With the hundreds of chicken and rice variations out there, in my heart there is only one and it’s my Costa Rican arroz con pollo recipe. Passed down to me from my grandmother, this recipe has been in my family for generations. It’s not only full of flavor, easy to make, and extremely freezer friendly but it can also transport you to another place. Imagine eating at a quaint restaurant as a pit stop on your way up to the peak of a Costa Rican volcano. This is the exact dish they would be serving up.
What makes this Costa Rican arroz con pollo?
- The color: the yellow coloring is very typical of an arroz con pollo giving it a nice differentiating pop. Achiote is used all over Latin America to give all meals some color. While it does not add any flavoring to the meal itself, it does give the distinct color to your dish.
- The chicken stock: making the stock and cooking the chicken from scratch gives the dish extra flavor. However, if you’re short on time, use store bought chicken stock or cubes and a cooked rotisserie chicken. Using chicken stock instead of water to make the rice also gives it a delicious traditional flavor.
- The veggie selection: depending on the cuisine you will see a lot of variations on what vegetables to put into an arroz con pollo. The traditional mix we use in this recipe makes it Costa Rican cuisine.
- Salsa Lizano: if you’ve been to Costa Rica you know this is a staple for all Costa Rican dishes. Use this vegetable based sauce as a marinade, to add flavor, top off a dish, to make a sauce…the possibilities are endless. It’s one of the most typical Costa Rican things you can use in your cooking. And it’s absolutely delicious and vegetarian!
What can be served with arroz con pollo?
You can serve this dish on its own or with a wide variety of sides. In Costa Rica it is common to serve this dish with a salad. A bright cold beet salad or a simple green salad with cabbage, tomatoes and lime. You’ll also find it served with potato chips and refried beans.
What part of the chicken should you use?
We bought a whole chicken and used the breasts. We also added the chicken carcass to our stock. However you can use any of the chicken pieces for this rice dish, we just wanted the leaner option.
Start off by processing the whole chicken into thighs, breasts, legs and wings. For this recipe we will only use the breasts and the carcass. The carcass will make the stock much more flavorful so you won’t need to add as many stock cubes. Additionally, you can use the pieces of chicken you don’t use for the recipe as leftovers for a new dish. By using a whole chicken you can save on costs, have a more flavorful stock and reduce your waste.
- Savings costs: instead of purchasing four breasts that will only make this one meal you can purchase a whole chicken. The breasts can still be shredded for this dish, but the wings, drumsticks, etc. can all be used throughout the week. Incorporate them into another dish for some variety!
- Flavorful stock: the flavor is in the fat and bones and by using a whole chicken you can use the carcass to get the broth. You likely won’t need to add stock cubes or broth to bump up the flavor since the chicken is naturally releasing all of this for you.
- Reduce your waste: by purchasing one whole chicken to use for the recipe instead of individual parts (thighs or breasts only) you reduce your environmental footprint. Instead of 2-3 chickens used for your pack of breasts you are only consuming one animal. You can also use every part of the chicken in different meals, stocks, and soups thereby eliminating the need to toss anything out.
What is the best rice for arroz con pollo?
We’ve played around with a few different rice varieties. It’s tricky because technically you could make it with any rice but it will absolutely impact the flavor. I personally love Basmati rice but I feel it is a bit too aromatic for my taste in this dish. I’ve found that Uncle Ben’s white rice does well in this dish.
That said, feel free to play around with what you have on hand and test out the flavors.
Tips for cooking arroz con pollo
- Make sure you have a nice big pot since this Costa Rican arroz con pollo recipe will make a substantial quantity. You want enough room to be able to easily stir ingredients in. You could even cook this in an instant pot!
- The order of adding ingredients while the rice is cooking matters. If you add something too soon you risk it overcooking, too late and you risk the broth drying out.
- Add 2 times the amount of broth that you do rice. Using this 2:1 ratio will ensure the rice cooks thoroughly without getting stodgy. If you don’t have enough broth left over, mix stock cubes in water to make up the remainder.
- After 10 minutes of the rice cooking in the broth add in the carrots. There should still be liquid in the pot when you add the carrots.
- Once the water is pretty much absorbed into the rice and cooked you can add in the cilantro and peas. You don’t want to add the cilantro before as it will wilt and brown, not giving off the fresh flavor we’re looking for. The peas are already cooked so really you’re just adding them in to heat up with the rice.
- Lastly add in the shredded chicken to the finished product and stir it in since it is also already cooked. Putting it in too soon can cause it to dry out.
- Since you are only using the breasts for the arroz con pollo here are some ideas of how to use the remaining chicken pieces so it doesn’t go to waste:
- Chicken pesto sandwich
- Chicken wings
- Roasted with veggies
Arroz con Pollo
Ingredients
For chicken stock
- 2 lbs Chicken breasts
- 5 cups Boiling water
- 4 sprigs Thyme fresh
- 4 sprigs Oregano fresh
- 2 stalks Celery cut in half
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 large Yellow onion cut into quarters
- 2 Chicken stock cubes optional
For rice
- 2 ½ cups Uncle Ben rice
- 1 large Red pepper diced
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 medium Onions diced
- 3 stalks Celery diced
- 4 medium Carrots diced
- 1 can Tinned seas
- ½ cup Cilantro chopped
- 2 tbsp Achiote or Amarillo food seasoning
- 3 tbsp Salsa lizano optional
- 1 tbsp Salt or to taste
- ¾ tbsp Black pepper or to taste
Instructions
Chicken stock
- Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, oregano and thyme and place on a frying pan at high heat to sear. The chicken does not need to be entirely cooked at this point, we just want to get a nice golden exterior.
- In a pot on medium heat add the boiling water, the onion, celery, thyme, oregano, garlic, chicken breasts and chicken carcass (if you have saved it). It will cook here for approximately 2 hours to give the stock flavor. The broth should have a lot of flavor. You can add in some chicken stock cubes to add flavor if you are not satisfied with the broth.
- Once the chicken breasts are completely cooked, take them out of the stock pot, shred them and set them aside for later. Strain the stock into a large bowl since we will be using it to cook the rice.
Rice
- Pre heat a pot and add oil then sauté onions, celery and red pepper. Once the onions are golden brown add in the rice and the chicken broth and lower the heat to medium. You need to have double the amount of broth as you do rice, so if necessary add additional water with chicken stock cubes if too much of the broth evaporated while cooking the chicken. Add in bay leaves, salsa lizano and the yellow food seasoning or achiote to give the rice the yellow color.
- After about 10 minutes add in the carrots. The carrots should be added while there is still sufficient broth in the rice and it has not fully absorbed or cooked yet.
- Once the rice has finished cooking (after about 20-25 minutes) add in the peas and cilantro. Once it is all mixed in you can add the shredded chicken and stir everything together.
- Now it is ready to serve. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.
