• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Julia's Album
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Cozy Meals
  • Chicken
  • Pasta
  • Side Dishes
  • Seafood
  • Recipe Index
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Cozy Meals
    • Chicken
    • Pasta
    • Side Dishes
    • Seafood
    • Recipe Index
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Mixed paella with chicken, shrimp, and sausage

    Published: Oct 02, 2013 / 53 Comments

    100.5K shares
    • Facebook3.1K
    Recipe Print

    Spanish style rice dish - Mixed Paella with Chicken, Shrimp, Sausage, and Bell Peppers. Spiced up with smoked paprika, red chili powder and turmeric.

    Mixed Paella with chicken, shrimp, and sausage, and bell peppers

    I used to think that paella was a highly complicated dish involving saffron threads, numerous ingredients, complicated mix of meats and seafood, and some secret spices. Well, turns out nothing could be further from the truth!   This paella with chicken, shrimp, and sausage is one of the easiest meals I have ever prepared!

    What is paella?

    Paella is a Spanish (Valencian) rice dish prepared either with seafood, or meats, or vegetables or the mixture of those. Popular types of paella include seafood paella, vegetable paella, mixed paella (which often includes different kinds of veggies, seafood, sausage, chicken, duck, and rabbit). Saffron is usually used as seasoning. Olive oil is always used in the preparation of paella.

    Mixed Paella with chicken, shrimp, and sausage, and bell peppers

    As you can guess, since my paella recipe includes shrimp, sausage, chicken and bell peppers, you could call it a mixed paella.

    How to make mixed paella

    All you do is basically throw all the ingredients together with spices, and that's it!
    And I only used 2 pans: 1 skillet for cooking the meats and combining everything, and 1 pan for cooking (boiling) rice. Pretty easy and clean for such a sophisticated looking dinner, if you ask me! Also, paella is great for utilizing any leftover chicken, shrimp or sausage - you can just throw those leftovers from last night's dinner right in! 🙂

    Paella with chicken, shrimp, and sausage, and bell peppers

    Recipe notes

    • I did simplify this paella by omitting saffron (which is expensive and can take a long time to cook and release the flavors). To replace saffron, I added other colorful spices, such as sweet smoked paprika and red chili powder! As a result, my paella did not suffer a bit without saffron! Be sure to add only 1 teaspoon of each spice (paprika and chili powder) initially and then add more, if you desire more spiciness. Also, add just a touch, a pinch of turmeric - only for color purposes, but make sure not to add too much, because turmeric has a very strong flavor that will overpower other flavors.
    • You can use either rice or orzo pasta, if you don't have rice. Orzo pasta is a very short pasta that looks very similar to rice.
    • At the very end, add some chicken stock to the paella to make it juicier!  Start with ½ cup and add more if desired. Paella is much better when it's juicy vs. dry!

    Paella with chicken, shrimp, and sausage

    I never thought that paella would be something I could cook midweek after work, but it's easy enough to pull it off! And, it's so tasty and bursting with flavors! Absolutely, one of my favorite dishes lately!

    Paella with chicken, shrimp, and sausage, Spanish cuisine, Spanish recipes, jambalaya

    Shrimp and rice always go so well together, and not only in the paella dish.  If you never tried shrimp and rice combination, you definitely should!  My favorite shrimp and rice recipes are cilantro lime and black bean shrimp and rice and shrimp with mango salsa and rice.

    paella with shrimp, chicken, sausage, vegetables
    4.71 from 17 votes

    Mixed paella with chicken, shrimp, and sausage

    Spanish (Valencian) rice dish:  Paella with chicken, shrimp, sausage, and bell peppers.  Easy to make, gluten free recipe.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 40 mins
    Total Time 1 hr
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Spanish
    Servings 8 servings
    Calories per serving 527 kcal
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 pound sausage spicy, cut into small slices
    • 1 pound chicken breasts , cut into small cubed pieces
    • 1 red bell pepper , chopped
    • 1 green bell pepper , chopped
    • 1 pound shrimp (20-30 shrimp, deveined and peeled, with tails still on)
    • 8 green onions , chopped
    • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (start with 1 teaspoon and add more if desired)
    • 1 teaspoon red chili powder (add more, if desired, - depends on how spicy you want it)
    • ½ teaspoon turmeric , for color
    • salt and pepper
    • 2 cups rice , uncooked
    • ½ cup chicken stock

    Instructions 

    • Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced sausage, sliced chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, covered. 
    • Add chopped red bell pepper and green bell pepper, stir in with sausage and chicken, cover, and continue cooking for about 5 more minutes, on medium heat. 
    • Add shrimp and cook until shrimp just turns red. Add chopped green onions. 
    • Add spices (sweet smoked paprika and red chili powder), add just a touch of turmeric for color. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and keep the skillet covered. The shrimp and green onions will continue cooking slightly when covered and off heat – without overcooking.
    • Cook 2 cups of rice in a sauce pan according to package instructions. 
    • Add cooked rice into the skillet with shrimp, chicken and sausage. Mix everything well, so that olive oil, juices from spicy sausages, and other cooking juices and spices coat orzo or rice. 
    • Add some chicken stock or water to make paella more juicy vs. dry. Keep adding more chicken stock or water to achieve the desired consistency of your paella – I think the juicier it is, the better. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    Mixed paella with chicken, shrimp, and sausage
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    527
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    23
    g
    35
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    6
    g
    38
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    220
    mg
    73
    %
    Sodium
     
