Smoky Chicken Thighs with Yellow Rice
plus Peas, Cilantro & Pickled Onion
Our spin on arroz con pollo (“rice with chicken”) is just another entry into the upper echelon of iconic duos. Ready in just 30 minutes, you’ll season and sizzle chicken thighs with smoky paprika, then arrange them on a bed of fluffy rice tinged with earthy turmeric and dotted with peas. Piquant pickled red onions and fragrant cilantro add further pops of freshness to this hearty, classic meal.
Ingredients
1 unit
Red Onion
10 ounce
Diced Skinless Dark Meat Chicken
4 ounce
Peas
3 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Lemon
1 teaspoon
Turmeric
1 clove
Garlic
1 teaspoon
Smoked Paprika
1 unit
Tomato
¼ ounce
Cilantro
¾ cup
White Rice
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a small pot over medium heat. Add half the turmeric (all for 4 servings) and half the smoked paprika (you’ll use the rest later); cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 30 seconds. • Add rice, stock concentrates, 1¼ cups water (2¼ cups for 4), and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 15-20 minutes. Keep covered off heat until ready to use in Step 5.
• While rice cooks, wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and thinly slice half the onion (whole onion for 4 servings). Halve lemon. Dice tomato into ½-inch pieces. Peel and mince or grate garlic. Pick cilantro leaves from stems.
• In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine sliced onion, ½ tsp sugar, juice from half the lemon, and a pinch of salt (1 tsp sugar and juice from whole lemon for 4 servings). • Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until onion is softened, 30-60 seconds. Set aside.
• Open package of chicken* and drain off any excess liquid. • Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken in an even layer; season with remaining smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook, undisturbed, until lightly browned on the bottom, 2-3 minutes. • Add tomato and garlic; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and tomato is slightly softened, 3-5 minutes more.
• Fluff rice with a fork. • To pan with chicken, add rice and peas; stir to combine. Taste and season with salt if desired.
• Divide chicken and rice between shallow bowls. Top with cilantro leaves and as much pickled onion (draining first) as you like. Serve.
Chicken is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Some found it bland; others loved the smoky paprika and turmeric. Pickled onions added a bright, tangy pop.
- Ease of prep: Quick and simple to make, with many appreciating the already diced chicken thighs.
- Suggestions: Consider adding more spices, garlic, or a creamy sauce for extra flavor. Some preferred chicken breast over thighs.
- Leftovers: Makes generous portions, great for next-day lunch. A few found it even better reheated.
- Texture: Rice sometimes came out crunchy; try adding extra water and cooking time if needed.
Reviews from our home cooks
Big fan of chicken thighs, and glad to see them popping up in more recipes lately. Also loved the fresh peas! Great spring-like edition. Maybe I'll try making this again at home, but do saffron rice...hmm.... (though I do love turmeric too)
Delicious! I diced the other half the red onion and sautéed it before throwing in the garlic then the chicken. Also had some prepped brown rice so I got my spices going in olive oil added the rice and chicken stock. Pickled red onions bring it all together. Perfect.
I found the instructions a little bit confusing -- had to go back to see how much rice and water for 2 servings. Method was a little hard to follow. Also, chicken pieces were WAY too small. The whole point of using chicken thighs is because they tend to be juicier and have a little more flavor than breasts. Can't really tell here since the dice is so small.
This recipe surprised me. I wasn't really impressed with the chicken until I put it all together and added the pickled onions, then it was a flavor bomb in my mouth.
Very tasty and prep was nicely explained. I might order this again. However, I felt the chicken thighs were a bit fattier than I would have chosen. Still tasty.
This is my favorite recipe so far. So delicious!! Not a fan of cilantro so left that out but still so tasty
We loved the mix of flavors and the pickled onion on top was definitely the part that tied it all together! YUM!
Would totally make this on my own - very tasty and I liked the addition of pickled onions for garnish.
This was very good and we loved the pickled onion. Who knew that was so easy?
The flavors were delicious, but I did saute some of the red onion and green peppers I had on hand. It was a bit heavy on the rice and had low chicken to rice ratio (maybe another veggie would help). If I got this meal again, I would add more chicken (I usually have individually wrapped thighs in the freezer).
