by Carrot Rice Paella is made using rice that is made of carrots, a great way to increase vegetable intake.
I love this carrot rice paella and both Finn and Rory love it too, which is great considering the main ingredient is carrot! Paella is a favourite dish of mine but I always overindulge, which can leave me feeling a little bloated. This alternative is perfect as I can have a huge portion and still feel great after!
My Mum introduced me to this dish the last time she visited. She got the recipe from the book Inspiralized and this is an adaptation of that recipe.
Making the Carrot Rice for the Paella
To make the carrot rice you have to start by spiralizing carrots. If you don't have a spiralizer I highly recommend you buy one. It is a great tool for helping you add more vegetables to your diet. It is one of our most used kitchen appliances. Once you have spiralized the carrots, place them in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds. (Until the carrots resemble rice.)
Making the Paella
Once you have made the carrot rice, this dish is really quite quick to make. Start by frying onion, garlic and pepper for a few minutes. Next add some chorizo, spices and fry for a further couple of minutes. Add tomatoes, the carrot rice, peas, coriander and lemon juice and then stir. Place prawns into the rice, cover and cook. Finally, stir in some cooked chicken.
I made this for the whole family but made sure that Rory (8 months) didn't get too much of the chorizo for salt levels.
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Carrot Rice Paella
Ingredients
- 3 large carrots *SEE NOTE 1
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 200g (½ large) chicken breasts, chopped into chunks
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 capsicum pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 200g 1 large Continental Chorizo sausage *SEE NOTE 2
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 90g frozen peas
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped coriander /cilantro
- 200g king prawns
Instructions
- Peel carrots and spiralize using a spiralizer. Add spiralized carrot to a food processor and pulse until the carrots resemble rice.
- Heat the oil in a paella / large frying pan over a medium heat.
- Fry the chicken breast until browned and cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add the garlic, onion and capsicum pepper and cook until the vegetables soften (around 3-5 mins)
- Add the chorizo, smoked paprika and turmeric and cook for a further few minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, peas, carrot rice, lemon juice, coriander and stir to combine.
- Press the prawns into the rice, cover and allow the mixture to cook undisturbed until the prawns are cooked. (around 5-7 mins)
- Add the cooked chicken and stir until combined.
- Garnish with some chopped coriander.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional facts
Kelly
I have the Inspiralized cookbook, and make this recipe often, changing the meat options between chicken and fish -- the last time I used tilapia and it came out perfectly flaky and soaked up the paella flavor. Always use the hard chorizo, though it's easier to find (and much cheaper) in Ireland than where we are staying in the US at the moment. anyway, thank you for posting this as my cookbook is in Ireland and I wanted to make it.
Amy
Thanks, Kelly. I'm so glad you were able to find the recipe through my site. I remember when I lived in the states struggling to find Spanish chorizo, the Mexican doesn't work the same in this recipe.
Little A
I saw this on a video about cauliflower rice alternatives. I love my cauliflower rice and have never thought to do carrot rice. I’m going to make this tonight. Thank you for the inspiration.
Amy
I'm sure you will love it! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Vicki
Loved this recipe, had left overs for lunch the next day at work and my colleagues where amazed that it was not made from rice. Any suggestions for a vegetarian option?
Amy
Hi Vicki! Everyone is amazed when I explain the rice is carrots too! To make it veggie i'd just leave out the prawns, chicken and chorizo and maybe add some chick peas instead?
Vicki
Thanks for the veggie idea - the chickpeas worked great in place of the meat and prawns. Healthy chilli cheese fries are next on my agenda.
Sian QuiteFranklySheSaid
This is such a great idea! I keep seeing these spiralized veg recipes EVERYWHERE but dont have the tool. Sounds like I should invest.
Amy
Thanks! We use ours A LOT! It is great for upping our veg intake and for serving veg in different ways. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Donna
Yum, this sounds fantastic! My daughter is going through a total carrot phase at the moment so I am sure she would love this! Ruari will eat anything - so he will love it too 🙂
Amy
Thanks Donna, hope you enjoy!
Mum of One
Thanks so much for sharing with the #pinitparty
Amy
Thanks for hosting!
Mother Mands
Love that last picture! Rory is certainly enjoying it 😀
I'm going to have to get a spiralizer now as this is another in a long list of recipes I really want to try. I think this looks great, something a bit different and I think I could tempt the other half with this 🙂
Amy
I would 100% recommend a spiralizer, I use mine so much! I know everybody is different but they are fantastic for adding extra veggies to your diet. I don't think your other half would be disappointed with this dish!
InternationalElfService
What a brilliant idea! I'm very close to buying a spiraliser - I've been trying to ban gadgets because our drawers are bursting and I can't bear to lose work space! I have to say that this recipe might tip me over the purchasing edge though!
Amy
Thank you! I questioned buying one too but I'm so glad i did. We eat so much more veg now. I've yet to fully explore all the things it can do, there are so many recipes I want to try!
Marion
Glad the boys liked this! Rory seems to have enjoyed it.
Amy
Yes, very much so! Will be making this a lot I think!
Wheelie Good Meals
This is such a clever idea, and great for children to get vegetables in to their diet. I'll share on twitter 😀
Amy
Thank you, and thanks for sharing 🙂