Healthier Easy Chicken Paella
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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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If you’re looking for an easy, delicious dinner that is full of flavor- try this Chicken Paella recipe. Made with no seafood, it’s a rich and yummy one pan meal that is simple to make!
Need more ideas for dinner? Check out Homemade Orange Chicken and these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes.
Why We Love This Healthy Chicken Paella Recipe
There’s lots to love about this chicken paella recipe. Here are some of our favorite reasons why we love it:
- perfectly balanced meal- Paella has a lot of protein from the chicken, is loaded with bright, colorful veggies, and it has whole grain brown rice in it for some good carbs!
- great for meal prepping – This meal gets more delicious as it sits and the flavors meld making it perfect for meal prep
- seems fancy but is secretly super easy to make
- one pan = less clean up! If you want more one pot meals, check out these 60+ Healthy One Pot Meals!
What is Paella?
Paella is a Spanish dish that is typically made with rice, saffron, chicken, and 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.
What does paella taste like?
Paella has a unique taste. The combination of paprika and saffron is delicious. It’s not spicy at all, but it has a rich savory flavor. Combine with the sweetness of the veggies – it’s a really unique, delicious flavor!
What is so special about paella? Paella is a delicious dish that is super hearty and filling. It has unique flavors and is loaded with protein and veggies making it the perfect healthy dinner.
Easy Paella Recipe without Seafood
Once you try it, you’ll probably fall in love with it too. It’s our favorite for a number of reasons
Chicken Paella Ingredients
To make this healthy paella you’ll need:
- chicken breasts
- olive oil
- onion, garlic
- bell peppers, sugar snap peas
- pepper, salt
- paprika, bay leaves, dried thyme, saffron
- lemon juice
- brown rice
- chicken broth
- frozen peas
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.
What rice is used for paella? I used brown rice in this recipe but short grain bomba rice is typically used in paella.
How to Make Paella without Seafood
Making healthy paella is super easy!
- Heat olive oil in a pan. Brown your chicken. Once it is browned – remove it from the pan and set it aside.
- Add in remaining olive oil and sauté onions/garlic until translucent. Add peppers and sugar snap peas to the pan. Sauté for 4-6 minutes.
- Stir in dry rice with sautéed vegetables. Cook on high for 5 minutes.
- Add in chicken stock, lemon juice, spices + cooked chicken.
- Stir and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes covered
- Once the rice is cooked, stir in frozen peas + enjoy
Substitutions for Healthy Paella:
Meat: Typically paella is made with chicken, chorizo, and seafood. You can add chorizo to this recipe – brown it with the chicken, set it aside with the chicken, and add it back in when you add the chicken in. If adding shrimp, add it at the very end when there are about 5-10 minutes so that it cooks. Do not add the shrimp in at the beginning because it will overcook. You can also substitute chicken thighs for chicken breasts in this recipe.
Veggies: You can substitute in carrots, sugar snap peas, green beans, more peppers or even mushrooms interchangeably. This is a flexible recipe. You can also add more peas if you like.
Saffron: Saffron is pricey and can often be difficult to find. You can substitute with 1/2 teaspoon of Sazon Goya but omit the extra salt from this recipe as that has a lot of salt.
Rice: You can use white or brown rice in this recipe. White rice will cook much quicker.
Lemon Juice: Use fresh squeezed lemon juice for the best taste. We never recommend using bottled lemon juice.
Broth: Chicken broth, chicken stock and bone broth can all be used interchangeably. You can also use vegetable or beef broth.
Vegetarian: We have not tried making this recipe without the meat. The chicken does absorb some of the broth, so the ratios might be off.
Storing Chicken Paella
Refrigerator: You can store this paella in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing: I haven’t tried freezing paella, but I think it might work. The chicken might get a little bouncy when defrosted and the rice could get soggy.
Can this recipe be made ahead? Sure! When you’re ready to reheat, you may want to add a little broth. Heat on the stove until warm
Can this recipe be reheated? Yes, this paella recipe tastes great when reheated. You can reheat in the microwave, in the oven set at 350°F until the center is cooked through, or sauté on the stove until warm.
What goes well with chicken paella?
This chicken paella is a complete meal in itself. There’s no need to make anything to serve it with. If you do want to serve it with something, here are some ideas:
Important Note: This is not an authentic paella recipe. My goal is always to share recipes that are a bit healthier and made with affordable, accessible ingredients so everyone can enjoy them regardless of their food allergies or dietary restrictions. Click here for an authentic paella recipe.
