If you love paella but hate how expensive it can be to make, you will love this easy poor man's gluten free paella. Full of scallops, shrimp, and calamari, your friends will never know you skimped on cost.
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Paella is one of those comfort foods that I will always order when in a restaurant. It is naturally gluten free, and it is filled with delicious seafood and rice. I was always intimidated to try to make it. Maybe it was the fancy-sounding ingredients?
Unfortunately, paella can also be a very expensive meal to create. Shrimp, mussels, and other specialty meats and seafood prices add up really fast.
I am really excited to share this recipe with you because it is not only easy to make, but the cost is so low! It is a great poor-man paella and is great for those on a budget!
If you are on a budget, I have tons of easy tips to save money on gluten free. Living gluten free on a budget is easy!
What is Paella?
Paella is a Spanish dish that originated back in the 19th century on the Eastern coast of Spain. I want to share the three rules for making paella. (My recipe breaks at least one rule, so I am a bit of a rebel!
- Cook paella over a fire.
- Use a paella pan (oops!)
- Use medium-grain rice.
Why this gluten free paella recipe is great:
I have always thought that paella is that showstopper meal that is perfect for entertaining. It not only has a beautiful golden color from being cooked with saffron threads but having lots of seafood and meats slowly cooking in the rice adds a beautiful depth of flavor that bursts through with every bite.
Ingredient notes:
- Seafood - As I mentioned you can use Trader Joe's inexpensive seafood blend. You want to make sure you have shrimp, calamari, scallops, and any other types you like.
- Chicken - I made this optional. Many paella's have chicken cooked in.
- Saffron - Safron can be expensive, but luckily you only need a tiny pinch to get the flavor. If you don't have saffron, you can substitute turmeric.
- Chicken broth - I like to use low sodium.
- Rice - White or brown is good.
Recipe step by step directions:
Step 1: Add the onions and oil to a pan and cook for 2 minutes until the onions soften.
Step 2: Add the broth, peppers, and seasonings.
Step 3: Add the thawed seafood and canned diced tomatoes. If you want to get fancy, toss in some mussels or clams. These are inexpensive and can add some pizzaz to this gluten free paella.
Add in the raw chicken if you are adding chicken now so it has time to cook in the broth.
Step 4: Add the rice and continue to cook the paella on medium heat until it boils. Once it comes to a boil, turn the cooking temperature down to low. Stir frequently.
Add the optional thawed frozen peas and cooked chicken sausage if you are adding those in.
Step 5: the liquid will continue to cook down. When it is gone and your rice is tender, the paella is ready to serve!
If you are looking for even more budget recipes, here are 17 delicious gluten free budget recipes!
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
There is a wide variety of seafood and meats you can use in your seafood paella recipe. Chicken, sausage, mussels, fish, clams, and shrimp are most commonly used. My kids love shellfish of any kind, as long as there is no fish in this recipe, they will eat it up. (My kids are funny about fish.)
Trader Joe's sells a mixed seafood bag in their frozen section and it is priced really low. I love to use this instead of expensive seafood in my paella recipe.
This paella should keep fresh for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Store in an air-tight container.
You can easily make this paella without a paella pan! I don't own
the best rice for paella is medium grain rice. My favorites are: Calrose, Basmati, and Brown Rice varieties
More easy gluten free budget recipes:
Recipe
Easy Gluten Free Paella
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 red or green pepper chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 ½ cups brown rice * see note
- 1 ½ cups water
- 14 ounces diced tomatoes no salt added
- 1 package of frozen seafood defrosted (I use Trader Joe's calamari, shrimp, and scallop blend.)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 pinches saffron threads
Optional Ingredients:
- 3 links of Italian chicken sausage chopped (you can also add chicken if you would like)
- ⅓ cup frozen peas *thawed
Instructions
- In a big pot on medium heat, add oil, onion, and garlic.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Add rice, diced tomatoes, seafood, optional ingredients, and water to the pot.
- Add salt, pepper, and saffron to the pot. Bring to a boil.
- Cover the pot and turn down the heat to low.
- Simmer until the water has all been absorbed.
- Add more salt if needed.
Notes
- I used Trader Joe's frozen seafood mix because it is inexpensive and comes with a lot of seafood in the bag. Be sure to thaw it and drain the extra water out of the bag before adding it to the rice mixture.
- If you want, add mussels or clams to the paella. They are inexpensive if you buy a few and they make the presentation look really nice if you are entertaining.
- You can use white or brown rice. The white rice will need a little less liquid.
- This paella will keep for up to 3 days in an air-tight container
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Kim
Hi!
This looks like a great recipe !
Can you tell me how you adapted it for brown rice ?
My brown rice takes 45/50 min to cook .
Many thanks
Kim
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Kim, When I use brown rice, I add the seafood much later as it takes a longer time to cook. This keeps the seafood from getting mushy.
Dawn
I wish seafood wasn't so expensive. I have to catch it on sale and freeze it to have year round. Otherwise I pay a lot. I do have most of these ingredients though!
Sandi Gaertner
Awesome. Enjoy 🙂
Misty
Aww, seafood heaven! I can't wait to try this!
Chrystal
This sounds delicious and I can't wait to try it! Can you please tell me about how long it takes for half of the liquid to be absorbed? That would be a huge help to me. Thanks!
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Chrystal, I cook this on medium low heat and I tend to add the broth in a cup at a time. It may vary a bit depending on if you use a gas or electric stove. I recommend checking it every 5-8 minutes, stir and add liquid each time. I hope this helps.
Debra
I love paella and you're right it really can be an expensive dish to make, however when you add up all the people it feeds, it's a great meal for entertaining! Your version sounds really tasty! I can't wait to put this together!
Sandi Gaertner
I hope you enjoy it Debra. Thank you 🙂