    898
    mg
    39
    %
    Potassium
     
    565
    mg
    16
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    40
    g
    13
    %
    Fiber
     
    1
    g
    4
    %
    Sugar
     
    1
    g
    1
    %
    Protein
     
    36
    g
    72
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    895
    IU
    18
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    36.6
    mg
    44
    %
    Calcium
     
    113
    mg
    11
    %
    Iron
     
    2.9
    mg
    16
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

    Keyword mixed paella, paella, seafood paella
    Tried this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment and provide a Star Rating below - I love your feedback and try to respond to every comment!
    « Greek yogurt chocolate chip muffins
    Cinnamon Apple Banana Pecan Muffins »
    100.5K shares
    • Facebook3.1K

    Please share your comment and Star Rating in the comments section below.

    I appreciate your feedback!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kelley R.

      August 10, 2016 at 3:57 pm

      I made this dish because my children, who are home from college, said they miss eating the paella that was being served at their schools. I've never had it before but have always heard it was very difficult to make. I found this recipe to be very well written and easy to follow. It finished making it and my children were delighted. It was soooo delicious. Thanks so much!!!

      Reply
    2. Katrina

      April 09, 2016 at 8:25 pm

      Saffron at Trader Joe's is only $5.99! They have paella rice and it's typically cooked with all of the food. This is a good beginner recipe! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    3. autumn

      March 21, 2016 at 6:42 pm

      just made this according to the recipe. it was really good and easy. i will make it again.

      Reply
    4. Torrey

      August 07, 2015 at 6:25 pm

      just made this for dinner...very tasty! I had shrimp and sausage defrosted so I just used the two of them, no chicken. Very easy to make. Will definitely make again with the chicken added.

      Reply
    5. mel

      June 23, 2014 at 4:47 pm

      Can you substitute green onion with yellow onion?

      Reply
      • Julia

        July 07, 2014 at 8:43 pm

        Yes, you can, by adding the chopped yellow onion earlier, together with red bell pepper and green red bell pepper, so that it has time to cook through. I like green onions better because they don't have a strong flavor, and you don't even have to cook them much. And, they look pretty!

        Reply
    6. Kimberly

      June 21, 2014 at 7:01 pm

      This recipe is a winner! I had to change out a few ingredients, but I admit, I couldn't stop eating it! The changes I made were the following:
      -I used gluten free corn orzo pasta, cooked just al dente, drained and rinsed
      -I used one yellow and one orange pepper, diced
      -2 shallots, minced
      -2/3 of a large white onion
      -one package of pancetta, chopped, instead of the sausage (browned with the chicken)
      -two small swordfish steaks, instead of shellfish (added at the end to the mixture, but before the orzo)
      -one or more cups white wine, added after browning the chicken/pancetta to deglaze the pan
      -1 1/2 cups frozen green peas
      Some of the changes were allergy related, others based on what was in the fridge and pantry. Thanks for the idea-I wanted to make paella, but didn't have the rice on hand for it. Yummy!

      Reply
      • Julia

        July 07, 2014 at 8:46 pm

        I really like your changes! So many ways to prepare paella! I want to try making it with pancetta, chicken, and fish next time, too!

        Reply
    7. Louisa [Living Lou]

      October 24, 2013 at 11:07 pm

      This looks like such a great dish and a simple recipe. Will have to give this a try! Beautiful photos as well 🙂

      Reply
    8. Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen

      October 05, 2013 at 8:01 am

      Gorgeous paella, girl! Love that you put your twist on it for a total speedy prep and cook time! Must make this dish soon. Would be nice served over quinoa, too, I imagine. Thanks for sharing, Julia! Pinning!

      Reply
    9. Matt @ The Athlete's Plate

      October 03, 2013 at 7:37 pm

      Looks delicious!

      Reply
    « Older Comments
    Newer Comments »

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    photo of the content-creator Julia from JuliasAlbum.com site - she is wearing a yellow sweater against the Autumn background.

    Hi, I'm Julia! Welcome to my recipe blog where I share easy-to-make weeknight dinners and other recipes using simple ingredients!

    I have made and tested all of the recipes presented on this site personally.

    I also personally do all of the writing and the original photography for JuliasAlbum.com. My recipes are everyday, familiar foods, cooked from scratch. I hope you enjoy them and let me know your feedback in the comments!

    More about me →

    Fall Favorites

    • Creamy Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Sausage, Thyme, and Sage
    • Stuffed Butternut Squash with Spinach, Bacon, and Cheese
    • Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Sausage and Spinach
    • Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Pecans, and Cranberries

    JOIN ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Privacy and Disclosure

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions

    About

    • About
    • Featured On
    • Contact Me

    Connect on Social Media

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram

    Copyright © 2022 JuliasAlbum.com

    Site Design: Foodie Pro Theme by Feast Design Co.