Quick and Easy Paella Recipe

I don't think I have ever made a dish in my life more perfect. I am a man. I was single for 40 years before I met my wife. I made what sounded good to me. I am 60 years old. before my wife had a stroke 8 years ago we took turns, I cooked the meals half the time. I have cooked all the meals since then. The meals that count, that I can take some time with are usually Sunday night. The store I shop at doesn't sell Saffron, I had to go to a second store to get the saffron. I couldn't fine the arborior rice so I used Jasmine rice. I have never cooked with saffron or used the shrimp shells to make a stock. I make decent meals every day but this was off the charts . Thank you.

I’ve made this Chef John recipe for years and love it. A couple changes I make are that I sauté the shrimp in the skillet first seasoned with salt pepper garlic powder and paprika. Then I set the shrimp aside and add it to the dish when it comes out of the oven. Putting the shrimp raw on top and then cooking for 20 minutes made the shrimp rubbery. I also double the recipe but you need a lot more broth as a lot of it evaporates when making the saffron broth and doesn’t leave enough to make the final dish. I now add chicken thighs, squid and bay scallops too. I also add lemon juice to the pan before putting in the oven.

I made this recipe for a camping potluck trip over a camp stove.... I had to use frozen shrimp but that wasn't an issue at all. I used Goya chorizo (make sure you remove the casing!) and pre sliced and minced everything beforehand (I have a 12v fridge that keeps everything fresh!) Instead of saffron I used 1/2 pack of Paellero Paella seasoning (the full pack will work but I found it a tad saltier than desired). I also used DACSA rice for authenticity. All cooked in a real paella pan.... Cooking in the field I made some adjustments, such as waiting 20 minutes into the the time steps to add the shrimp-didn't want to overcook, and 20 minutes also to add the red bell pepper strips to avoid overcooking. I also added the frozen peas at the very last (like just 10 minutes before everything was done) so they wouldn't look wrinkly. I also added sliced black olives for more color contrast. It turned out very well and everyone loved it.

This was the first time I made paella and turned out wonderful! Followed the recipe almost exactly, only used green bell pepper instead of red, and kielbasa sausage for the Spanish chorizo. Also, I had to add a little water after taking it out of the oven (but maybe that was because I ended up with a bit less than the 2 cups of prepared broth it calls for in the beginning). I then covered my pan with its lid and cooked it on low for about 5 minutes, and got those bits of golden caramelized rice Chef John's mentions in the video. This was really easy for a very tasty meal, and also the cleanup was a breeze :) Thank you, Chef John! Update: the second & third times I made this (within a month ;) ), I added 1 lb. shoulder pork in pieces (previously cooked in a separate pan and seasoned with salt & pepper). I also didn't have chicken broth so used water with 1/4 onion, 3 cloves of garlic and 1/2 tsp salt. I also doubled the saffron (used 1 tsp)., added a handful of green beans and used 1 whole cup of peas, it was delicious!

A great introduction to one of Spain's best dishes. Chef John is a wonderful cooking teacher. I've made this many times to rave reviews. I've added chicken thighs, calamari, and fresh mussels by dividing Chef John's original recipe between two paella pans. Great for social occasions as it feeds a crowd. Have some good crusty bread, bit of wine, and a citrus dessert and your guests will be delighted. Less complicated than 'true' paella recipes, but just about as tasty.

We made this recipe for the first time last night! Since we were unable to purchase jumbo shrimp, we went with 1-1/4 lbs of the smaller ones. The chorizo we bought was not the kind you can slice, but we made do. I think the part that really sets this recipe apart is using the shrimp shells in the saffron broth....it just adds more flavor! We also added some squid rounds. We managed to get the rice just right, with the nice carmelization on the bottom and a little around the edges. With the smaller shrimp, we were worried about over-cooking them, so we waited until the last 5 minutes in the oven to add them. This recipes was the perfect size for our new Lodge carbon paella pan, and we will definitely be cooking this again....maybe adding some more shellfish! Thanks, Chef John!

