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, crumble your stock cube into a large jug, add 2 tablespoons of tomato puree and pour in 750ml boiling water. Stir and set aside for later.
- After the 15 minutes is up, remove the roasting tin from the oven and place on a heatproof surface, then remove the foil.
- Remove the chicken thighs to a plate. Add the rice into the dish and pour in the chicken stock. Mix the veggies, rice and stock to ensure everything is well combined.
- Next, place the chicken thighs back on top of the rice and push down slightly, so they are partly submerged, but the skins should be above the stock. Tip any juices from the plate into the roasting tin.
- Re-cover with the same foil, then place the roasting tin back in the oven and cook for a further 15 minutes.
- After the 15 minutes is up, remove the roasting tin from the oven and remove the foil.
- Then place the uncovered roasting tin back in the oven and cook for a further 20 minutes to crisp up the chicken skins.
- After the last 20 minutes is up, remove – check the rice is cooked to your liking (see Note 3) – and serve – either on its own or with a side salad and/or with all your favourite Mexican sides (guacamole, salsa, refried beans, sour cream etc.)
Notes
- Adjust the quantity of chilli flakes to suit your personal preferences. Personally I like to use 1 teaspoon here, which comes out medium hot, but if you prefer a milder taste try ¼ to ½ a teaspoon… or leave them out altogether. And of course, if you prefer things hot – go for 2 teaspoons… or more!
- I find that the stock cube makes the rice salty enough for my tastes, so I only add black pepper at this point.
- Cooking time will depend on the specific brand of long grain rice you use. Typically in British supermarkets you will find the standard long grain white rice is ‘easy cook’. I use Tesco Easy Cook Long Grain Rice, which yields perfectly cooked fluffy rice when cooked as above. Tesco advise cooking their long grain rice for 15 minutes. If your brand’s instructions advise you to cook the rice for longer than this, you may need to cook this dish for longer and/or use more stock to achieve perfectly fluffy rice.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Pin Mexican Chicken and Rice for later
FREE 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan
Have you got your hands on a copy of my meal plan yet? If not CLICK HERE to download a copy of my FREE 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan today!
Adric says
How would we make this with chicken breast instead (I love chicken thighs but my husband won’t eat them). Just add them in for the last 20 minutes maybe?
Eb Gargano says
Yes – exactly that! Depending on the thickness, they should take 15-20 minutes. So, coat them with the marinade as per the recipe, then pop them in for the last 15-20 minutes – and no need to cover with foil during that time.