Mexican Chicken And Rice (Arroz Con Pollo)

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!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican, Tex-Mex

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1

Servings people

Calories 835kcal

Author Eb Gargano

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)

Metric - US Customary

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.

Nutrition