Chicken Chorizo & Shrimp Paella
one pot meals, chicken, shrimp, seafood
This chicken, shrimp and chorizo paella is such a flavorful and satisfying meal. Before I say more I will mention this is by no means a traditional Paella or at least a Spanish one - I can say that first hand as I ate my weight in Spanish paella Valencian being my fav when I visited. The big giveaway is the chorizo - most Spanish paellas don’t include chorizo. That being said it is the more Americanized version one that the average person can make without sourcing special rice, rabbit meat or beans and does include chorizo. There are many delicious variations of this dish and this one is what you would call ‘paella mixta’ or a mixed paella. It is far from an authentic one because it is not made with Bomba rice or another variety commonly used and known as senia, Calasparra, or La Marjal, and likely several other reasons. But I can assure you that it is delicious and you will enjoy it! It’s pretty simple to make and comes together pretty quickly once you have all your ingredients chopped and ready and the chorizo adds so much flavour to the whole dish - hint of heat and smokiness and loads of deliciousness.
This is a quick chorizo paella recipe that can easily get whipped up midweek. It’s satisfying and bursting with lots of flavours. As I mentioned before, I usually don’t prefer dishes with more than one variety of meat but the variety of meat in paella works - this one has a variety of three protein. The blend of meats is delicious and they all get seasoned with the delicious flavours of the chorizo sausage which adds a hint of heat (depending on the chorizo) and smokiness to the dish. The addition of the extra veggies flavour the dish and add even more texture to it too.
I have a deep love for rice and rice dishes and this is definitely an “A plus” rice dish. It literally is a one pot dish which is not only practical, but also the reason it is so flavourful. One of the best things about paella in general is how versatile a dish it is. That goes the same for this recipe too. If you keep the staple components the same – like the rice amount to liquid, tomatoes, spices and veggies, you can really switch it up. If you want to upgrade your paella you can swap some of the meat for other popular additions like snails, duck, rabbit, and a variety of seafood in shell. You can make it vegetarian adding string beans and butter beans or you can make it a singular meat paella too. It comes down to what you have available. I know that whatever combo you come up with of this paella (Spanish for pan) will be delicious! So go ahead and give it a try and make sure to let me know what you included in your version!
Chicken Chorizo, & Shrimp Paella Ingredients
For the Marinade
- Olive Oil: just 1 teaspoon
- Spices: Paprika, dried oregano, kosher salt or sea salt and black pepper
- Chicken: Chicken breast or chicken thighs cubed
For the Paella
- Chorizo: I used Spanish chorizo but feel free to use the Mexican chorizo too. I used semi dry cured chorizo but if you are using a uncooked sausage you could remove it from the casings, crumble and cook it like you would ground meat
- Garlic & Onion: Use as much or as little as you prefer
- Bell Pepper: typically I like to use red bell pepper but feel free to use any colour bell pepper you like
- Spices: Saffron threads and chili flakes
- Tomato Paste & Diced Tomatoes: I use finely diced tomatoes from a can but feel free to use fresh tomatoes diced - approx 6
- Rice: I used medium grain rice cause that is usually what I have on hand. Many have had good success with this recipe using short-grain rice or arborio rice too but I haven’t experimented with different rices but the ratios likely would be the same.
- White Wine: This is great for deglazing the pan and adding loads of flavour to the paella. If you prefer not to use it just replace it with equal amounts chicken broth
- Chicken Broth: low sodium chicken broth is what I use for the liquid portion for extra flavour instead of water
- Green Peas: I always have frozen on hand so that is what I use but you can defiantly use fresh as well
- Shrimp: I used frozen shrimp that had already been deveined and partially peeled and some that weren’t - typically its made with shell on shrimp but if you prefer tails and shells removed so its easier to eat without using your hands - feel free to use those ones. As for the type I used tiger shrimp cause they are more vibrant and that is also what I had on hand - use what you like just make sure to thaw and pat dry. I don’t season or marinate them but if you feel like seasoning them or tossing them in salt pepper and some paprika and oregano like the chicken feel free too for extra flavour.
- Lemon & Parsley: for garnish and serving
How To Make Chicken Chorizo & Shrimp Paella
Like many other one pan dishes - This paella comes together very quickly so I usually recommend that you have all your ingredients measured and prepared before you get started with the cooking so that you have everything on hand and ready to go. Here are the simple steps to make in this simplified paella
- MARINATE the chicken while you prepare the reaming ingredients
- Heat pan with olive oil and COOK chicken and chorizo in pan until cooked through and chorizo has rendered
- Add the veggies and spices and SAUTE until softened
- STIR in rice and tomato paste and cook 1 minute then DEGLAZE pan with wine
- Add tomatoes and broth and peas and, stir well and cover and allow to SIMMER
- Remove lid and place SHRIMP over rice, replace lid and continue to cook until rice is al dente and shrimp is cooked through (shrimp will steam and cook from the stew, or heat created in the pan with lid on)
- Remove from heat and GARNISH with chopped fresh parsley, lemon zest and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- SERVE straight from the pan and enjoy!!
If You Like This One Pan Dish You Will Love These:
Recipe
Ingredients
For the Chicken Marinade
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, or chicken thighs cut into cubes
For the Paella
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound Spanish chorizo sausage, sliced into thin rounds
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 pinch saffron threads or ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
- 1 heaping tablespoon Tomato paste
- 2 cups medium grain rice
- ½ cup dry white wine
- One 14 ounces can of finely chppped/ diced tomatoes or 6 very ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
For serving
- Lemon zest and lemon wedges
- Fresh chopped parsley
Directions
- Toss chicken with marinade ingredients and set aside while prepping the rest of your ingredients
- Heat olive oil in very large skillet or paella pan over medium-high heat and sauté the chorizo and chicken until cooked through (approx 10)
- Add onion, pepper, garlic, chili flakes and saffron threads, sauté until softened (approx 5 min)
- Add rice and tomato paste then cook stirring for 1 min
- Deglaze the pan with white wine scraping the bottom of pan
- Then add the tomatoes and broth and peas. Bring to a boil give everything a very good stir. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Uncover lid and place the shrimp on top of the rice. Replace cover and continue to simmer for another 10-15 minutes longer until most of the liquid has been absorbed and rice is aldente, and shrimp is cooked through. Remove the lid from the pan.
- If you want that crusty bottom called Socarrat in your paella - Turn the heat up to high. Allow the bottom of the pan to begin to carmelize. Don’t leave the pans side at this point and make sure you can here the rice crackling and you dont smell anything burning Allow the bottom rice layer to toast for about 1-2 minutes no longer otherwise it will burn
- Remove the skillet from the heat immediately and allow to rest 10 min covered with a dish towel or paper towels
- Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and some lemon zest if desired and squeeze a little lemon juice over top and serve with extra lemon wedges.
Recipe Notes
Storage & Freezing
- Paella is best eaten fresh. Leftovers that have cooled should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days or in the freezer for up to a month. If you plan to reheat it, you can do so in a frying pan with a few drops of olive oil. The Texture of the rice and shrimp may change a little after freezing just in case you decide to freeze leftovers.
- If you prefer your peas less cooked you can add them in later in the recipe right before adding the shrimp
- Your Pan Matters when cooking paella or any rice dish like this. The deeper the dish and smaller the longer the rice will take to cook - its always best to use a large wide pan to make this kind of dish which will allow rice to cook evenly and take less time to cook. Please note this and adjust times according to pan you are using. I used a 12 inch skillet in this recipe.
Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver’s and Martha Stewart’s versions of this dish
