Puerto Rican-Style Sazón Chicken & Rice
with Dark Meat Chicken & Cilantro
This Hispanic Heritage Month, take your taste buds on a delicious journey with this classic Puerto Rican–style meal! You’ll season dark meat chicken with bold sazón seasoning (cumin, achiote, coriander, garlic, oregano), then sauté to juicy perfection with onion, pepper, and garlic. Add rice, then simmer it all together for a hearty, homestyle one-pan dish that hits all the right notes.
Ingredients
1 unit
Green Bell Pepper
1 unit
Tomato Paste
1 unit
Onion
10 ounce
Diced Skinless Dark Meat Chicken
2 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Loisa Sazón Organic Seasoning
1 clove
Garlic
¾ cup
Jasmine Rice
¼ ounce
Cilantro
Not included in your delivery
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
3 teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and dice onion into 1⁄2-inch pieces. Core, deseed, and dice bell pepper into 1⁄2-inch pieces. Peel and mince garlic. Finely chop cilantro. • Place rice in a fine-mesh strainer; rinse under cold water until water runs clear. Set aside until ready to use. TIP: No fine-mesh strainer? No problem! Rinse rice in a medium bowl and drain water using your hand to block the rice from escaping!
• Open package of chicken* and drain off any excess liquid. • Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken, onion, and bell pepper in a single layer; season with 1 TBSP Loisa Organic Sazón Seasoning and 1⁄4 tsp salt (2 TBSP Loisa Organic Sazón Seasoning and 1⁄2 tsp salt for 4 servings). Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are browned and chicken is cooked through, 4-6 minutes. • Stir in garlic and tomato paste; cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant and tomato paste darkens, 1-2 minutes.
• To pan with chicken and veggies, add rice, stock concentrates, 2 tsp Loisa Organic Sazón Seasoning, 1⁄2 tsp salt, and 11⁄4 cups
- 2 TBSP water (4 tsp Loisa Organic Sazón Seasoning, 1 tsp salt, and 21⁄2 cups water for 4 servings); stir to combine. • Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 20 minutes. Remove from heat. • Fluff rice with a fork and stir in half the cilantro. Cover and let stand until excess liquid has absorbed, 8-10 minutes more.
• Divide chicken and rice between shallow bowls and garnish with remaining cilantro. Serve.
Chicken is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many enjoyed the authentic Puerto Rican taste, though some found it bland and added extra seasoning for more depth 🌶️.
- Ease of prep: Simple one-pan meal, but several noted rice cooking times were longer than stated and needed extra water.
- Suggestions: Consider adding beans, corn, or olives for variety; some topped with cheese, sour cream, or hot sauce.
- Portions: Good portion size for most, though a few wanted more chicken compared to the amount of rice.
- Texture: Some found the dish too mushy; others suggested adding a crunchy element like tortilla chips.
Reviews from our home cooks
My Puerto Rican husband said it was just like his Mom used to make. Absolutely delicious and easy to prepare.
Delicious. Just make it in advance since the rice needs to cook. I didn't need to measure the saizon I just use the majority of the seasoning when I was sauteing the veggies and chicken.
I opted for the brown rice, as I wasn't sure what the Jasmine rice would taste like in this dish. Lots of flavor, but not spicy or overwhelming. This is the kind of meal I look for when I order from Hello Fresh!
Nice portions and felt like a complete meal, with rice, meat, vegetables and great flavor. The cooking time was about 40 minutes and the rice was still a bit undercooked. The prep time was longer than expected; this dish took over one hour to put together from start to finish.
Too much Sazón and too much salt. 2 tbs was more than enough seasoning and salt should have been reduced by 1/2 tsp too. I'm Puerto Rican and this is the saltiest version of this meal
Very flavorful and love that it was done in 1 pan. I measured the seasoning per the recipe card and the 2 packets did not have enough (although it tasted just fine). Also found that the liquid had cooked off and rice was starting to burn well before the time mentioned - had to add some additional water and closely watch.
Very tasty. My family really enjoyed it. A tad bit salty but very, very flavorful. I wish this was a permanent recipe.
Definitely not a puerto rican dish but was delicious and tasted even better as a leftover on day 3. I soaked the chicken in vinegar and lemon juice for an hr that made the texture of the meat better than it usually is.
Very flavorful and easy to make dish! Whole family enjoyed it.
Flavors were very good. Loved that this was a one pan meal! Directions were off. I had to keep adding water until rice became tender. It's tough to plan these meals because some take much longer than indicated.
