Martha Stewart Swears By This Classic Chicken One-Pot Dish

One-pot meals may cut down on dishes, but with the right recipe, they don't cut corners when it comes to flavor. In an Instagram post with tens of thousands of likes, Martha Stewart calls arroz con pollo one of her "very, very favorite one-pot meals" — and with her revitalized recipe for the traditional favorite, it's no mystery why. Here at Tasting Table, we've even ranked Stewart's roasted chicken recipes higher than Julia Child's, so foodies can expect the best. Arroz con pollo translates to rice with chicken, and the Latin American and Spanish dish offers a tasty take on a classic chicken-and-rice combo. In a single pot, the well-rounded comfort food uses a mixture of wet and dry heat and comes together by braising to meld the flavors together. 

Stewart's go-to arroz con pollo begins with an all-over salt and pepper rub on chicken thighs, fried skin-side-down in hot olive oil in a roomy Dutch oven on the stovetop. She removes the chicken when the skin is golden and crispy and next comes the aromatic dimensionality — which, in traditional renditions of arroz con pollo, typically comes from adobo and sazón seasonings. In Stewart's version, these aromatics are delivered by saffron threads, bay leaves, and white wine. Perhaps justifying its steep price tag, saffron offers a unique, distinctive tasting profile that is simultaneously earthy, floral, and subtly bittersweet. In arroz con pollo, it imparts transformative warmth and depth, just like in our saffron rice pilaf recipe.

In yet another variation on traditional arroz con pollo, instead of a simple sofrito (onion, green bell pepper, jalapenos, garlic, and cilantro), Stewart's rendition uses yellow onion, garlic, and diced tomato. Still, it's worth noting that regional variations of arroz con pollo differ, with varying ingredients featured from Peru to Cuba and beyond. Foodies might add red chili powder or paprika into the mix, use peas instead of olives, or substitute canned diced tomatoes with green chilis for the fresh chopped tomatoes.

Stewart mixes her aromatics with chicken broth to form a savory cooking liquid for the rice, which gets added into the Dutch oven directly. Medium-grain white rice is standard for Latin arroz con pollo. Finally, the liquidy rice mixture is topped with a generous cup of pimento-stuffed olives and the browned chicken thighs, the lid goes onto the Dutch oven, and it's all transferred from the stovetop to the oven to braise for around 30 minutes until the rice is done and the liquid absorbed.

Feel free to take cues from our classic arroz con pollo recipe. This one-pot dish makes a great way to feed a crowd — it can even be prepared ahead of time and reheated for easy entertaining — and leftovers hold up fabulously. To complete the meal, pair Stewart's saffron-tinged arroz con pollo with a bright avocado salad and a refreshingly acidic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, or a long-finish Spanish Syrah.