Oh wow! I made this for a birthday party dinner for friends and everyone LOVED it! Not only was it beautiful it was delicious! My friends are not meat eaters so I made a vegetarian version by using vegetable stock to make the seafood stock and deleting the sausage altogether. I added a little extra olive oil to sauté the onions and seasoned them well with smoked and sweet paprika, cayenne and some Sazon seasoning with annatto. The color was beautiful and no one missed the sausage. Thank you for a fantastic recipe!!!

This is a new favorite for me! I follow a pescatarian diet, so instead of regular chorizo I used a bag of Morningstar chorizo and it turns out great. The instructions don't specify when you're supposed to use Paprika, so I have been adding it to the broth.

Yummmmo! I made this tonight and followed the recipe as closely as I could with what ingredients I had on hand. I used both red and yellow peppers, no saffron, andouille sausage and fully cooked, tail-on shrimp. I removed and used the tails to season the broth since I did not have stage shells. This recipe tasted better than the paella we had while on vacation recently! Definitely a keeper and am looking forward to tripling the recipe to serve to guests for Sunday Football. Thanks Chef John for yet another WINNER! My family thinks I'm a great cook, but it's really me following many of your great recipes!

I followed recipe but added clams and mussels at the end. These cooked in broth and were added after rice was cooked. I used bomba rice and cooked a bit longer than suggested with half a cup more of broth.

Liked it, and I managed to crust the bottom of the rice, which does add a nice depth of flavor and texture. Used Bomba rice, took a bit longer at the end (covered and cooked about 8 min total). Definitely benefits from the suggested garnishes, which aren't mentioned in the formal recipe, so don't forget those! Needs acidity and fat in particular, so olive oil and lemon. Am interested in trying a more advanced version... are you going to do one, chef?

To the best of my memory, very close to the first paella I had I Barcellona!

Easy and always Great

I don’t know what I did wrong but I ended up adding two cups of water after pulling it out of the oven and the shrimp were immensely overcooked.

I’ve made this a few times now and always adding a little extra. My last creation included everything in the recipe plus chicken , scallops , baby clams and mussels. The broth was made with the shrimp shells plus some lobster shells. Because of the extra ingredients the pan needed to be fried on stove top for a little extra to dry out and get that crispy crust on the bottom. Delicious. Thanks chef John. I look forward to your authentic recipe.

Tastes way better than I expected.

I haven’t made Paella for a few years, and was happy to find this “quick and easy” version. In the end, it tasted ok, but not great and I wonder if I did something wrong. Most recipes involving shrimp severely limit cooking time, warning the shrimp will become tough. With 20 minutes in the oven, my shrimp had the texture of a pencil eraser. I worried about the oven part, because I couldn’t find directions whether to cook covered or uncovered. Most rice dishes dictate covered, so I straddled the line and cooked it half covered and half uncovered. Any advice to help improve would be appreciated.

Amazing recipe.

Delicious! The steps are more intimidating than they are to execute so have no fear if you try this! My shrimp shell/saffron broth cooked down to 1.5c in step 1 so I had to supplement with another 3/4c chicken broth - which yes, means I used just a touch over 2c saffron/broth when I added to the rice. The only intentional substitute was corn for peas because that’s what I had. Otherwise followed exactly. Baked in the oven exactly 20 min and, after burning my hand 😂 - simmered for another 3min on the stove. Full of flavor and bursts of texture! I’ve had paella before but this was the best version I have made so far. Thanks CJ! Will make again and use this as a creative starting point!

Darn it! This was #*%& delicious 🤤 My family doesn’t like peas so I used chickpeas. Instead of pepper slices, I chopped them. I didn’t have chorizo so I used bacon. I know it’s an no-no but I used basmati because I love it. Didn’t less/ more broth or liquid. I bought peeled/deveined shrimp so instead of boiling the shells, I substituted an 8 oz bottle of clam clam juice. Otherwise, I cooked/baked according to the directions. The smell from the oven… my family loved it. ❤️ THANK YOU CHEF JOHN