Spain on a Fork > All Recipes > Main Dishes > Simple SPANISH PAELLA with Shrimp & Bell Peppers
All Recipes, Main Dishes / April 19, 2020

Simple SPANISH PAELLA with Shrimp & Bell Peppers

Between all the lockdowns & quarantines, times are tough right now. But making great food at home doesn´t have to be. In this post, I will show you how to make a delicious and simple SPANISH PAELLA with Shrimp & Bell Peppers.


This simple paella is loaded with an insane amount of Spanish flavor, it´s made with minimal ingredients and it comes together in just 45 minutes. Serve this Paella next to a bottle of Spanish wine and it will instantly transport you to Spain 🙂 .


To make this paella, I used a 12-inch paella pan, which is the perfect size for this recipe. Which feeds 2 to 3 people. If you don´t have a paella pan, you can just use a standard nonstick frypan. I also used some high-quality saffron. Don´t use the budget or imitation stuff here. Saffron is one of the most important ingredients in a paella.


TIPS & TRICKS to make this Recipe: Make sure to use round rice to make this paella. You can substitute it for medium grain rice or even arborio rice. Once you add the rice into the pan and evenly spread it around, don´t mix it again. Otherwise, it will distrup the way the rice cooks. But you can always give the pan a quick shake once in a while.


Key Ingredients & Cookware I used in this Recipe:
MY 12-INCH PAELLA PAN
HIGH-QUALITY SAFFRON
SPANISH ROUND RICE
EXTRA VIRGIN SPANISH OLIVE OIL
SWEET SMOKED SPANISH PAPRIKA
SPANISH SEA SALT

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Watch the Video Below on How to Make this Simple SPANISH PAELLA with Shrimp & Bell Peppers

5 from 6 votes
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Simple SPANISH PAELLA with Shrimp & Bell Peppers

Course Main Course
Cuisine Spanish
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings 2
Author Albert Bevia @ Spain on a Fork

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 red bell pepper
  • 1/2 green bell pepper
  • 1/2 onion
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika
  • 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
  • 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/2 tsp saffron threads
  • 1 cup round rice
  • 12 raw jumbo shrimp peeled & deveined
  • sea salt
  • black pepper

Instructions

  1. Finely mince 4 cloves of garlic, finely dice 1/2 of an onion, roughly dice 1/2 red & 1/2 green bell pepper, pat down 12 raw jumbo shrimp (peeled & deveined) with some paper towels and season with sea salt & black pepper

  2. Heat a paella pan with a medium-high heat and add in 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, after 1 minute add in the diced bell peppers and mix around with the olive oil, after 2 minutes add in the diced onions and continue to mix, 2 minutes later add in the minced garlic and continue to mix, 30 seconds later add in 1 teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika and mix it all together until well combined, then add in 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce and season everything with sea salt & black pepper, once again mix all together until well combined

  3. One minute after adding the tomato sauce, add in 2 1/2 cups of vegetable broth, pinch in 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads and give it a quick mix, once it comes to a boil, let it boil for an extra minute so the saffron can infuse into the broth, then add in 1 cup of round rice, give it a quick mix so everything is evenly distributed, after this step do not mix the rice again, otherwise it will distrup the way the rice cooks, 6 minutes after adding the rice add in the shrimp into the pan, 2 minutes later lower the fire to a low-medium heat and simmer

  4. After simmering for 5 minutes and there is virtually no broth left, hit it back to a medium-high heat and go for 60 to 90 seconds, this will create the socarrat (caramelized burnt rice underneath), then remove the pan from the heat and cover with a dishcloth, after 5 minutes uncover the paella and serve at once, enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Get the High-Quality Saffron Threads I used to Make this Simple Spanish Paella

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16 Comments

  1. Chrissy

    5 stars
    First time I have ever made a paella, this was delicious, thank you so much.

    11 . Aug . 2023
    • Spain on a Fork

      Happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment 🙂 Much love

      12 . Aug . 2023
  2. Is There Andouille Sausage In Paella – Salvaggio's Deli

    […] only takes 45 minutes to cook an Italian Sausage and Bell Pepper Paella. Despite the author’s efforts, the texture of this recipe was off. mushy food is not recommended […]

    25 . Dec . 2022
  3. Joanne

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious and the colors were so inviting. My husband and I ate
    more than half the pan it was so good. I could have actually polished it all off myself, but thought I’d better practice some self control. Thank you!

    10 . Dec . 2021
    • Spain on a Fork

      So happy to hear that! Much love 🙂

      10 . Dec . 2021
  4. Cynthia

    5 stars
    Made this last night and it was delicious. I increased the recipe as my paella pan is larger and I had really large shrimp. I should have cooked the rice a bit more. But other than that the flavors were amazing and it’s definitely a keeper!

    15 . Nov . 2021
    • Spain on a Fork

      So happy to hear that! Much love 🙂

      15 . Nov . 2021
  5. Guhan

    5 stars
    Hello Albert,

    A friend made this for me in my kitchen using a frying pan, whilst watching your videos and it was absolutely delicious. Couldn’t get Spanish round rice, so we used American short grain rice. It was perfect and easy to make. He forgot to add Safron and the lemon at the top but it was still delicious.

    Thank you and greetings from Singapore! 🙂
    Guhan

    19 . Aug . 2021
    • Spain on a Fork

      So happy to hear that! much love 🙂

      19 . Aug . 2021
  6. Sunshine

    5 stars
    ❤️❤️❤️

    11 . Jul . 2021
    • Spain on a Fork

      Thanks for the comment 🙂 Much love!

      11 . Jul . 2021
  7. Ari

    I have a question… what’s the ratio of water per cup of calaparra rice? Is it supposed to end up al dente or well cooked? My husband doesn’t like al dente rice… thank you!

    04 . Mar . 2021
    • Spain on a Fork

      If you want your rice well cooked, use 1 cup rice to 3 cups broth/water 🙂 much love

      04 . Mar . 2021
  8. International Night: Spain - Our House Rules

    […] Authentic Shrimp Paella […]

    04 . Jun . 2020
  9. Susan Monfries

    5 stars
    WOW! This is fantastic! Wonderful flavors, I followed every step. Thank you Albert!

    21 . Apr . 2020
    • Spain on a Fork

      So happy you enjoyed it Susan!!! thanks for the comment 🙂 much love

      21 . Apr . 2020

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