This Arroz con Pollo recipe is my Colombian version. It is a hearty one pot meal perfect for lunch or dinner. Every country and family in Latin America has its own classic rice with chicken variation.
This Colombian-Style Arroz con Pollo was one of my favorite dishes growing up. My mom would make it at least once a week and everyone in my family loved it.
What is Arroz con Pollo?
It literally translates to "Rice with Chicken" and it's one of the most popular dishes in Latin America. Every country has its own variation and cooking method, but they all have rice, chicken, vegetables and spices.
Some recipes use bone in chicken pieces, this is my mom’s recipe and it's made with shredded chicken breast. I tried the Cuban and Puerto Rican versions of arroz con pollo and they were also very comforting and delicious.
Storing Rice with Chicken
The best part of cooking this rice dish are the leftovers, it reheats very well and you can keep it in the fridge up to 4 days in an air tight glass or plastic container. That makes this dish perfect for meal preparation for the week.
What to Serve with Arroz con Pollo?
I love serving this Colombian arroz con pollo with ketchup, lime wedges, avocado, this simple green salad or avocado and tomato salad.
Everything you’ll need to make Arroz con Pollo
The full printable recipe card with ingredient amounts, directions and tips is below.
Chicken: I like to use bone in chicken breast to make this recipe.
Seasoning: cumin, sazón with azafran, bay leaf, salt & pepper.
Vegetables: carrots, peas, green beans, onions, scallions, garlic, red and green bell pepper.
Flavor: tomato paste, chicken broth and chicken bouillon.
Oil: olive oil, canola or vegetable oil will work for this recipe.
Rice: I like to use white long grain rice.
Herbs: cilantro, if you don't like it just use parsley.
This Authentic Colombian-Style Rice with Chicken recipe is easy to make and a wonderful one-pan meal. It's perfect for any celebration or a weeknight meal or lunch.
How to Make the Best Arroz con Pollo
- Place the chicken breast, 5 cups of water and the remaining ingredients for the stock in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the chicken rest in the pot for about 15 minutes covered. Let it cool, shred and set aside. Strain stock and measure 2 ½ cups and set aside.
- In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, green peppers, garlic and red bell pepper. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the rice, tomato paste, chicken bouillon and sazon goya. Stir until the rice is well coated about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the peas, carrots and green beans and cook for and additional 7 minutes, add the shredded chicken and cilantro, mix well with a fork, cover and cook for 5 minutes more.
More Colombian Dishes to Try:
Empanadas Colombianas (Colombian Empanadas), Sancocho de Gallina (Chicken Sancocho), Ajiaco Bogotano (Chichen and Potato Soup), Bandeja Paisa (Paisa Tray), Pandebono (Cheese Bread), Buñuelos (Cheese Balls) and Arepas Rellenas de Queso (Cheese Stuffed Arepas).
Arroz con Pollo Recipe
Ingredients
To make the stock
- 2 whole chicken breast bone in and skin removed
- 2 scallions
- ½ white onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ tablespoon ground cumin
- ½ tablespoon sazon Goya with azafran
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and Pepper
To make the Rice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ¼ cup chopped red bell pepper
- ¼ cup chopped green pepper
- 1 cup long- grain white rice
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 chicken bouillon tablet
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock
- ½ tablespoon sazon goya with azafran
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ cup frozen peas
- ½ cup frozen diced carrots
- ½ cup frozen diced green beans
Instructions
To make the chicken stock
- Place the chicken breast, 5 cups of water and the remaining ingredients for the stock in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the chicken rest in the pot for about 15 minutes covered. Let it cool, shred and set aside. Strain stock and measure 2 ½ cups and set aside.
- In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, green peppers, garlic and red bell pepper. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the rice, tomato paste, chicken bouillon and sazon goya. Stir until the rice is well coated about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the peas, carrots and green beans and cook for and additional 7 minutes, add the shredded chicken and cilantro, mix well with a fork, cover and cook for 5 minutes more.
