Spanish Paella Recipe (Paella Valenciana) - Spanish Sabores (2024)

What is the most authentic Spanish paella recipe? It's a controversial subject! But this classic paella valenciana recipe is the traditional chicken paella that many call the original. It combines chicken and either pork ribs or rabbit (your choice!) with green beans, butter beans, garlic, paprika, and saffron.

If you love paella, you'll definitely want to try my recipes for seafood paella, black paella, vegetable paella, and prawn and chorizo paella (my mother-in-law's favorite).

Introduction

Unfortunately, most paellas served across Spain are bad copies of the real thing. Their artifical neon yellow color comes from food coloring rather than saffron, and the rice is piled high to conceal the overcooked shrimp mixed in.

How can you get a taste of authenticpaella? Make a traditionalpaella at home! A little time and love make paella valenciana one of the most delicious Spanish rice dishes. If you're looking for the classic Spanish paella recipe, you're in the right place.

What Is Paella?

Most visitors to Spain think that paella is a mix of seafood and meat. While this version does exist, there are many regional variations of paella, and they feature only a few key ingredients, as the rice itself is supposed to be the star of the show. You can read more about the history of paella if you're curious.

Contrary to popular belief, the traditional version of paella from Valencia doesn't contain seafood! While the most well-known versions of the dish include shrimp and mussels, traditional paella valenciana is made with chicken and rabbit (and often snails), and is spiced with sweet paprika and a few strands of golden saffron.

A mark of a good paella is thesocarrat. The slow, undisturbed simmering of the rice in broth means that the bottom layer will start to caramelize, and it’s this crispy base of rice that makes paella a taste sensation! Keep reading for tips on how to get socarrat.

Ingredients

Curious what you need to make an authentic paella valenciana? Let's talk about the most important ingredients in this Spanish dish.

• Rice: It's best to use a short to medium grain, round rice, such as Bomba, Calasparra, or Senia. These rice varieties absorb three times as much liquid as regular rice without becoming mushy. So try to find itor order it in advance!
• Meat: The four most common proteins in paella valenciana are chicken, pork, rabbit, and snails. Feel free to experiment with a mixture of these based on your preferences/availability. (I prefer to use a mixture of chicken and pork ribs.) Have your butcher chop the chicken into small pieces, as this will allow caramelization to occur in the paella, improving the flavor.
• Water: Valencians swear that the local water makes their paella better, but since I live in Madrid, I don't know if that's true. Regardless, make sure that you never add stock; use only water. The exact amount you'll need can be tricky to determine, but I'll share my tips to help you!
• Olive Oil: This recipe requires a lot of oil. The excess oil in the sofrito is what helps form the all-important socarrat (that crispy bottom layer of the paella).
• Spices: Use Spanish paprika (pimentón) if possible. I like pimentón de Murcia, which isn't as smoky as pimentón de la Vera, but both work well. If you can get some, I'd also recommend using saffron in this dish for authentic color and flavor, but you can omit it if needed.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Meat: If you prefer to use 100% rabbit meat instead of chicken, or a mix of rabbit and snails, go for it! Rabbit, snails, chicken, and pork are the four most common proteins found in paella valenciana.
• Garlic: Garlic is only used by 48% of chefs, as some argue that it has no place in a traditional paella. I happen to love the flavor it adds, but feel free to omit.
• Tomato: Tomato deglazes the pan to increase flavor, and helps make the sofrito. Traditionally, freshly grated tomato is used, but you can substitute with passata or good quality canned crushed tomatoes.
• Green Beans: In Valencia, they use a flat green bean called judía ferradura. If you can't find these, use good quality fresh string beans or frozen ones if you're in a pinch.
• Butter Beans: In Valencia, the local variety of Lima bean is called garrofó. Be sure to pre-cook dried beans before adding to the paella, or use a good quality canned variety.
• Rice: If you can’t find Spanish rice varieties where you live, you can use Arborio, although the results will be different.
• Saffron: Traditional Spanish paella recipe needs saffron; the color and subtle flavor this expensive spice provides are unique. If you don't have any on hand, add a pinch of turmeric for color if desired.
• Salt: This recipe calls for a good amount of salt, but it will amplify the flavors in the dish and make the most delicious paella you've ever tried!

How to Make

If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.

