My favorite paella recipe is loaded with lots of Spanish rice, chicken, chorizo, shrimp and more, huge on flavor, easy to make and perfect for a crowd.
We're cooking up a big pan full of comforting Spanish Paella in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen tonight, my friends! Pull up a chair and join us!
Are you a fan of paella?
What is Paella?
Paella is a Spanish rice dish cooked in a wide pan that often contains a mix of meats, seafood, and vegetables.
Paella originated in Valencia, though it has spread through Spain and the rest of the world, where it can vary from region to region and cook to cook.
The name "Paella" refers to the pan in which it is cooked, as paella means "frying pan" in the Valencian language.
You'll find variations with different meats and seafood, vegetables, even seasonings, though the many commonalities remain.
One prized element of paella is called the socarrat, which is the crispy layer of rice that develops on the bottom of the pan during cooking. Many people enjoy it and even fight over the crispy bits.
My version is consider a Paella Mixta recipe, which is mixed paella with a combination of meats and seafood. You can easily adapt this recipe to skip the meats and focus only on the seafood, or however you'd like to enjoy it.
Either way, I think you'll find that this recipe feeds a group and is quite the crowd pleaser. Grab your paella pans, my friends, and let's get cooking!
Let's talk about how to make paella, shall we?
Paella Ingredients
- Saffron. Soaked in water to let the flavor bloom. Saffron is the most important spice in paella, really defining the dish.
- Chicken Broth. Or use chicken stock, or vegetables broth.
- Olive Oil.
- Vegetables. Onion, bell peppers (or use hotter peppers to your preference, though Spanish paella is not meant to be a hot and spicy dish), garlic, tomatoes.
- Chicken. I use chicken thigh, though chicken breast is good, too.
- Spanish Chorizo. This is controversial to some Spanish cooks, but I prefer it.
- Seasonings. Spanish paprika (I prefer smoked paprika, through hot or sweet are great, too), red chili flakes (optional, for spicy), salt, bay leaf, parsley. See my post on What is Paprika to learn more about your paprika options.
- Spanish Rice. See recipe notes.
- Seafood. Shrimp and mussels. You can use other seafood as well. See the recipe notes.
- Garnish. Extra red pepper flakes, fresh chopped parsley, lemon.
How to Make Paella - the Recipe Method
Bloom the Saffron. Add the pinch of saffron to a small bowl and cover with 1/4 cup water to let the saffron bloom.
Heat the Chicken Broth. Add the chicken broth to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until needed.
Cook Meats and Vegetables. While the broth is heating, heat the oil in a large skillet or pan (I use a large paella pan) to medium heat.
Add the onion, peppers, chicken, and Spanish chorizo sausage. Cook for 8 minutes to soften the vegetables and cook the chicken mostly through.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Tomatoes and Seasonings. Stir in the tomatoes, saffron (with water), paprika, chili flakes (if using), and salt. Cook for 3 minutes.
Add the Rice. Add the rice and cook for 1 minute to lightly brown the rice.
Add Hot Broth. Pour in the hot chicken broth and shake the pan to distribute. Do not stir the rice, as we want it to cook evenly and develop a crispy bottom.
Sprinkle in the parsley and add the bay leaves.
Simmer the Paella. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes to 20 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed the liquid and is tender to your preference. You may need a bit longer, depending on the heat.
If the rice is not yet tender, add a bit more chicken broth as needed and cook a bit longer.
Cook the Seafood. Tuck the shrimp and mussels into the top of the rice and cover - use a large lid or aluminum foil.
Cook for 5 minutes, or until the shrimp and mussels cook through, and a crispy crust forms on the bottom of the pan. This is the socarrat, which many people love.
For Serving. Remove from heat, garnish with red pepper flakes, fresh parsley, lemon juice, and serve.
Boom! Done! Your paella is ready to serve. Easy enough to make, isn't it? Serve it as a flavorful side dish, or make an extra batch and serve it as your main.
Recipe Tips & Notes
Best Rice for Paella
Short grain rice is essential for good paella, as it absorbs liquid more easily and cooks evenly. Look for Bomba Rice, which is a short grain Spanish rice, often referred to as Valencia rice.
If you are unable to find it in the grocery store, look for a good quality short grain rice. You can use medium grain rice if you must, but definitely do not use long grain rice.
Arborio rice is often mentioned as a substitute, but arborio rice is a creamier rice ideal for risotto, so I personally would not use it.
Best Seafood for Paella
Shrimp and mussels are ideal for a good seafood paella, though you have many options. Consider scallops, crab, flaky fish, squid or calamari, clams, or others. I've made it with crawfish and loved it.
Other Ingredient Options
Paella is one of those dishes that is so easy to change up to your preference, as many cooks around the world do. Feel free to add in other vegetables, such as green peas, sweet corn, spicy chilies, fresh herbs and more.
I add chicken and Spanish chorizo, but other meats are welcomed here, such as pork, duck, rabbit, or ground meats, and even tofu. You can also skip the meats and serve a seafood paella very easily.
You can also deglaze the pan with white wine before adding the rice to develop the flavors in a different way.
Why Boil the Chicken Broth?
