Cuban Baked Chicken with Sweet Peppers and Yellow Rice

  4.6 – 63 reviews  • Poultry
Tender cuts of chicken are browned and cooked with aromatics, bell peppers, spices, rice and peas in this mouthwatering one-pot feast referred to as arroz con pollo in Cuba and other parts of Latin America. We use turmeric and cumin for a bright pop of color instead of the typical sazón seasoning or homemade spice mix.
Total: 1 hr
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 40 min

Ingredients

  1. 1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces (about 2 1/2 pounds)
  2. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  3. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  4. 1 tablespoons olive oil
  5. 1 medium onion, chopped
  6. 2 cloves garlic, minced
  7. 2 bell peppers (1 yellow, 1 red) seeded, cored and thinly sliced
  8. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  9. 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  10. 1 cup medium- or long-grain rice
  11. 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  12. 1 cup peas, thawed frozen or cooked fresh

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Melt the butter with the oil in a large deep skillet, with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook until well browned, about 6 minutes. Turn chicken and cook until other side browns lightly, about 2 minutes more. Transfer chicken to a plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat.
  2. Add the onion to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Add the peppers and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the turmeric, cumin, rice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and stir until the rice is coated. Pour in the broth, stir to distribute the rice evenly. Increase the heat to high and boil until liquid begins to be absorbed into the rice, about 2 minutes. Nestle the chicken in the rice. Cover and transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the rice is tender and chicken cooks through, about 25 minutes.
  3. Remove the cover, fluff the rice and stir in the peas. Cover and let sit to warm the peas, about 5 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper. Serve.

Reviews

Andrew Morgan
I cooked this last night. It was good but a bit bland, I will double the cumin and turmeric next time. My changes are as follows: 4 cloves of garlic, 2 large chicken breasts cut in half, 1 bell pepper and 6 sweet peppers. Next time I plan to double the cumin, turmeric, garlic (6-8 cloves), and add paprika.
Toni Riley
Easy and delicious. Now a staple in our dinner rotation!
Joel Smith
Pretty tasty, but needed some more spice (and I doubled my turmeric and cumin already)! Maybe a little cayenne! Solid recipe!
Vernon Thomas
This is one of my favorite dishes. I was looking for a Cuban chicken dish that reminded me of what I used to get in NYC. Unfortunately this doesn’t taste like it but it’s still really good. I eat it once every other week. Only because I don’t want to get tired of it. Otherwise I could eat it everday. I’m so happy I stumbled onto this recipe. I use chicken thighs with skin. I make it for one person, so I eyeball the ingredients. Honestly, there isn’t any way you can get the recipe wront. It’s super easy if you know your way around a stove/oven.
Rebecca Chapman
Add your own seasoning to chicken. Without, it will taste like raisins in imaginary potatoe salad…
Miguel Rivera
I love this recipe.  It’s just two of us so I use only chicken thighs.  I marinate them for about an hour in soy sauce, a bit of lime juice, fresh garlic, cumin, oregano and smoked paprika (from a Pollo a la Brassa recipe).  When I  add the parsley I add about 10 Castlevetrono olives.  If the skin isn’t crispy I put the chicken pieces under the broiler while the parsley and olives warm up.
Adam Rodriguez
Very easy and great tasting.
Linda Lowe
I was nervous about the flavors as I don’t cook with turmeric. Everything was perfectly cooked and delicious. My kids (ages 8,5,3) asked for seconds.
Jose Hanna
Yummy meal for everyday, or casual guest dinner
Joshua Smith
This was an amazing meal. Easy, beautiful to look at, and full of flavor. Perfect meal to have your company talking for quite a while!

 

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