Spanish Seafood Paella Recipe

You can make a delicious, authentic Paella–the most popular dish of Spain–in your own kitchen with simple ingredients like rice, saffron, vegetables, chicken, and seafood. If you love cooking International food, you will fall in love with this comforting dish! 

My goal with this paella recipe was to use the tutelage I received while living in Madrid to create a traditional Spanish paella that anyone can make (and without special equipment, like a paella pan). After lots of trial and error, I am so excited to share everything I know and have learned about making Paella, as authentically and practically for the home cook, as possible.

Paella (pai · ei · uh) is a classic Spanish rice dish made with rice, saffron, vegetables, chicken, and seafood cooked and served in one pan. Although paella originates from Valencia, it’s recognized as the national food of Spain and there are several different varieties. The most common types of paella are chicken paella, seafood paella, or mixed paella (a combination of seafood, meats, and vegetables).

Seafood Paella: History, Recipe & Secret Tips To Make Paella De Mariscos!

The main ingredients in every paella dish are rice, saffron, chicken, and vegetables.  From there, ingredients vary depending on the type of paella or region where it’s made.  The ingredients in this easy paella recipe include:

1. Sauté:  Add olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell peppers and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent. Add chopped tomato, bay leaf, paprika, saffron, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add broth.  Pour the broth slowly all around the pan and jiggle the pan to get the rice into an even layer. (Do not stir the mixture going forward!). Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Give the pan a gentle shake back and forth once or twice during cooking.

Spanish Seafood Paella

5. Cook uncovered: Cook paella uncovered for 15-18 minutes, then nestle the shrimp, mussels and calamari into the mixture, sprinkle peas on top and continue to cook (without stirring) for about 5 more minutes. Watch for most of the liquid to be absorbed and the rice at the top nearly tender.

6. Cover and let rest.  Remove pan from heat and cover pan with a lid or tinfoil. Place a kitchen towel over the lid and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Spanish rice (also called “bomba” rice, calaspara rice, arroz redonda) is traditional in Paella, and it’s what I recommend using. It’s a short grain rice that absorbs more water than regular rice, without turning mushy. You can buy Spanish rice on Amazon, World Market or an international food market.

Chicken And Seafood Paella With Chorizo

If you don’t like seafood, leave it out and substitute more chicken and vegetables. You can use any combination of your favorite seafood including clams, scallops and chopped pieces of fish. Frozen seafood is a great accessible option if you don’t live near the ocean. (Costco sells a great mixed seafood bag in their freezer section with shrimp, mussels, clams, scallops, and calamari.) Be sure to thaw frozen seafood in the fridge overnight before using.

When buying fresh seafood make sure to smell it to make sure it’s fresh. It should not have a strong fishy odor. Most of the seafood used here will smell like nothing, or just like the ocean (slightly salty). Be sure to clean it properly (remove “beards” from mussels, if necessary).

No, you can us a regular large skillet to make Paella (I use a 12×2 inch skillet and this recipe fills it to the brim). Traditional paella is cooked in a large paella pan because it allow the rice to be spread out into a thin layer and cook more evenly.

Seafood Paella Recipe

You can make a delicious, authentic Paella--the most popular dish of Spain--in your own kitchen with simple ingredients like rice, saffron, vegetables, chicken, and seafood.

*Rice: Spanish rice (also called “bomba” rice, calaspara rice, arroz redonda) is traditional in Paella, and it’s what I recommend using. (If your grocery store doesn't carry it, try Amazon, World Market, or an International food market). If necessary you can substitute medium grain rice, like Calrose rice which can be found at Walmart or most grocery stores, and reduce the broth to 3 ¾ cups. (I don’t recommend using Arborio rice or long-grain rice for Paella).

*Broth: Authentic paella would include making your own fish stock from the discard shells of seafood. I usually substitute chicken broth for convenience.