1. Place a paella (large pan for making paella) or a large skillet on medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Sprinkle all the salt in a circle towards the edge of the pan to keep the oil from splattering excessively, then add all of the meat (the chicken and either rabbit or pork ribs).
2. Brown the meat on all sides over the next 20 minutes, turning it every 3-5 minutes. All of the bits that stick to the pan here will come off when you add the tomato and water in the future, and they'll really bring a deep flavor to the cooking liquid.

3. Push the browned meat to the edges of the pan, and allow the olive oil to pool in the center.

4. Add the green beans and sauté for about 3 minutes.

5. Push the beans to the edges and add the garlic. Sauté for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant.

6. Add the butter beans. (If you're using jarred butter beans, be careful not to break them.) Gently toss the beans in the oil and garlic, then let them brown for about 30 seconds per side.

7. Add the paprika and gently sauté for about 1 minute.

8. Add the crushed tomatoes and stir everything together. The tomato should start to deglaze the pan (loosen all of the stuck bits below). Use a wooden spoon to scrape off all these flavorful bits and incorporate them into the dish.

9. Add the saffron. Make sure to infuse this in a couple tablespoons (30-45 ml) of boiling water for at least 10 minutes prior to adding.

10. Pour in 5 cups of water. You'll add the remaining 4 cups in a moment.

11. Insert a toothpick (or wooden spoon handle) into the center of the pan. See the water mark on the toothpick? This is the perfect amount of liquid you'll need to cook the rice.

12. Save this toothpick for later, as you'll need to check the liquid level in the pan.

13. Add the other 4 cups (960 ml) of water. Boil for about 10 minutes, and then simmer for 15-20 minutes. There should be 5 cups of water left in the pan (the amount needed to make rice for 4 people). Check by using your toothpick; the water line should match the same mark as before. If it's higher, keep cooking; if it's lower, add a bit more water.

14. Add the rice, making sure it's covered by broth and more or less evenly distributed. Don't stir after incorporating the rice, no matter how tempted you are! This is key to making sure the rice cooks properly and doesn't release tons of starch.

15. Cook the rice on medium-high for the first 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to medium-low and cook until all the liquid is absorbed, about 8-10 minutes. The exact cook time depends on the variety of rice (for reference, Bomba rice takes 20 minutes in total).

16. Another sign the paella is done is a faint crackling sound from the pan, which means the crispy rice, or socarrat, is forming. Once you hear this, turn the heat up for about 30 seconds, but make sure to stop and turn off the heat if you smell burning!

17. Take it off the heat and cover it with a dishtowel or newspapers, then let it rest for 5 minutes. Serve the paella family-style--directly out of the pan using a wooden spoon. If you prefer to use plates, just make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan and give everyone some socarrat!

Recipe FAQs

Serve

Paella Valenciana makes the perfect weekend lunch meal. Like the hamburgers at a barbecue, it's the main event! But while waiting for it to cook, start with some tapas, like gazpacho shooters, ham croquettes, or boiled shrimp.

Store

Make Ahead: Both the sofrito and stock can be made in advance. You can make the entire dish up to the point of adding the rice, then let it cool and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

When you are ready to prepare the paella, bring the mixture to a rapid simmer and make sure any liquid that evaporates is added back (so you have a 3:1 rice/water ratio). Then add the rice and continue with the recipe as written.

Leftovers: Store any leftover paella in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days.

Reheating: Heat up leftover paella on the stove or in the microwave. let it warm up for about 30 minutes before reheating, then put some olive oil in a frying pan and gently stir the paella until it's heated through.

Freezing: It's not recommended to freeze paella. Try to make a smaller batch that you can eat within 2-3 days.

Expert Tips

• The ideal paella rice is a short/medium grain round variety such as Bomba rice. If necessary, you can substitute Arborio. Order it in advance if you can!
• Want to cook this in a paella (a special shallow pan)? I recommend using a 22-inch (56 cm) paella for this recipe. If possible, cook over an open flame, like a gas stove, or with an outdoor paella kit.
• Don't have a paella? Use a large skillet, such as cast iron. Don't use a small pan, or you'll have a hard time achieving socarrat.
• If you can’t find saffron or it is cost-prohibitive, you can use a pinch of turmeric for color or simply omit it.
• Hard rice? This means it's not cooked enough. Perhaps you evaporated the liquid too quickly, or didn't have quite enough to start with. Fix it by covering the cooked paella with a dishtowel or newspapers for 5-10 minutes to steam the rice as it rests.
• Mushy rice? This means the rice was overcooked, and unfortunately, there's no quick fix for this. Be sure you have the right rice-to-water ratio for the variety you're using.

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Photography byGiulia Verdinelli