What Is Paella Seasoning? What's in It and How to Use It (Plus Chicken Paella)

Paella looks like a restaurant dish, but at home it is one pan, a handful of ingredients and the right seasoning. The seasoning is what turns plain rice into something golden, smoky and fragrant. Here is what paella is, what goes into a paella spice mix, how much to use, and how we cook a chicken thigh paella in our kitchen.

What is paella?

Paella is a rice dish from the Valencia region of Spain. The word is Valencian for "frying pan", and the dish is named after the wide, shallow pan it is cooked in. The modern dish is traced back to the mid-19th century, in the farming area around the Albufera lagoon near Valencia.

The traditional Valencian version is made with rice, olive oil, rabbit, chicken, sometimes duck and snails, tomato, green beans, saffron (or a substitute) and water. Mixed paella and seafood paella came later and are now common everywhere. Purists in Valencia will tell you that seafood and chorizo have no place in the original, but plenty of cooks outside Spain make them anyway, and so do we in our Seafood & Chorizo Paella. Call it what you like. It is still a good dinner.

What is in paella seasoning?

Paella seasoning is the flavour part of the dish, sold ready to use, so you do not need a cupboard of separate jars. The ingredients usually include:

• Saffron: the classic paella spice. It gives the rice its golden colour and a floral, slightly honeyed aroma.
• Smoked paprika: adds warmth and a gentle smokiness, a bit like cooking over a fire.
• Garlic: the savoury base.
• Rosemary and parsley: the herbs.
• Lemon peel: a little freshness to lift the rice.

What is in our paella blend?

Our Paella Blend (Blend No.15) is made of saffron, turmeric, celery salt, cracked black pepper, white pepper, lemon peel, parsley, garlic granules, rosemary and smoked paprika (contains celery).

It tastes golden, savoury and aromatic, with real saffron and smoked paprika at the heart. It is fragrant and warming rather than hot. It is a seasoning, not a complete kit, so you add the rice, stock and whatever you like with it: chicken, chorizo, prawns or vegetables.

How much paella seasoning should you use?

A little goes a long way. In our chicken paella, which serves four or five, we use 2 teaspoons: some is dusted over the chicken before it browns, and the rest is cooked in with the vegetables for two minutes so the spices bloom in the oil before the rice goes in.

Our chicken thigh paella

This is a single-pan meal for four or five, with 15 minutes of prep and 35 minutes of cooking. We use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs because they keep their flavour. The full ingredients and quantities are in our Paella with Chicken recipe. Here is how it works.

1. Brown the chicken

Dust the thighs with some of the paella blend and a little sea salt. Fry them in olive oil in a large paella pan or a wide, shallow pan over a medium heat, skin-side down, for about 5 minutes on each side until the skin is golden. Lift them out and set them aside.

2. Cook the base

In the same pan, cook a chopped onion, garlic and sliced peppers for about 5 minutes until soft. Stir in the rest of the blend and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, to bring out the flavour.

3. Toast the rice

Stir in 400g of Arborio or short-grain paella rice and let it toast lightly until the grains are coated in the spiced oil.

4. Add the stock and cook

Pour in 800 to 850ml of chicken stock and bring it to a steady simmer. The amount may need adjusting up or down depending on your pan and your rice. Put the chicken back on top of the rice, turn the heat down low, cover, and leave it undisturbed. In our recipe the covered pan goes into a 160°C oven for 25 minutes.

5. Add the peas and rest

Scatter 100g of frozen peas over the top and cook for a final 5 minutes, until the rice is tender and the stock has been absorbed. Then let the paella stand, covered, for 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

Why the rest matters: the rice is not done when it comes out of the oven. Those last 5 minutes with the lid on let any moisture left in the pan settle back into the grains. That loosens the rice and makes it fluffy.

Cooking times vary with the pan and the rice, so check that the chicken is cooked through before you serve. If you have a probe thermometer, the thickest part should reach 70°C for two minutes, or 75°C for 30 seconds.

The golden rule: do not stir

Once the stock is in, leave the rice alone. Stirring is for risotto. In paella it makes the rice creamy instead of separate, and it stops the best part of the dish forming: the socarrat, the thin layer of toasted, caramelised rice on the bottom of the pan. Valencians love it, and it is worth waiting for.

Our recipe says that for the most authentic finish you cook it on the hob, and a paella pan is the usual choice. A roasting dish works too, covered with foil while it cooks on the hob.

Which rice and which pan?

Many paella cooks use bomba rice, a Spanish short-grain variety. Our recipe uses Arborio or a traditional short-grain paella rice, and Arborio is easy to find in UK supermarkets.

A real paella pan is wide and shallow, which lets the rice cook in a thin, even layer. If you do not have one, a large, wide frying pan or a roasting dish is the alternative.

More paella to try

• With seafood and chorizo: our Seafood & Chorizo Paella.
• Vegetable paella: our vegetable paella recipe.

Questions people ask

Is there saffron in paella?

Traditionally, yes. Saffron gives paella its colour and aroma, although some recipes use a substitute. Our blend contains real saffron.

What spices go in paella?

Saffron and smoked paprika are the two most important, usually with garlic, and often rosemary, parsley and lemon peel.

Can I make paella in a normal frying pan?

Yes. Use a large, wide one so the rice cooks in a shallow layer, and do not stir it once the stock is in.

Can I use risotto rice for paella?

Our recipe uses Arborio, which is a risotto rice. Just do not stir it like a risotto.

Does paella have to have chorizo or seafood?

No. Traditional Valencian paella has neither. Chicken, vegetables, seafood and chorizo are all popular ways to make it at home.