Chicken and Pepper Rice Skillet

Ingredients

• 1¼ lb / 567 g Boneless chicken thighs, skinless, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 Tbsp Olive oil
• 1 medium (about 110 g) Yellow onion, diced
• 2 medium (about 238 g) Red bell peppers, seeded and sliced
• 3 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp Paprika
• ¾ tsp Kosher salt, divided
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 3 cups / 474 g Cooked long-grain rice
• ½ cup / 120 ml Low-sodium chicken broth
• To taste Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving (optional)

Method

1. Use 3 cups of cooked long-grain rice. White rice is the one this skillet is written for. If the rice is still dry in the cupboard, simmer 1 cup of dry long-grain rice in water until it is tender, about 15–18 minutes, then measure 3 cups. That extra simmer is not in the 30 minutes. The plate below assumes the rice is already cooked.
2. Pat the chicken dry and cut it into 1-inch pieces. Toss it with ½ tsp of the salt and the black pepper.
3. Warm the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in one layer. Cook, turning the pieces, until they are browned and the thickest piece reads 165°F / 74°C, about 6–8 minutes. If the pan is crowded, brown the chicken in two batches so it colors instead of steaming. Move the chicken to a plate.
4. Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion, the peppers, and the rest of the salt to the same skillet. Cook, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and the peppers have a little color, about 6–7 minutes. If the bottom looks dry, add a spoon of the broth. Stir in the garlic and the paprika and cook 30 seconds. Use mild paprika, not cayenne, so the skillet stays mild.
5. Add the cooked rice and the rest of the broth. Stir, scraping up the browned bits. Cook 2–3 minutes, until the rice is hot and the broth is mostly absorbed. The rice should look moist, not soupy.
6. Return the chicken and any juices on the plate. Toss until the chicken is hot again. Taste, and add a pinch more salt only if the rice tastes flat. A little chopped parsley on top is optional. The skillet keeps covered in the fridge for a few days. Reheat it with a splash of water so the rice stays soft.

Nutrition

Kitchen estimate only, not lab-verified. Counted as 1 of 4 plates from this skillet: the chicken, vegetables, cooked rice, and broth. Parsley and any extra salt at the end are not in the count. The estimate uses a standard chicken-broth row, so a low-sodium carton will land lower in sodium. Rice cooked in broth instead of water also moves the sodium.

Guest diet / allergy swaps

Short kitchen notes for guests. A fuller gluten-free or dairy-free ingredient list, when we have one, is in the panels below.

• Dairy-free

  The skillet is chicken, olive oil, onion, red pepper, garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, rice, and chicken broth. There is no milk, butter, or cheese. Read the broth carton. A few broths add cream or butter. This is a kitchen note, not a dairy-free certification.

• Gluten-free style

  Chicken, rice, peppers, onion, garlic, olive oil, and plain paprika do not call for wheat. Some chicken broths use wheat. Read the carton and use one that does not list it. This is a kitchen note, not a gluten-free certification.

• No chicken

  This plate is built on chicken thighs. Use 1¼ lb / 567 g of boneless turkey breast, cut the same way, and cook it to 165°F / 74°C. The plate is no longer chicken. Add 1 tsp more oil if the turkey sticks.

• Lower sodium

  Use ¼ tsp salt and the low-sodium broth the recipe already asks for. The rice should be cooked in water, not broth. This is a kitchen note, not a low-sodium diet.