Easy Chicken, Chorizo and Shrimp Paella is a gluten-free, 1-skillet dinner recipe that's simple yet anything but ordinary.
A couple weeks ago I developed the recipe for Easy Chicken, Chorizo and Shrimp Paella. Not because I recently had it at a fun restaurant, or because I had a great story behind the recipe – I simply wanted to make Paella in an easy skillet format because I was craving paella!
What is Paella?
Paella is a rice-based dish that hails from Valencia, Spain, and is named for the pan that it’s traditionally cooked in, a Paellera. Recipes vary from region to region, and person to person, and can include meat, seafood, and vegetables – the amounts and types are up to the cook.
Perfect!
Although I don’t own a Paellera, lucky for me and you a big skillet will work instead, and the ingredients we’ll throw inside, while fantastically full of flavor, are easily found at the grocery store. Chorizo, chopped chicken thighs, and onions are sauteed with shallots, garlic, and tomatoes then simmered with long grain rice in a saffron-infused broth. The dish is finished by stirring in chopped shrimp and sweet peas that are gently cooked by the residual heat from the pan.
This Paella is fresh, filling, full of tongue-tingling Spanish flavor, and yet, so easy. After the prep work of chopping a few ingredients, the dish came together in under 30 minutes and in just one pan. Take my word for it – different doesn’t have to mean difficult.
Start by bringing 2-1/2 cups chicken broth to a boil with a pinch of saffron then place a lid on top and turn the heat to low to keep hot.
Saffron is the ingredient in Paella that makes it Paella, and not “rice, meat, and vegetables.” To me, saffron smells like the sea with floral notes. It’s a special ingredient that’s unique and fun to cook with, and adds a flavor you can’t compare to any other. A little goes a long way!
Saffron has had the reputation of being difficult to find, and costing an arm and a leg if/when you finally found it, but this jar from Trader Joe’s is around $6.
While the saffron and broth are coming up to a boil, chop 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. Chicken thighs are buttery and delicious, and are usually about half the cost of chicken breasts.
Add the chicken to a large skillet with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, 1 chopped shallot or small onion, and 6oz Mexican chorizo then season with salt and pepper and saute until the chicken and chorizo are cooked through.
Traditionally, Spanish chorizo, a dried, cured sausage, is used in Paella, though I use Mexican Chorizo for this dish, which is a ground, uncooked sausage. Both contain spices like paprika and garlic, but Mexican chorizo is easier to find.
Once the meats are cooked through, add 3 cloves minced garlic and saute for 1 minute, then add 2 chopped vine-ripened tomatoes, 2 teaspoons paprika, and a dash or 10 of cayenne pepper (optional).
Saute for another 3-4 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender.
Next add 1 cup long grain white rice then stir to combine with the other ingredients.
Carefully pour the hot saffron-infused chicken broth into the skillet then bring the mixture to a boil (should happen almost instantly.) Place a lid on top then turn the heat down and simmer until nearly all the broth has been absorbed and the rice is al dente.
Finally, add 6oz chopped peeled and deveined shrimp and 1/2 cup frozen peas then stir to combine, place the lid back on top, and let the skillet sit off the heat for 5 minutes to cook the shrimp through.
Taste then add salt and pepper if necessary, then scoop and serve!
I love eeeeverything about this dish but especially the fresh, perfectly-cooked shrimp, spiced chorizo, tender chicken, and saffron-infused rice. Elegant, easy, and made in just one dish.
Take a trip from the ordinary for dinner tonight and give this Paella a go!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 cups chicken broth
- pinch Spanish saffron
- drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped
- 6 oz Mexican chorizo
- 1 shallot or 1/2 onion, chopped
- salt and pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- dash of cayenne pepper, optional
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 6 oz large shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
Directions
- Bring chicken broth and saffron to a boil in a small saucepan then turn heat to low and place a lid on top to keep hot.
- Meanwhile, heat extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat then add chicken, chorizo, and shallots, season with salt and pepper, and then saute until chorizo and chicken are cooked through, 5 minutes, breaking chorizo up as it cooks. Add garlic then saute for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and their juices, paprika, and cayenne pepper if using then saute until tomatoes are softened, 3 minutes.
- Add rice and hot broth to skillet then stir to combine and bring to a boil. Place a lid on top then lower heat and simmer until rice has nearly absorbed all the broth and is just slightly al dente, 13-15 minutes. Stir in shrimp and peas then place lid back on top and let skillet sit off the heat for 5 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper to taste then serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I was looking for something fun and new to try this weekend, so this came at a perfect time! I’ve never even had paella but I just know I’m going to love it. I love how it’s versatile; since my fiance doesn’t like shrimp, I can just leave ’em out and I know the dish will still be delicious! Or I can cook them on the side and throw them in my bowl because I LOVE shrimp :)
Be sure to try a drizzle of chambord on vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt sometime – add a few blackberries and you have a divine dessert!
Oooo, sounds amazing. Great tip!
Wow, this looks so good. As does your sushi. In fact, I am 8.75 months pregnant, and I just said to my husband, “ok. 5 more weeks.” And he said, “yes! 5 more weeks till the baby comes!” And I had to embarrassingly admit that, yes, while the baby does come in 5 weeks, I actually meant 5 weeks until I could have real sushi again. Anyway, it looks FANTASTIC :-)
Bahaha – that was TOTALLY me – I craved it alllll pregnancy long! :)
I am so craving all the spice and aromatics of a classic paella right now – you definitely have motivated me to make one tonight for dinner!
I’m a little freaked out by chicken thighs, I must admit. Do you trim all the white membranes and fat off before chopping and cooking them?
Yep – super easy to trim off with a knife!
Oh boy! If you’ve never had chicken thighs you are missing out on a treat. To me, they are the best part of the chicken and what I use in all my chicken recipes. And they are excellent for making homemade chicken noodle soup with just perfect amount of fat and huge flavor. You’ve got to try them!
Where do you get your Chorizo in Des Moines? I’m a whole30 alumni, and can’t find good quality chorizo at my hy-vee. Just curious as to other places for options!
I got it at the Jordan Creek HyVee – it does have Nitrites though, so not W30 approved, unfortunately!
Any chance you’re putting the snapper recipe on anytime soon?? Looks fantastic!
This dish looks delicious. I definitely could use a dinner like this with all of our cold weather and snow. I am super jealous of the Home and Garden show. I used to go every year when I lived in Ankeny. Such fun!
This looks really good. Love the sausage! I am wondering/hoping that you decided to do the whole30 food plan? Have you decided? I sure could use your help with that type of eating as i am now grain free because of an illness! Gah!!!
I definitely still want to do it! Due to some prior commitments I won’t be able to blog about it until next Fall, but until then I’m racking up recipe ideas. :)
This looks delicious and it is something I have always wanted to try to cook. I am so glad that I am not the only one that is trying to stay inspired in the kitchen. Thank you for continuing to inspire us to try new things !
I have cooked Paella once, and it was in a tin pan on the BBQ! So fun!
What do you use to clean your kitchen cabinets? I was just thinking this weekend that we’re due for a good cabinet cleaning!
1/4 cup Murphy’s Oil Soap diluted in 1 gallon warm/hot water. I did a test spot first then did the rest. Looks SO good!!
I love paella – one of my favourite easy dishes!
Your sushi looks BOMB! I am seriously impressed. I have also been wanting to try red snapper, so now I just might have to!
But, first, paella. Because anything with carbs and chorizo is my favorite. Pinned!