Paella served in a casserole dish

Paella in the oven

By Orlando Murrin
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(19 ratings)
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Prep: 20 mins Cook: 45 mins

Easy

Makes 4 easily halved or doubled

Try this foolproof way of cooking paella in the oven. You can adapt it according to what you have in the fridge – in this case, chicken, chorizo and prawns

Nutrition and extra info

Nutrition: Per serving

  • kcal642
  • fat25g
  • saturates10g
  • carbs68g
  • sugars4g
  • fibre6g
  • protein34g
  • salt2.8g
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Ingredients

  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
    Tomato

    Tomato

    toe-mart-oh

    A member of the nightshade family (along with aubergines, peppers and chillies), tomatoes are in…

  • 600ml chicken stock
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • good pinch of saffron
    Saffron

    Saffron

    sah-fron

    The stigma of a type of crocus, saffron threads have a pungent and distinctive aroma and flavour…

  • 1 onion, chopped
    Onion

    Onion

    un-yun

    Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…

  • 1 garlic clove, crushed or finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
    olive oil

    Olive oil

    ol-iv oyl

    Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…

  • 300g paella rice
  • 4 chicken thighs (skin on or boneless), cut in half
  • 200g chorizo, sliced
    Chorizo

    Chorizo

    chore-reeth-oh

    A coarsely textured spiced pork sausage widely used in Spanish and Mexican cooking. It is made…

  • 150g raw king prawns, leave the shell on a few if you prefer
  • good handful of frozen peas
    Peas

    Peas

    p-ees

    A type of legume, peas grow inside long, plump pods. As is the case with all types of legume,…

  • 1 lemon, quartered (optional)
    Lemon

    Lemon

    le-mon

    Oval in shape, with a pronouced bulge on one end, lemons are one of the most versatile fruits…

Method

  1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 8. Put the chopped tomatoes (including their juice), stock, paprika and saffron in a large heatproof jug or bowl and microwave for about 5 mins on high until steaming hot.

  2. Tip the onion and garlic into a generous roasting tin or ovenproof dish, drizzle over the oil and mix to coat. Cook in the oven for 20 mins until beginning to brown.

  3. Stir in the rice, chicken, chorizo and hot stock mixture, season well and return to the oven for 20 mins (don’t cover).

  4. Stir in the peeled prawns and peas, dot any shell-on prawns on top, and return to the oven for 5-10 mins until the rice, chicken and prawns are cooked through. If serving with lemon, a nice touch is to pop the lemon slices on top of the paella for the last 5 mins of cooking, to make them hot and juicy. Check the seasoning and serve at once.

  • Recipe Tip

    Other ideas for paella

    If you have 250g cherry tomatoes to hand, cook them with the onions in step 2, omit the can of tomatoes and increase the stock to 1 litre. 

  • Recipe Tip

    Other ideas for paella

    You can spice up this dish by adding a good pinch of chilli flakes to the stock, and if you have fresh herbs to hand, add chopped rosemary in step 3.

  • Recipe Tip

    Other ideas for paella

    For extra richness, finish the dish by stirring in a slug of dry sherry and a good knob of butter just before serving.

  • Recipe Tip

    Other ideas for paella

    Add a handful of scrubbed mussels, as well as, or instead of the prawns. Discard any that don’t open.

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Comments, questions and tips

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mrsliz's picture
mrsliz
21st Apr, 2019
5.05
I made this as part of a Spanish themed dinner for family. I fried the onions and garlic off in olive oil in the pan before adding the chorizo and chicken and smoked paprika. Once the chicken was sealed, I added the rice, stock, tomatoes and saffron and transferred it to the oven - it took around 40 minutes at 200c (fan) and was completely delicious. I didn't add the prawns as someone had an allergy but it was lovely without them. I would definitely make this again.
penjd1
24th Mar, 2019
1.05
Rice wasn't cooked.
Kate G's picture
Kate G
3rd May, 2018
5.05
Excellent and very tasty, we don't like chorizo so didn't add that but we did add sliced peppers at the onion stage
arkansasrazorback
19th Feb, 2018
5.05
It may not be the most authentic method, but it is tasty and couldn't be easier. Great for a quick-ish weeknight dinner.
suzieq1601
12th Feb, 2018
5.05
Absolutely delicious! My husband and I adore paella but often don’t have the time to stand and stir. This was as good as the real thing. Making it tonight for the 3rd time in as many weeks!
hazine124's picture
hazine124
4th Feb, 2018
5.05
Easy and delicious. It's not an authentically made paella but it's not pretending to be. It is however an excellent easy version and I expect it to become a dish we make often. And it had a crust at the edges!
catie74
26th Jan, 2018
I'm sure as a meal this is very nice but I'd be left a little disappointed if I was expecting a paella and got this. An authentic paella is a meal of pure joy. It needs the soccarat to complete it.
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Anna Lamont's picture
Anna Lamont
28th Apr, 2019
4.05
Made 3 times, and refined each time: 1) cook the chorizo with the onion and garlic in the oven to release its flavour properly. 2) Add the rice to the stock mix BEFORE microwaving it, this starts cooking the rice earlier and means it's actually done in time otherwise the rice takes a lot longer to cook. 3) There's no point microwaving the stock mix until about 15mins of cooking the chorizo, onion and garlic mix. 4) Personal taste add about 4 cloves garlic, not just the one.
Luke Smallwood's picture
Luke Smallwood
3rd Dec, 2018
1.05
Don’t do this! Took about an hour and a half and the rice still wasn’t done! I’m grumpy now!
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