Slimming World Paella with Chicken & Chorizo
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If you are Food Optimising you are going to love this Slimming World Paella Recipe! The Spanish-inspired dish is made with chicken and chorizo and is just 3 Syns per portion. It’s also made in one pot so less clearing up too. Make this flavorful and delicious dish for dining outside in the warm sunshine!
I’ve got lots of great Slimming World Recipes for you to enjoy – right-click and open these other recipes in a new tab so that you can read them after this one.
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Slimming World Paella
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions and to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required as well as understand the steps and timings involved.
Paella is one of the best-known dishes in Spanish cuisine. For this reason, many non-Spaniards view it as Spain’s national dish, but Spaniards almost unanimously consider it to be a dish from the Valencian region. Valencians, in turn, regard paella as one of their identifying symbols.
Paella takes its name from the wide, shallow traditional pan used to cook the dish on an open fire. Paella means “frying pan” in Valencian, Valencia’s regional language
Wikipedia
As I share recipes on my blog I find out lots of fascinating information about different aspects of the recipe – ingredients, origins, etc., and try to link to Wiki if I can so that you can read up more if you like.
When I think of paella, I think of a huge frying pan (called a paella) filled with rice, chicken, seafood, and peas. But there are different variations, and this is likely to be as it travelled around different regions of Spain, and around the world to create similar rice dishes.
What sets paella apart is a spice called saffron, which is the most expensive spice in the world, and more expensive than gold by weight! This is because the stamens of the saffron crocus are picked by hand and dried.
That all said, I am personally not a fan of saffron, and to me it tastes a bit medicinal. So whenever I make this Slimming World Paella recipe I leave it out. I guess then it just become red rice with chicken and chorizo… but hey ho!
This savory rice dish is flavored with garlic, and onions, and tomatoes, (and more!) and tastes so good. The Syns (if you are following Slimming World) comes from the use of chorizo in this recipe. You could leave it out if you like, but it adds a certain something to the dish.
The paella is finished off with roasted red peppers, peas, fresh herbs and a squeeze of lemon juice that gives it a delicious zing! Ready in about an hour, this is a tasty meal for the whole family to enjoy.
This recipe for Paella with Chicken & Chorizo serves 4 and has 3 Syns per serving when Food Optimising.
Ingredients Used in This Recipe
You may have several of the ingredients in your kitchen already such as garlic, onions, tomato purée, etc., but for your convenience, I’ve linked any specialized ingredients needed for this recipe to Amazon below. The full ingredients list and measurements are in the recipe card.
- Low-calorie Cooking Spray – such as Frylight
- Chorizo – a cured, smoked, pork sausage from Spain.
- Paella Rice – called Bomba, this is short-grain rice. The key to perfect paella is the rice, which should always be short or medium-grain, and never long-grain! You may find it in supermarkets sold as Paella Rice or Bomba. In a pinch, you could use Italian Arborio rice which is used for making risotto.
- Tomato Purée – known as tomato paste in the US.
- Spanish Sweet Smoked Paprika – if you can’t get Spanish, any sweet smoked paprika is fine.
- Saffron Threads
- Roasted Red Peppers – in brine, not olive oil as this will add Syns if on SW.
Slimming World Food Diary Printable
If you follow Slimming World, you will know that one of the crucial things to your success is keeping a Slimming World Food Diary.
I’ve got a free printable Slimming World Food Diary & Meal Planner here which now includes a diary for Extra Easy SP.
Slimming World Paella Recipe Tips
- Cut the chorizo into small bite-size pieces so that it goes further!
- Make sure that you remove skin and all visible fat from the chicken breasts so that they are FREE on SW.
- You probably don’t have a paella pan so use the largest frying pan that you own. Of course, if you have a paella pan that is pretty awesome and you totally should use it!
- If you can’t source roasted red peppers you can make them yourself using the method below. Remember to allow time to roast them when making this dish.
How To Roast Bell Peppers
You can roast and char the peppers three different ways:
- Preheat grill/broiler to high. Place peppers on a tray and place under the grill for 20 minutes or until the skins are black and blistered, turning every 5 minutes. OR:
- Preheat oven to the highest temperature. Place peppers on a tray and place in the oven 30-40 minutes or until the skins are black and blistered, turning once or twice during cooking. OR:
- If you have a gas stovetop, place whole peppers directly on the flame and cook for 10-15 mins, turning often, until completely charred.
- To remove the skins, place the hot peppers into a either a large food bag and seal, or into an airtight container with a lid. Leave to cool down enough so that you can handle them, and then with your hands, you can easily peel away and discard the skin, stalk, and seeds.
- Use as required in the recipe.
More Slimming World Friendly Recipes
Want a few Slimming World recipes to try next? Here are some of our favourites:
How Do I Make Slimming World Paella?
Just check out the recipe card below with full ingredients and instructions. You can print the card out too (don’t worry, any pics don’t print to save your ink!).
Chicken & Chorizo Paella
This delicious Chicken & Chorizo Paella is lower in fat and Slimming World friendly too!
Ingredients
- Low-calorie cooking spray
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 100g chorizo, chopped into small bite-size pieces
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely cubed
- 2 large tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped
- 300g dried paella rice
- 4 skinless chicken breast fillets, cut into small bite-size pieces
- 4 tbsp tomato purée (tomato paste)
- 1 tbsp Spanish sweet smoked paprika
- Large pinch of saffron threads
- 200g roasted red peppers in brine from a jar, drained and roughly chopped
- 200g frozen peas
- Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, to serve
- Lemon wedges, to serve
Instructions
- Spray a large non-stick frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over medium-low heat.
- Add the onions, garlic, chorizo, and carrot and stir-fry for 6-8 minutes, or until softened.
- Add the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the paella rice and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chicken, tomato purée, paprika, and saffron.
- Pour in enough water to just cover the rice, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When only a little water remains in the pan, stir in the peppers and peas. Cook for a further 5-6 minutes or until the rice is just tender and the chicken is cooked through. Add a little boiling water if it gets too dry.
- Season lightly to taste and scatter over the parsley.
- Divide between 4 bowls and serve with lemon wedges and finely chopped parsley.
Notes
- Slimming World Syns per serving: 3 Syns when Food Optimising.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 597Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 698mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 7gSugar: 12gProtein: 51g
This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Disclosure: We are not affiliated with Slimming World. This recipe may have been adapted from a Slimming World magazine or book. Please check with your consultant, in your member pack, or online at Slimming World’s website for full and up-to-date details about the plan, as it may be updated from time to time in line with the latest nutritional information. We are not doctors or dieticians or providing medical advice and hold no responsibility for the complete accuracy of calorie counts and nutritional information, and where applicable, Syns in Slimming World-friendly recipes. We advise you to check your own resources if you are using recipes to lose weight. All weight-loss programs should be followed on advice from a doctor.