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Costa Rican · Central American

Costa Rican arroz con pollo

Non-vegetarian

Arroz con pollo

Golden achiote-tinted rice cooked in chicken broth with shredded chicken, peppers, carrots, peas and cilantro, seasoned the Costa Rican way with a tangy table sauce.

Costa Rican arroz con pollo is a Costa Rican rice dish, ready in about 1 hour 15 minutes and made with chicken breast, long-grain white rice and achiote paste. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Plate of yellow arroz con pollo topped with a chicken leg
Photo: Kobako / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-2.5
Prep
20 min
Cook
45 min
Rest
10 min
Total
1 h 15 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
535

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Poach the chicken in the stock for 18–20 minutes until cooked through. Lift out, shred and keep the stock (you need about 900 ml).

    Food safety: Chicken must reach 74 °C.

  2. Step 2

    In a wide pot, soften the onion (opens in a new tab), pepper and garlic (opens in a new tab) in the oil. Stir in the achiote (opens in a new tab) and cumin (opens in a new tab), then the rice, and fry for 2 minutes until coated.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Add the hot stock, carrot (opens in a new tab), green beans (opens in a new tab), Salsa Lizano (opens in a new tab) and salt. Bring to a boil, cover and cook on low for 15 minutes.

    • 15 min
    • low heat

  4. Step 4

    Fold in the chicken, peas (opens in a new tab) and cilantro (opens in a new tab), cover and cook 5 minutes more on low, until the rice is tender and the peas hot. Rest off the heat for 10 minutes, then fluff.

    • 5 min
    • low heat

    Food safety: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within 1 hour.

About this dish

Origin
Costa Rica · Commonly attributedArroz con pollo is eaten across Spain and Latin America; this is the Costa Rican home style, a fixture of parties and family gatherings.More food from Costa Rica
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Rice dishes · Main courses
Cooking method
Poached, Simmered, Sautéed
Taste
savoury, tangy, herby, mild
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein · Low-fat
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Festive & celebration · Child-friendly · Meal-prep friendly
Cook more with
Chicken breast · Long-grain white rice · Achiote paste · Chicken stock · Onion · Red bell pepper
Techniques
Sautéing · Boiling · Simmering · Poaching

Allergens

  • May contain: Mustardfrom salsa lizano
  • May contain: Celeryfrom chicken stock

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

535 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 442 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 26%
  • Carbohydrate 53%
  • Fat 21%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy535 kcal121 kcal
Protein33.9 g7.7 g
Carbohydrate70 g15.8 g
Net carbohydrate66.1 g14.9 g
Sugars7.3 g1.6 g
Added sugars——
Fibre3.9 g0.9 g
Fat12.3 g2.8 g
Saturated fat1.8 g0.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol78 mg18 mg
Sodium784 mg177 mg
Salt equivalent2 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
848 mg
Calcium
64 mg
Iron
5 mg
Magnesium
72 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
188 µg
Vitamin C
36 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0.2 µg
Folate (DFE)
311 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Achiote paste: Ground paprika (FDC 171329) used as a stand-in: achiote paste is ground annatto seed with spices, garlic and vinegar.
  • Salsa Lizano: Worcestershire sauce used as a stand-in; Lizano is a similar thin, sweet-sour brown vegetable sauce.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Serve with

  • In Costa Rica it is usually served with black beans, potato chips and a simple salad.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat with a splash of water until piping hot.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Masalas in this recipe

Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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