Spanish Olives Chicken and Rice made in a single cast iron skillet is a gorgeous meal made easy with delicious Spanish queen green olives, caramelized onions, garlic and saffron rice.
Today’s post is featuring Olives from Spain who has so graciously sponsored not only the post but a recent visit I took to San Fransisco to an event called Spain’s Great Match to mingle, and learn about food from Spain. I know, pinch me right?
I got to spend an afternoon learning about Olives from Spain. As a Californian we grow olives here too, mostly black olives, but we import more than three times the amount of olives we grow here domestically, including these amazing Queen Green Olives that I totally fell in love with at the event! They were dressed with julienned apples, honey and goat cheese and everyone I saw who tried it fawned over them. We tried a number of dishes but these were my favorite. We also learned that the olives are hand picked (serious love involved in doing that!) and that they’re the world’s largest producers of olives (by a pretty wide margin).
Fun fact, a green olive just hasn’t turned into a black olive yet. And most olives grown in Spain are used to make olive oil, but the most delicious ones make their way into jars for us to eat.
The flavor differences between the olives is pretty pronounced. Black ones are much smokier, but the green olives have a saltier, brinier flavor (perfect for stuffing with pimentos and blue cheese!). I’m team green olive all the way!
Spanish Olives Chicken and Rice (One Pan!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 4-6 chicken thighs , bone in and skin on
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 heads garlic , peeled
- 1 yellow onion , diced
- 1 cups white rice , uncooked
- 1 cup Spanish Queen Green Olives (smaller Spanish Green Olives are fine too)
- Parsley , minced for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Add your saffron to your chicken broth.
- Heat the cast iron skillet on high heat.
- Season your chicken to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper.
Add the chicken, skin side down and cook until browned, 4-5 minutes.
Flip and cook an additional 3-4 minutes.
- Push the chicken to the side (or onto a plate).
- Add the olive oil to your cast iron skillet and heat on medium-high.
Add in the onions and start to cook for 3-4 minutes.
Once the onions are mostly melted add in the garlic cloves and cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned.
Add in the uncooked rice and cook for a minute.
- Pour in the chicken stock with the saffron in it.
- Add the green olives and put the chicken back in skin side up.
Bake covered with foil for 45-50 minutes.
This looks delicious! Will try tonight. Have boneless skinless thighs.. any idea if they can take the browning plus 45min in the oven without getting too dry? Thank you!
I don’t recommend using boneless skinless for this recipe for that very same reason, sorry.
I make this all the time and we love it! But, two heads of garlic? That can’t be right, can it? I slice up approx 6 medium cloves and it’s more than enough, it tastes very garlicky in the end result.
Feel free to adjust to your liking.
This was really yummy even though my brain screwed up a couple steps. I made it because my daughter is out of town and she’s the only chicken thigh hater- crazy, right?! I’ll have to fit a breast in for her so I can put it in rotation ?
For the baking portion of the Spanish Olives &Rice, is the chicken back to skin side down, or up? Thanks!
You’ll want the chicken skin side up. Enjoy!
Made this with 12 Chix thighs 3 cups rice, 6 cups broth, 5 heads of local fresh garlic (which is must milder than store bought varieties) everything scaled up for 8 people. My family absolutely loved this recipe. Will be making again and again.
So glad it was a hit, Kelly!
2 whole heads of garlic? Or is it supposed to be 2 cloves?
I used 2 heads but you can cut back if you’re not as big of a fan of garlic as I am though you may still want to use more than 2 cloves. Enjoy!
I do not have any cast iron skillet. Is it OK to use a regular skillet as long as it is oven proof? The only kind I have are regular, not non-stick. Thanks!
Yes 🙂
This has become a weekly family favorite meal and we just LOVE it!! Thanks you Sabrina!
You’re welcome, Karen. I’m so happy to know you guys love it so much.
Hi there,
I love your blog of Spanish olives, yum. You did a great job I can’t wait to try this recipe. If you are ever in Barcelona I would love to show you some amazing places to eat in the city. I run a food tour company called Eye on Food Tours drop me a line some time.
all the best,
-A
I make this all the time, and I thought it’s about time that I comment! It’s such a luscious, flavor-filled meal that everyone in my house absolutely loves. Thank you so much!
(I took a great photo of it, but I can’t seem to add it here, but if you’d like to use it for the site, let me know. I can email it over.)
Great easy recipe. I made it with basmati rice (no changes needed ) and added cherry tomatoes (cause I had them). I served it with sautéed onions, mushrooms and kale. Everyone loved it.
Is there a way to make this with brown rice or quinoa?
Quinoa might be an easier substitute as you need more liquid and a longer cook time for brown rice. If you decide to try either, I’d love to know how it turns out. Enjoy!
Hi, Sabrina! Looking to make this tonight but have one questions. Do you really use 2 heads of garlic, or is it 2 cloves of garlic?
So sorry I just saw this – it is 2 whole heads! They become melty goodness, I promise!
In the oven now! House smells amazing. Can’t wait for my husband to come home from work to see my awesome dinner. (He is the chef in our house) But I made a mistake and only put two cloves of garlic and not two heads, darn it! I also added a tablespoon of capers just because I wanted to cook with them lol. First time with capers and saffron for me. Will let you know how it comes out.
It was amazing. Rice is so good. So much flavor. A nice change from my regular rice dishes. Husband loved it and wants it to be a regular item on our menu. Can’t wait to eat the left overs!
My family is from Miami and this dish is similar to one my mother used to make. I never got the recipe from her, its been years since we had it. I cant wait to try this one. What would you suggest for sides?
So glad you found it! I love serving this with grape tomatoes and roasted vegetables.