LeeAn Kahriger
So excited to try! Was an exchange student 20 some years ago in Bucaramanga and still think about and miss the food. I was especially looking for an arroz con polo recipe. Thanks so much!
Jasmin
This Dish makes wanna cry!!!! Thank you for showing us to make it. Now I can try to cook it just like my Mom and Grandma's Colombian dish.I never cook in my life but I can learn!!!
Luz Adriana
Thanks for this recipe. I looking in every place for arroz con pollo and finally I found.
Anonymous
I made this Arroz con Pollo and it was delicious.....better the next day. Thank you. Great recipes.
Angie Loaiza
OMG I have been looking for this recipe forever, my husband is Colombian and my son is half and I have been cooking his dishes for years and when I came across this I had to try it and it is the bomb I can not wait till he gets home to serve this dish to him. Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous
This arroz con pollo recipe was perfect. My kids love it and it was better the next day.
Andrea
Erica, soy Bogotana - llevo 12 anos viviendo en NY, PA y ahora MD y le cuento que extrano mucho la comida de mi tierra. La falta de conocimiento de muchos ingredientes no me permitia cocinar recetas Colombianas. Gracias: esta noche ARROZ CON POLLO!!!
Andrea
Erica,
In this recipe it looks like the rice is already been pre-cooked, am I right?
What brand of rice do you recommend?
Thank you.
Erica
Andrea- The rice is not pre- cooked. I use Canilla or Goya!
Kimberly
Hello! I was VERY pleased with this recipe. My husband, who is Colombian, said it was perfect. Thank you. Just a note to others, depending on the kind of rice you use, you might need just a few more minutes of cooking time. I reserved more stock for this case.
Erica
Kimberly- Thank you so much for your feedback!
Tyson F. Gautreaux
Thanks for the post, I stumbled upon it when I was searching things related to chicken coops in Yahoo. It's not exactly what I was looking for but I picked some interesting things. Thanks again.
Martha
Erica,
You should think about putting your wonderful receipes in a book. So, you can make some $$$. I am pretty sure you will be besides rich, you will be recognized as a woman with the Colombian sazon..............
Love all your receipes and most the pictures, they look so yami and authentic!!
Martha =)
Erica
Martha- LOL. Thank you so much for the wonderful comment! If I find a good publisher 😉
Luisa
Cant wait to cook this dish. I ate it as a little girl, and now thnx to this recipe I get to share it with my family.
Annie E
I made this dish for my Colombian husband tonight and he LOVED it. I will be making more recipes from your website in the future - Thanks!
Erica
Annie- thank you so much for your feedback! glad he liked it!
Ellie
The recipe calls for green pepper. Is it green bell pepper, or green pepper as in jalapeno or serrano?
Looking forward to making this yummy recipe for our Latin Flavor fundraiser at church 🙂
Erica
Ellie- Green bell pepper.
Carmen Ramirez
Green bell or red bell peppers, of course. It is not a hot spicy dish.
Nats
This was my absolute favorite growing up!
Respondon
It looks great and it *is* great, but my host family in Bogota 30 years ago served it with jugo de tomate de arbol...even today I can hardly type that phrase. That juice was awful, awful stuff. (In English it's called a tamarillo, and there's a good Wikipedia article about it.) I have to break the mental association of arroz con pollo with jugo de tomate de arbol, so I can make the recipe!
Carmen Ramirez
I was raised in Colombia and never, never was arroz con pollo served with tomato de árbol juice.
Maybe other tropical fruit juices, but anyway, you drink the juice before or after the meal, not with the meal, I can see why you did not like it. And actually a well made tomate de arbol juice is delicious.
Rafael
The taste is amazing. First time I made it, it was amazing. Next time the rice was crunchy, This time my rice is mushy! I’m sure it’s chef’s error, but HELP!!! I love this recipe and the taste but my kids think they’re Michelin critics and I’m a rank amateur cook! LOL
BTW - your Sancocho recipe is, as my kid’s say: BOMB. 10 of 10.
🙂