Flavorful One-Pot Seafood Rice

Introduction

Looking for a meal that delivers restaurant-quality depth of flavor with minimal cleanup? This Flavorful One-Pot Seafood Rice hits all the right notes—tender, aromatic rice brimming with a medley of succulent seafood, all brought together in a single pot. Perfect for feeding a crowd or a weeknight dinner that feels like a celebration, it’s a dish that’s as simple to prepare as it is impressive to serve.

Why You’ll Love Flavorful One-Pot Seafood Rice

This recipe shines by allowing the rice to soak up all the sea-scented goodness as it cooks, infusing every bite with briny, fragrant notes. Building on layers of garlic, onion, smoked paprika, and saffron—with juicy shrimp, sweet scallops, and tender mussels—you get an irresistible meal with almost no effort and even less washing up.

The Secret to Fragrant, Perfectly Cooked Rice

The key is to toast your rice gently in the flavorful base before adding broth, ensuring it becomes coated in all the aromatic oils. Cooking everything together lets the seafood gently steam on top, infusing the entire dish. A finishing squeeze of lemon brightens every bite, for a meal that’s impressively elegant yet weeknight-friendly.

Effortless Assembly in One Pot

This streamlined technique means you’re layering flavor from the very first step: sautéing your vegetables with spices, toasting your rice, then simmering everything together. Add the seafood near the end so it stays tender and juicy, and in under an hour, dinner is ready. Clean-up is a breeze!

Serving Suggestion for a Memorable Seafood Spread

Garnish your one-pot seafood rice with fresh parsley and serve with lemon wedges on the side. Pair it with a simple green salad or roasted veggies, and you have a meal worthy of celebration—without spending all evening in the kitchen.

Nutritional Information and Serving Size

This recipe yields about 5 hearty servings. Each serving is balanced with healthy protein and complex carbs, averaging roughly 450–500 calories (will vary based on seafood used and broth richness). It’s a nourishing, crowd-pleasing main course perfect for sharing.

Flavorful One-Pot Seafood Rice (Recap)

Bringing together the best of simple cooking and bold flavor, this one-pot seafood rice offers tender rice and perfectly cooked seafood with minimal fuss. It’s a surefire favorite for anyone who loves dynamic, satisfying meals at home.

💡Meal Planning Tip: Save this recipe to automatically generate a streamlined shopping list with all ingredients sorted by store aisle—a huge time saver for stress-free meal planning and organized grocery trips!

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 3–4 minutes. Stir in garlic and red bell pepper; cook for another 2 minutes.
2. Add rice, smoked paprika, saffron (or turmeric), salt, black pepper, and optional red pepper flakes. Stir to toast rice and coat it in oil, about 2 minutes.
3. Pour in broth and diced tomatoes, stirring to combine. Bring to a brisk simmer, then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 12 minutes.
4. Uncover and gently stir in shrimp, scallops, and mussels/clams (tucking the shellfish into the rice). Cover again and cook until seafood is just cooked through and mussels have opened (about 8–10 minutes). Discard any unopened mussels/clams.
5. Sprinkle in frozen peas and cook for another 2 minutes, just until heated through. Remove from heat and let the dish rest (covered) for 5 minutes.
6. Garnish generously with chopped parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Weekly Meal Planning

This Flavorful One-Pot Seafood Rice is a fantastic addition to any weekly meal plan—quick, balanced, and easily scalable. Save and schedule this recipe in CookifyAI to plan your meal rotation and auto-generate comprehensive shopping lists for your entire week.

Smart Planning Perks:

– Instantly calculates total ingredient amounts across all your weekly recipes
– Combines shared ingredients to prevent overbuying
– Organizes your list by store department for a seamless shopping trip
– Takes the guesswork out of meal prep—no more forgotten ingredients or duplicates

Pro tip: Plan ahead for multiple seafood or rice-based meals and CookifyAI will optimize your shopping list, making sure you never overbuy or miss a key item.

Cook and Prep Times

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes