Spanish paella with seafood (Printable)

Saffron-infused rice cooked with chorizo, chicken, shrimp, mussels, and colorful vegetables.

# What You'll Need:

→ Proteins

01 - 7 oz chorizo sausage, sliced
02 - 9 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
03 - 9 oz large shrimp, peeled and deveined
04 - 9 oz mussels, cleaned and debearded
05 - 7 oz calamari rings (optional)

→ Rice and Broth

06 - 2 cups short-grain paella or Arborio rice
07 - 4 cups chicken or seafood stock, heated
08 - ½ tsp saffron threads
09 - 2 tbsp olive oil

→ Vegetables

10 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
11 - 1 red bell pepper, sliced
12 - 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
13 - 2 medium tomatoes, diced
14 - 1 cup frozen peas
15 - 3 cloves garlic, minced

→ Spices & Seasoning

16 - 1 tsp smoked paprika
17 - Salt, to taste
18 - Black pepper, to taste
19 - 1 bay leaf

→ Garnish

20 - Fresh parsley, chopped
21 - Lemon wedges

# Directions:

01 - Steep saffron threads in 3 tablespoons of hot stock and set aside.
02 - Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large wide skillet or paella pan. Add chorizo and chicken, cooking until browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and set aside.
03 - Add onion and bell peppers to the pan; sauté until softened, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and diced tomatoes, cooking an additional 2 minutes.
04 - Incorporate rice and smoked paprika, stirring to evenly coat the grains with oil and vegetables.
05 - Return chicken and chorizo to the pan. Pour in saffron-infused stock and the remaining stock along with bay leaf, salt, and black pepper. Stir gently to combine.
06 - Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes without stirring.
07 - Nestle shrimp, mussels, and calamari into the rice. Scatter peas over the surface. Cover loosely with foil and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until seafood is cooked and mussels have opened.
08 - Remove from heat and let rest covered for 5 minutes. Discard any unopened mussels. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon wedges before serving.

# Expert Hints:

01 -
  • It feeds a crowd without requiring you to hover over the stove the whole time.
  • That crispy, caramelized bottom layer (the socarrat) is where the magic lives, and it's easier to achieve than you'd think.
  • The combination of smoky sausage, tender seafood, and saffron rice creates something that tastes like you spent hours cooking, even though you didn't.
02 -
  • Do not stir the rice after the first 15 minutes—the socarrat (that golden, crispy layer on the bottom) is intentional and delicious, not a mistake.
  • If a mussel doesn't open after cooking, it was already dead before it went in the pan, so discard it without guilt.
  • The saffron must steep in hot stock before adding to the pan, or it won't release its color and flavor properly; this one step changes everything.
03 -
  • Warm your stock before adding it so the temperature of the pan doesn't drop and the rice cooks evenly from the moment the liquid goes in.
  • Listen to the pan—that soft crackling sound about halfway through cooking means the socarrat is forming perfectly.
  • If you're feeding more than six people, make two pans instead of one giant pan, which becomes hard to manage and uneven to cook.
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