Paella FAQ
Typically paella is made with rice, saffron, veggies, chicken, chorizo, and seafood. Traditional paella is made differently depending on the region it is cooked. Some people use seafood only, some people use a mix of chicken and seafood.
The most important ingredient in paella is rice. The rice absorbs all the flavor in this recipe and cooks perfectly alongside the veggies/chicken
The best paella seasoning is saffron. Saffron is a thread that comes from a flower. It’s very expensive but essential for paella! You can use sazon goya in place of it but it will not be the same.
The 3 main types of paella are chicken paella, seafood paella, or mixed paella which has both chicken, seafood, and sometimes chorizo. All are delicious
Other delicious healthy one pan dinner recipes:
Looking for other easy dinner recipes? Check out these healthy chicken recipes or click here to download a free 30 minute dinners guide!
Easy Chicken Paella Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in cubes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 cups bell peppers thinly sliced in strips (approx 2 peppers)
- 2 cups sugar snap peas
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup short grain brown rice
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Cube chicken into 1 inch pieces. In a large pan heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook chicken for 15 minutes until browned.
- Once cooked, remove chicken from the pan + set aside.
- Add in remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Sauté chopped onions and garlic until translucent. (Approx 5-7 minutes)
- Add in peppers and sugar snap peas to the pan. Sauté uncovered for 4-6 minutes (until vegetables are slightly tender.. don't over do the veggies, they will continue to cook in the broth later).
- Stir in dry rice with sautéed vegetables. Cook on high for 5 minutes.
- Add in chicken stock, lemon juice, spices + cooked chicken. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover the pan then lower heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until rice is cooked. Stir every 5-10 minutes.
- Once rice is cooked, stir in frozen peas + enjoy!
OK, I need some help here. I followed this recipe nearly to the letter, save for the chicken, and after cooking for 40 minutes, there is still far too much liquid. I made sure it was only 3 cups of broth, 1/4 lemon juice, as per the instructions, but after 40 minutes of cooking, the rice is only partially cooked. Is it because I used long grain instead of short grain rice???
The chicken does absorb some of the liquid, so that is likely part of the problem. Did you cover the pot after adding the broth? Long grain rice can take longer to cook than short grain rice so that could also be the problem! Before leaving a bad review on something, please consider that you did make 2 major substitutions from the recipe by leaving out a main ingredient and changing the other main ingredient. We wrote in the post ‘We have not tried making this recipe without the meat. The chicken does absorb some of the broth, so the ratios might be off.’ When you completely change a recipe, it’s really not fair to leave a bad review because you made your own recipe, not ours 🙂
Is the 1.5 serving per cooked rice? 🙂
It’s 1.5 cups cooked rice, veggies & chicken.
So easy and healthy,was also very tasty
Hello. I’m confused about whether the pan needs to be covered or uncovered during the 20-40 min simmer time. There seems to be two different answers about that.
Thanks!
Hi! Not sure where the confusion is. It says to cover the pan at the end and simmer it. After you add the rice, bring it to a boil, then cover the pan and simmer it.
Just made this for dinner and it is delicious!! Like others, I had to cook it much longer for the rice (like an extra 30 minutes) but I think I had my simmer set way too low for the first 20ish minutes. Definitely will be making again!
We made this recipe for the first time and loved it we have never had Paella before, we will definitely be adding this to our family mealtime again. So easy to make and all in one pan.
Made this paella tonight. I didn’t have sugar snap peas so I added broccoli. Didn’t want it to over cook so added it half way through the cooking time. It was perfect. I’ve never made paella with just chicken but it was so good. Thanks Liz.
Thanks, Carol! So glad you liked it!
Could you do this with frozen cauliflower rice instead?
I haven’t tried this but I think it might work. Would probably be a little soggy..
Hi going to use your recipe tonight. Not sure about the brown rice, this is probably why some are finding it taking ages to cook rice, do you have Paella rice in US could also use pudding rice. I did look at a Spanish recipe and it advised soaking Saffron in water for 15 mins, it looks nice when the rice in finished dish looks yellow. I going to try and create Socorrat, apparently it’s traditional. Will let you know how it turns out. Looking forward to trying your menu..
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen paella rice, Dave. I’m sure that will be great! Hope you like the recipe!
I would just like to say this is a traditional Spanish dish from farmers in Valencia, Spain. Otherwise lovely dish!