The Best Spanish Seafood Paella 🥘 Recipe

*Seafood: If you don’t like seafood, leave it out and substitute more chicken or vegetables. You can use any combination of your favorite seafood including clams, scallops and chopped pieces of fish. Frozen seafood is a great accessible option if you don’t live near the ocean. (Costco sells a great mixed seafood bag in their freezer section with shrimp, mussels, clams, scallops, and calamari.) Be sure to thaw frozen seafood in the fridge overnight before using. If buying fresh seafood, smell it to make sure it’s fresh. It should not have a strong fishy odor. Most of the seafood used here will smell like nothing, or just like the ocean (slightly salty). Be sure to clean it properly (remove “beards” from mussels, if necessary).

*Saffron: this may be the most important ingredient, so it’s best to buy high quality. If your grocery store doesn’t carry it, try an International food market, or Amazon. If necessary, substitute 1 teaspoon saffron powder.

Calories: 535 kcal Carbohydrates: 59 g Protein: 37 g Fat: 15 g Saturated Fat: 3 g Cholesterol: 260 mg Sodium: 1159 mg Potassium: 805 mg Fiber: 3 g Sugar: 3 g Vitamin A: 1408 IU Vitamin C: 58 mg Calcium: 125 mg Iron: 4 mg

Spicy Seafood Paella Recipe For The Perfect Spanish Feast

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.This Spanish Seafood Paella is a traditional rice dish filled with shrimp, shellfish, smoked sausage, and colorful veggies. Best of all, this incredible meal is super easy to make at home!

Comforting, healthy, and full of flavor, paella might just be the ultimate seafood dish. Originating in Valencia, Spain, it’s a very old peasant dish that can be made in many different ways depending on the meats and veggies that are in season. But, no matter how you make it, paella almost always features fragrant saffron and tender, short-grain rice, cooked to perfection with plenty of spices and seasonings.

Seafood paella is especially popular stateside, with a medley of delicate favorites like scallops, shrimp, chopped fish, calamari…all-the-yum! My easy at-home version uses shrimp, mussels, and clams, but for substitution ideas, please see the “Tips for Success” section below.

Easy Seafood Paella Recipe (full Tutorial)

If you feel a little intimidated by making paella, don’t be! This dish is actually pretty simple to make, and comes together all in one skillet (or paella pan, if you have one). But before we begin, let me warn you – you might just be blown away by the absolute deliciousness of this recipe! Let’s dive in – quick, before my mouth starts watering again.

Great question! Well, there are a few dominant flavors in paella, including the seafood and seafood stock, which add a nice ocean-y freshness; white wine, which gives a bit of depth; saffron, which has a golden, earthy, slightly sweet taste; and of course, the sausage and garlic, for a meaty and robust flavor. In other words? Devastatingly delicious.

So just what goes into this simple version of paella? Let’s take a closer look! Here’s the full list of ingredients in detail. (For the amounts and nutrition info, see the recipe card at the end of this post. It’s printable!)

Authentic Spanish Paella

This recipe is so rewarding to make! There are a few steps and processes involved, but the overall cooking method is easy. Try this one for a fancy occasion or favorite holiday.

When it’s time to clean and purge the clams, this basically amounts to two easy steps, but be aware that the purging step takes over an hour. Scrubbing just means using a brush, a clean kitchen towel, or even a sturdy paper towel to rub away any dirt from the clam shells under cold, running water. Don’t use hot water. Purging means soaking the clams in salted water (one gallon of cold water with ⅓ cup salt dissolved in it) for half an hour. You have to repeat this step with a new batch of salted water two or three times to get all the grit and sand out of the clams. This is why I just go straight to the seafood counter and ask them to gimme the cleaned and ready to go mussels and clams. I suggest you do the same. ?

Cleaning mussels is a bit easier than cleaning clams – all you have to do is rinse and scrub them well, and then remove any “beards” that they might have – little fuzzy bits clinging to the edge of the shell.

Delicious Seafood Paella Recipe

With rice dishes, especially those that are cooked uncovered, you may sometimes find that the rice cooks up crunchy, or maybe worse – mushy! If your rice is a bit crunchy, you can usually just add a small amount