Weeknight Paella

This simple Spanish Paella recipe delivers amazing flavor from chorizo, shrimp, and traditional paella ingredients. It’s quick and easy enough for a weeknight family meal, but impressive enough for dinner guests!

Traveling is not really my thing – I’m quite happy being a homebody, plus I hate flying. But there are some countries on my bucket list to visit, including Spain. Mainly to experience authentic Paella. Is that weird? It’s their most beloved dish and too many American restaurants screw it up.

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Not at all surprising how much I love paella…because RICE. Give me a big bowl of my Cilantro Lime Rice, Spanish Rice, and Rice Pilaf, and I am happy!

Weeknight Orzo Paella

Paella is an iconic rice dish of Spain and practically synonymous with Spanish cuisine. It’s a colorful mixture of flavored rice and various meats or seafood, getting its name from the paellera, the flat, round pan in which it’s cooked.

While it’s incredibly easy to make, it’s also easy to get it wrong. There are 4 elements that separate it from just any ‘ol rice dish.

For real authentic Paella, yes. A true paella pan is large, round, and shallow with two looped handles. The emphasis is on diameter, rather than height. The flat bottom ensures the rice cooks in a thin layer and is what helps develop that awesome socarrat that I mentioned above. The pan is actually so important that it’s where the name comes from – the word “paelle” means “pan.”

Vegetable Paella With Chorizo Recipe

If you don’t have a paella pan, an acceptable alternative is a skillet. Use one that is stainless-steel or aluminum. Stay away from cast-iron (which retains too much heat) or nonstick pans (which will never give you the socarrat we’re after.) Try to use a heat source that can accommodate the whole paella pan or skillet. If your burners are a bit spaced out, you’ll need to move and rotate the pan a bit while cooking to evenly distribute the heat.

Interestingly enough, true authentic paella, dating back to the 1800’s, usually consisted of rabbit, snails, chicken, maybe some eel, and lima beans. Sounds delicious, right? Not. Luckily, that list is in the history books and not typically used today. But purists will argue anything other than those ingredients and you’ve simply got arroz en paella (rice in a paella pan.) But I say if you stick with the 4 elements I talked about, it’s Paella!

Weeknight

Now that I’ve probably scared you off from making this paella recipe, make it anyway! LOL. The fact is, paella, while super easy, does take practice to get it right, and I still bungle it from time to time. Even if you don’t have the right size pan, or burners close together, or accidentally use too much liquid, or stir it one too many times, this is still a delicious dish!

Paella Recipe That Make Weeknights Meals Simple

I simplified the steps and ingredients to make this easy and a great option for any weeknight meal. You’re going to love it!

I hope you love this delicious and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full onFacebook, Instagram, Pinterest, andYouTube!

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This simple Paella recipe has amazing flavor from chorizo, shrimp, and traditional paella ingredients. Made easy enough for a weeknight family meal!

Instant Pot Paella With Chicken And Sausage Recipe

Calories: 457 kcal | Carbohydrates: 49 g | Protein: 28 g | Fat: 16 g | Saturated Fat: 5 g | Cholesterol: 211 mg | Sodium: 1366 mg | Potassium: 474 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 4 g | Vitamin A: 1466 IU | Vitamin C: 10 mg | Calcium: 138 mg | Iron: 5 mg

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

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Superfast Weeknight Paella

I simplified the steps and ingredients to make this easy and a great option for any weeknight meal. You’re going to love it!

I hope you love this delicious and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full onFacebook, Instagram, Pinterest, andYouTube!

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This simple Paella recipe has amazing flavor from chorizo, shrimp, and traditional paella ingredients. Made easy enough for a weeknight family meal!

Instant Pot Paella With Chicken And Sausage Recipe

Calories: 457 kcal | Carbohydrates: 49 g | Protein: 28 g | Fat: 16 g | Saturated Fat: 5 g | Cholesterol: 211 mg | Sodium: 1366 mg | Potassium: 474 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 4 g | Vitamin A: 1466 IU | Vitamin C: 10 mg | Calcium: 138 mg | Iron: 5 mg

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

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Subscribe for free to receive new weekly recipes and instantly get a week’s worth of family meals that are quick, easy, and inexpensive to make!

Superfast Weeknight Paella