Healthy Arroz Con Pollo
Arroz Con Pollo is my favorite dish to order at my favorite Mexican restaurant. I love it so much I did some experimenting in my kitchen at home to try and recreate an easier version to eat whenever I want. Like all the dishes on my recipe blog, I try to use healthier alternatives to some of the traditional ingredients as well as fresh ingredients wherever possible. This Healthy Arroz Con Pollo recipe is my lower calorie, more nutritious and easier take on the classic dish.
What Makes This Arroz Con Pollo Healthy?
- Chicken Breast Instead of bone-in chicken thighs with the skin on, I use boneless, skinless chicken breast. Personally, I prefer white meat although I know a lot of people prefer dark meat for flavor reasons. You can choose whichever type of chicken suits your tastes. Just keep in mind that if you’re trying to keep your meal on the low calorie side, a minor decrease in flavor can result in a major decrease in calories.
- Brown Rice I opt for brown rice instead of white rice in almost every rice dish I make. Brown rice actually has slightly more calories than white, however the nutrient content of brown rice far surpasses that of white rice which is basically nutrient-less empty calories.
Tools I Use
- Tenderizing the chicken Tenderize the chicken until it’s as thin as you think you can get it. Then tenderize it a little more. I like to put 2 to 3 large breasts inside Ziplock Gallon Freezer Bags and then tenderize them with my Kitchenaid Gormet Meat Tenderizer
- Ninja Food Chopper Express Chop First, I take the boiled and strained potato chunks and cauliflower florets and place them the bowl of thefood chopper. Then I add the butter and salt & pepper and hold down the button. Within seconds its beautifully bended together to form a mouth watering puree.
I’ve had this Ninja food chopper for close to 4 years now, and use it almost every day. Weather you want to chop, mince or puree, it does it all. Additionally, It’s super inexpensive and small enough to hide in a cabinet. I use it to make almost every recipe on my blog including my Easy to Peel Deviled Eggs. I mention it it nearly every one of my blog posts because I honestly use it all the time.
Healthy Arroz Con Pollo
Ingredients
- 4 4-6oz chicken breasts
- 2 Cups brown rice
- 1 tbsp butter
- 4 Cups water
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bell peppers of your choosing
- 2 packets Sazon
- 2 tsp chili Powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 425
- Heat butter in a medium sized saucepan and mix in Sazon packets and rice
- Add 2 cups of water to the rice and bring to a boil
- Once rice begins to boil, cover and reduce heat to low. let cook for approximately 40 mins
- While rice is cooking chop vegetables, add them with olive oil to a large skillet and cook on medium heat until slightly softened then remove and set aside
- Place chicken breasts in Ziplock bags and tenderize then remove and season both sides
- Put chicken breasts on a baking sheet and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees
- When the rice is finished cooking, add to a skillet with the vegetables and tomato paste and stir
- Slice chicken into strips and serve on top of the rice or mix in together