Heating your chicken broth before adding it to the rice will save you cooking time, as the broth will already be to temperature when added. It also ensures a more even cook and consistency of the rice, which is important in making a good paella.
Good rice is key. If you add cold chicken broth, you'll need extra time to heat it through, and you may encounter inconsistencies throughout the pan. I prefer to heat the broth through before adding.
The Socarrat - Crispy Rice
When you leave the paella pan cooking on your stove top, especially over an open flame, the rice at the bottom of the pan will crisp up and darken. This is called the "socarrat", and it is prized by traditional paella lovers.
Socarrat means "to singe". It is very much like "pegao" at the bottom of a pan of Puerto Rican Arroz con Pollo.
Some might consider this scorched rice at the bottom of the pan a mistake, but others love it and consider paella properly made only when the socarrat is achieved.
You can skip it if desired, or turn up the heat during the last few minutes of cooking to crisp up the bottom layer of rice. Just be careful not to burn it.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my favorite paella recipe. Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you, and how you made it your own.
Tools Used For This Recipe
Amazon Affiliate links, my friends!
Paella Pan - You can use a large pan to make paella, but a paella pan makes it so much better.
Try Some of My Other Popular Rice Recipes
- Kimchi Fried Rice
- Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)
- Jollof Rice
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Mexican Rice
- Arroz con Pollo
- Arroz con Gandules
- Dirty Rice
- Jambalaya
- Yellow Rice (Arroz Amarillo)
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Paella Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pinch saffron
- 6 cups chicken broth + more as needed
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 large bell pepper chopped (use jalapeno or other for spicier)
- 1/2 pound chicken chopped (use thigh or breast)
- 1/2 pound Spanish chorizo sliced
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped
- 1 tablespoon Spanish paprika I use smoked
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes optional, for spicy
- Salt to taste
- 2 cups Spanish Rice Bomba Rice
- 3 tablespoon parsley chopped + more for garnish
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1/2 pound mussels cleaned and debearded
- For Serving. Fresh chopped parsley red chili flakes, lemon
Instructions
- Add the pinch of saffron to a small bowl and cover with 1/4 cup water to let the saffron bloom.
- Add the chicken broth to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until needed.
- While the broth is heating, heat the oil in a large pan (I use a large paella pan) to medium heat.
- Add the onion, peppers, chicken, and Spanish chorizo sausage. Cook for 8 minutes to soften the vegetables and cook the chicken mostly through.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the tomatoes, saffron (with water), paprika, chili flakes (if using), and salt. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the rice and cook for 1 minute to lightly brown the rice.
- Pour in the hot chicken broth and shake the pan to distribute. Do not stir the rice, as we want it to cook evenly and develop a crispy bottom.
- Sprinkle in the parsley and add the bay leaves.
- Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed the liquid and is tender to your preference. If the rice is not yet tender, add a bit more chicken broth as needed and cook a bit longer.
- Tuck the shrimp and mussels into the top of the rice and cover - use a large lid or aluminum foil.
- Cook for 5 minutes, or until the shrimp and mussels cook through, and a crispy crust forms on the bottom of the pan. This is the socarrat, which many people love.
- Remove from heat, garnish and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Charles Pascual says
Easy-to-follow recipe; I made it as written and it turned out as good as any paella recipe we've made. Our electric cook top's largest burner does not give complete coverage to our 15-inch paella pan - the edges of the pan are always cooler and don't cook as thoroughly as the center. So, I have to do things like move the shrimp and mussels out from the center when they've cooked and replace them with those on the edges, which are not. And I violate the cardinal rule of paella, which is to leave the rice undisturbed as it cooks. I have to "disturb" it to ensure all grains are thoroughly cooked through - done carefully, the rice will not break up. It's a bit of a pain to do all this, but the results are worth it. I have a couple of paella recipes from a Spanish site that call for tomatoes - so, while not commonplace, it also isn't unheard of. My Cuban mom always put tomatoes in every rice dish except black beans and rice. Our ancestors came from Galicia (the opposite corner of Spain from Valencia) and the Canaries. Thanks, Mike, for another good recipe.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks so much, Charles. Glad you enjoyed this one. We really love paella here. I need to make it again soon! Thanks for sharing this. =)
Linda says
Is the 2 cups of rice uncooked quantities? To double recipe can you recommend the diameter pan to use? Look forward to making this! Thanks for the recipe!
Mike Hultquist says
Yes, Linda, 2 cups uncooked rice. If doubling, you can use a deeper pan, or at least 1/4 to 1/3 larger to accommodate the rice. Enjoy.
Donna says
Would Arborio rice be a reasonable substitution?
I'm with Catherine on the tomato addition, but paella is certainly a dish that the cook can make their own.
Mike Hultquist says
Donna, you can use arborio, though it's creamer and better for risotto. It will work. A good short grain rice is ideal.
Catherine says
Where in Spain do they use tomatoes in their Paella? I lived there for 5 years and never had a Paella that included them.
Mike Hultquist says
Recipes vary from region to region and cook to cook. It's an optional ingredient. I prefer it in my recipe, though often make it without it.
Phil Mullarky says
What size paella pan did you use?
Mike Hultquist says
Phil, it's a 15-inch diameter.