Hi Coara – Thank you! We clearly noted in the blog post that this is a traditional Spanish dish. My husband first tried paella in Spain and loved it so much I recreated it when he came home.
I love the flavors in this dish. But in the three times I have tried to make this, it takes much longer than advised for the rice to cook, and that makes the chicken dries out. Suggestions?
Hi Lori – The chicken should not be drying out at all. Different rice cooks at different temperatures so you may need to just add a bit more broth depending on the type of broth you’re using. The chicken gets moist and juicy from sitting in the broth, so my guess is you need to add more liquid!
Another one of my all time favorites. So delicious.
Thank you!! So glad you like it!
Great meal… loved it, just a slight problem. Half a cup of chopped onions, tspoon of garlic?
Could you not just say half an onion, one clove of garlic?
Other than America’s measuring system this was great 😁
Hi John – Glad you liked it! Every onion and garlic clove is a different size, so that wouldn’t be a very detailed recipe. Half an onion could be 1 cup of chopped onion.. or it could be 1/4 cup of chopped onion, depending on the size of the onion. Same goes for garlic cloves. This isn’t an ‘American’ measuring system.. it would be the same if it was in metric measuring systems. 🙂 Measurements ensure the recipe tastes how it was meant to taste. But feel free to use however much onion or garlic you want – no one is forcing you to get out measuring cups.
Love this recipe! Have you ever tried to make this in a slow cooker or pressure cooker? What about with different grains like quinoa?
Glad you like it! I’ve never tried it in the slow cooker or pressure cooker. I don’t like the pressure cooker because it’s difficult to control, and I think the slow cooker would make this too mushy!
Easy one pan healthy meal! I was out of lemons but it was still delicious! Lots of flavor and always a bonus when it only requires one pan! Thank you for another delicious simple recipe!
So glad you liked it, Brenda! Thanks for the review!
Just made this and it was sooo good! I followed the recipe Exactly! My rice took forever to cook , but it was worth it! Even my 6 year old loved it!
So glad you liked it, Laura! This makes me so happy to hear 🙂
This was delicious. So far I’ve made your orange chicken, chicken pad Thai and now this wonderful meal!!!! I love your site. Now what should I try❤️
So glad you liked it, Sarah!! I think you should try my paleo turkey chili or healthy crockpot pulled pork next 🙂
This looks so yummy. I’m trying to venture out of my norm and cook different recipes. I see a lot of other paella recipes use a can of tomatoes. Thoughts!? I have no clue what I’m doing on this one as I’ve never had paella!
Thanks
Hi Sarah – I’ve never made my paella with tomatoes so I’m not really sure about that.. however, I can tell you that this recipe tastes amazing as is and I don’t think it needs anything added to it!
I want to make this tonight! When you are simmering everything together do I cover this for the 20-30 minutes or leave uncovered?
Thank you!
Hi Sarah, You leave it uncovered! Let me know how you like it 🙂
Hi there!
Is it 553 calories per serving or per pan?
Thank you!
Hi Tina – This is 553 calories per serving. A serving is about 1.5 cups. The nutrition facts at the end of the recipe give a few more details! Hope that helps!
My boyfriend is not a picky eater, and whenever I sit down to meal plan on Sundays, he never has any suggestions. Today I asked him if there was anything he wanted this week (not expecting an answer), and he said, “The paella you cooked last week!!!” It’s sooo good, and I love that it’s one pot! Looks like this will be added to our weekly staples
YAY!! I’m so glad you both liked it! It is definitely a staple in our house and I’m so glad it’s a staple in your house too now!!
Your Paella looks absolutely delicious! I’m going to follow your recipe over the weekend. The wife is going to be delighted! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much, Andy! I’m sure your wife will love it 🙂
Never Heard this type of Pan Healthy Paella recipe, But after reading your post, feeling to cook at home right today. Its somehting unique recipe.
Thanks so much, Arun! Hope you love it!
The dish looks delightful. I can imagine having it with a glass of wine. Its easy to eat since everything is contain in one bowl.
Thank you so much, Leo! It definitely pairs perfectly with a big glass of wine 🙂
I LOVE paella! Such an easy way to fit in a ton of veggies and some spice.
Isn’t it the best?? I love it!
Wow. Looks delicious. I’ve pinned this for future reference (meaning, so my husband can make it for me!)
I like the way you think, Laura!! Hope your hubby makes it for you 🙂