One Pan Healthy Paella

This One Pan Healthy Paella recipe is a quick, delicious dinner! This easy paella is packed with chicken for protein, veggies + whole grain brown rice.

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Before we get started talking about this one pan healthy paella recipe, if you’re anything like me you might be wondering.. what is paella?!

What is Paella?

Paella is a Spanish dish that is typically made with rice, saffron, chicken, seafood. It’s cooked low and slow in a large pan so that the flavors of the dish can really come together.If you’ve never had paella, it’s basically one of the most dreamy dinners you’ll ever eat.

When Tyler and I first started dating, he had just come back from a school trip to Europe. He kept going on and on about how delicious the food was in Spain, and how he had loved the paella. Now… I feel like I have to preface this by saying that I was a pretty boring eater before I met Tyler. When he mentioned paella I was wondering what the HECK he was talking about and had to figure out what it was.

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I really wanted to make paella for Tyler, but I don’t eat fish, and find chorizo too greasy… so it was up to me to muddle together my own recipe. I surprised him for dinner with it one night, and while I don’t think it will ever compare to what he ate in Spain – I’ve been making it ever since and he always gets SO excited when we’re having it for dinner.

Once you try it, you’ll probably fall in love with it too. In addition to being off-the-charts delicious from the spices, it’s a perfectly balanced meal! It has a lot of protein from the chicken, it’s loaded with bright, colorful veggies, and it has whole grain brown ice in it for some good carbs! I know I’ve said this before peeps.. but carbs = life. So many people are grain free/low carb/no carb.. but not me! The rice is what makes this dish. It’s really hearty and it takes on all of the delicious flavors from the spices. So yummy!

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I can’t believe how much I sheltered my taste buds back then! I’m so glad I’m much more adventurous when it comes to my food choices now.. Because I’d hate to miss out on something as delicious as this one pan healthy paella! Whether you’ve had paella before in Spain, or in a restaurant.. or if you’ve never even heard of it up until now.. I promise you will love this one this one pan healthy paella for dinner!

Things we used for this recipe:  

brown rice

olive oil

black pepper

salt

paprika

bay leaves

saffron

low sodium chicken stock

citrus juicer

5 from 2 votes

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One Pan Healthy Paella

Looking for a quick, delicious dinner? Try this One Pan Healthy Paella! It's packed with protein, loads of veggies + whole grain brown rice - yum! 

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword healthy chicken paella, how to make paella

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 565 kcal

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in cubes
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup onion diced
• 1 tbsp garlic minced
• 1.5 cups bell peppers, thinly sliced (approx 2 peppers)
• 2 cups sugar snap peas
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 tbsp thyme leaves
• 1/4 tsp saffron threads
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 cup brown rice
• 3 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup frozen peas

Instructions

1. Cube chicken into 1 inch pieces. In a large pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook chicken for 15 minutes until browned

2. Once cooked, remove chicken from the pan + set aside

3. Add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Sauté chopped onions and garlic until translucent. (Approx 5-7 minutes)

4. Add in peppers and sugar snap peas to the pan. Sauté for 4-6 minutes (until vegetables are slightly tender.. don't over do the veggies, they will continue to cook in the broth later).

5. Stir in dry rice with sauteed vegetables. Cook on high for 5 minutes.
6. Add in chicken stock, spices + cooked chicken. Stir and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until rice is cooked.

7. Once rice is cooked, stir in frozen peas + enjoy!

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You can get the nutrition facts for this recipe here.