Authentic Shrimp Paella Recipe

Here’s how to make a paella recipe…the Spanish way! This stunning one pan dinner features shrimp, vegetables and all the authentic flavors of this traditional dish.

Here’s a stunning one pan dinner that’s made for celebrations: paella! This traditional Spanish rice dish has thousands of variations. but it’s always rice with an explosion of colorful toppings. This one is our best classic paella recipe, based on our travels through Spain! We’ve perfected the skills so you can try it at home. It stars saffron-scented rice, mixed colorful vegetables and shrimp, and it’s full of traditional flavor. Here’s everything you need to know to make paella at home!

Paella is a traditional Spanish dish with saffron-flavored rice topped with seafood, meat and/or vegetables and served in a shallow paella pan. There are varying sizes of paella pans: small pans for two people, and massive paella pans for a crowd. (Fun fact: the world’s largest paella was made in a pan big enough for 30, 000 people!)

Authentic Spanish Paella Recipe With Seafood

What types of paella are there? Spaniards themselves differ on what is the most classic, authentic paella recipe. Alex and I have eaten paella in Valencia, Barcelona, and Madrid, and all of them have been vastly different. There are four main types of paella:

Paella recipe, we used the common elements in the paella recipes we’ve had in different regions in Spain. Here’s what’s featured in this paella:

A paella pan is a large round, shallow pan with handles used for cooking paella. The shallow shape lets rice cook consistently and lets it dry out more than it can in a skillet. If you have a paella pan or want one, now’s the time to use it! This recipe is for a 15-inch paella pan that serves 4 people. If you’re looking for one, here’s a link to purchase a 4-person paella pan.

Seafood Paella — Whisk N' Whip

Don’t have a paella pan? Don’t worry! Make this paella in your largest skillet. The larger the better! You may need to adjust the cook time slightly if you are using a skillet.

Paella pan care instructions:Paella pans are made of carbon steel and can rust. Make sure to dry the pan completely after cleaning it, and rub it with a bit of vegetable oil to prevent rusting.

The most authentic paella rice type is called bomba rice. Bomba rice is a white short grain rice. You can also use Arborio rice, which is easier to find but can result in a gummier texture than bomba. Either work! For this recipe we tried bomba and felt like it had more consistent results. You can find bomba rice online. Order it:Bomba rice

Chicken & Shrimp Spanish Paella

This is an authentic style paella recipe, so it uses two special spices to get that traditional flavor. Here’s what to know:

Once all the ingredients are added to the pan in paella, here’s what to do…or really, what not to do. Don’t stir it! Please repeat: no stirring allowed. The broth and spices boil through the rice, leaving everything perfectly flavored and cooked.

Traditionally, it’s good to get a brown crust on the bottom of the rice (perfectly brown, without burning it). The Spanish call this

Spanish Seafood Paella Recipe

. It’s difficult to achieve the perfect socarrat because so much depends on the exact timing. It’s also a little harder to get it if you’re using a skillet. But never fear! Each time you cook this recipe, you’ll learn new things about perfecting your paella technique.

Don’t want to make a shrimp paella recipe? No problem. We love making vegan and vegetarian paella as well. (Or go to this Easy Vegetarian Paella.) Here’s what to do to customize this recipe:

Making this paella as part of a dinner? Here’s are some first course and side dish ideas for what to serve with paella:This saffron-infused easy seafood paella with shrimp and lobster is a simpler take on the traditional beloved Spanish dishwith fewer ingredients and no special pan. It will deliver the WOW factor on all level, but you don't need to wait for a special occasion to make it!

Seafood Paella Valenciana

This is my personal take on this dish and is different from the traditional, but it offers a few easy tips for the home cook (be sure to check out the tips and video below)

According to this History of Paella article, paella combines the Roman and Arabic cultures as Arab conquerors introduced rice in Valencia. The word paella, may have stemmed from the Arabic word baquia, which simply means leftovers. And it is said that this meal was introduced by Valencia farm workers as the delicious solution to leftovers. Basically, a one-pot rice meal embellished with whatever ingredients one had on hand. And that's why, it makes perfect sense that there are many variations of it today.

In an article by The Guardian, Valencian chef Llorenç Millo is quoted saying, paella has as many recipes as there are villages, and nearly as many as there are cooks. To me, that makes it one of the most exciting and inviting dishes.

Weeknight Paella Recipe

And I'll say right off the bat, this seafood paella recipe is my own pared down version, prepared as an easy weeknight solution that does not require a special fire nor a special pan.

Historically, in Valencia, this dish would have incorporated things like chicken thighs, rabbit, snails and beans (about three kinds of fresh beans). But, as mentioned earlier, paella is the mother of leftover solutions and one-pot meals, and the ingredients will vary from place to place, depending on the traditions and what ingredients are available. Nowadays, particularly in the States, paella is almost always associated with seafood.

When you cook paella rice, you're looking for the end result to be dry, separated rice and not something like a creamy risotto or a sticky rice like you would eat at a Chinese restaurant. That's why, your choice of rice here is important.

Recipe: Spanish Paella With Chorizo, Chicken And Shrimp

The best rice option to use when making this dish is a medium-grain rice that can absorb the liquid while maintaining some bite and firmness. Round Spanish rice could be hard to find, but something like Goya medium grain rice (affiliate link) will work. Long-grain rice is not a good option here.

In this easy seafood paella, I kept the ingredient list short, focusing on two seafood options: shrimp and lobster. If either is not available to you, feel free to get creative using a firm fish or some mussels or clams. I did not add any chicken or chorizo, but again, if that is something you are looking for, feel free to adapt this recipe (see section below called variations).

And while, traditionally, this dish is cooked over open fire made of tree prunings, this easy, home-cooked version is simply cooked on the stovetop.

Shrimp Paella Recipe

If you have a paella pan or even a special outdoor paella grill (affiliate links), that would be ideal. But I don't have one, and found it easy enough to use a sturdy skillet.

The important thing is that the skillet you use has a large and even surface, which aids in cooking the rice properly and quickly. That's why a round-bottomed wok is not a good choice for making paella. It's not impossible, but if you're new to making this, you would have better results using a carbon steel pan or a cast iron skillet, which is what I used in this recipe.

1- The first step here is to get the lobster cooking in boiling water. This will be quick, about 1 to 2 minutes. You don't want to overcook the lobster, but you're looking for it to turn a nice pink. When the lobster is cool enough to handle, remove the shell and cut into large chunks to use later. Important: keep the lobster water for later use.

Easy Spanish Paella Recipe

2. I like to soak the paella rice in water a few minutes (15 to 20 minutes or so) before using, this helps it cook evenly. Then, to begin making the paella, heat 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium-high (making sure it's shimmering but not smoking.) Saute chopped onions first for a couple minutes, then add the rice (drain first).

Cook the rice for 3 minutes, stirring regularly. Yes, I am aware that in some recipes you are almost forbidden from stirring the rice. But it worked best for me this way. Grateful to Bobby Flay for this tip.

3- Now we add a few more ingredients: garlic and the lobster cooking water first. Then the saffron and it's soaking liquid along with spices, paprika, cayenne pepper, aleppo pepper, and salt.

Spanish Paella Recipe

3. b) Stir in the chopped tomato and green beans. Bring to a boil and let the liquid reduce, then cover (with lid or tightly with foil) and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.

4- Now, we add the shrimp over the rice, pushing it into the rice a little. At this point, if the rice looks to be too dry and might need a tiny bit of water, you can carefully add some. Cover and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the shrimp turns pink.

4- b) Finally, add the cooked lobster chunks. When the lobster is warmed

Chicken And Seafood Paella With Chorizo