Spanish Chicken and Seafood Paella Recipe

Spanish chicken and seafood paella is Spain's most iconic dish, a saffron-golden rice celebration born in Valencia and perfected across generations. Tender chicken thighs, plump shrimp, and briny mussels nestle into a crisped socarrat rice base cooked in a wide paella pan. Each serving delivers 74g of protein and vibrant flavors from smoked paprika, saffron, and sofrito.

Ingredients

Protein

• 600g bone-in chicken thighs, skin on
• 300g large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 400g mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 150g Spanish chorizo, sliced into rounds

Rice and Broth

• 400g short-grain paella rice (Bomba or Calasparra)
• 1.2L chicken or seafood broth, hot
• 1 pinch saffron threads (about 1/4 tsp), soaked in 3 tbsp hot water

Sofrito

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 400g canned crushed tomatoes
• 2 tsp smoked paprika (pimenton de la vera)
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Garnish

• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Frozen peas (100g), thawed

Instructions

1. Season chicken thighs generously with salt, pepper, and 1 tsp smoked paprika on both sides.
2. Heat olive oil in a 40cm paella pan over medium-high heat. Sear chicken thighs skin-side down for 6 minutes until golden. Flip and cook 4 minutes more. Remove and set aside.
3. In the same pan, add chorizo slices and cook for 2 minutes until lightly browned. Remove and set aside.
4. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and red bell pepper to the pan. Cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
5. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes, remaining smoked paprika, and sweet paprika. Cook sofrito for 8 minutes, stirring, until deeply concentrated and oil separates around the edges.
6. Add rice to the pan and stir to coat every grain in the sofrito for 2 minutes.
7. Pour in the hot broth and saffron water. Season with salt. Stir once to distribute rice evenly. Do not stir again after this point.
8. Nestle the seared chicken and chorizo back into the rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer.
9. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Add mussels hinge-side down and shrimp on top. Scatter peas across the surface.
10. Cook for 8 more minutes until shrimp are pink, mussels have opened, and rice has absorbed all the broth.
11. Increase heat to medium-high for the final 2 minutes to develop the socarrat (crispy bottom layer). Listen for a gentle crackling.
12. Remove from heat, cover loosely with foil, and rest for 5 minutes. Serve directly from the pan with lemon wedges and parsley.

Tips & Variations

• Never stir paella after adding broth. The socarrat forms only when rice stays undisturbed at the bottom.
• Use a wide, shallow pan. The more surface area, the more socarrat you get.
• Bomba rice absorbs three times its volume in liquid and holds its shape. Do not substitute long-grain rice.
• Discard any mussels that do not open after cooking.
• For a pure seafood paella, omit chicken and chorizo and increase shrimp and mussels.

Nutrition Breakdown

Calories: 1026 kcal

Protein: 73.8g

Fat: 34.2g

Carbs: 106.2g

Fiber: 6.9g

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