Chicken with Bulgur and Peppers. Or Bulgur con Pollo. Or Chicken with Spanish Bulgur. Or something.
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Like most people who cook on a daily, or near daily, basis, I love the “one pot meal.” Being able to have your protein, starch, and vegetables all cook away in the same vessel with minimum effort (and only one pot to clean at the end) is a pretty good deal.
The problem I run into is that I often have a hard time making them with complex carbs. White rice is easy enough to add to a one-meal concoction, but try throwing brown rice or barley in there and you are often left with rice that hasn’t cooked thoroughly or a piece of meat that is so overcooked it ruins the happy vibe of the one-pot meal.
But other grains that take less time to cook, like bulgur, which is one of my absolute favorite starchy sides, are perfect. You may recognize it as the main ingredient in tabouli, but it does so much more. We easily eat it once a week. The most common way I prepare it is to make it into a pilaf, sauteing just a little onion & garlic in the beginning, cooking it in chicken broth, and topping it with toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds. I’ve also made this recipe as a side before, sans the chicken. Bulgur takes less time to cook than even white rice, and easily outweighs rice’s nutrition benefits, too (a serving has 50 less calories but 6 more grams of dietary fiber).
This meal is sort of a play on arroz con pollo, or chicken with rice. The ingredients and flavor profile are similar, but the arroz is obviously replaced with bulgur (which I have no idea how to say in Spanish, sorry. I mean, lo siento!).
Boneless/skinless chicken thighs would be a great replacement for the breast in this recipe. You can use bone-in, too, but I would simmer them in the liquid for about 5 minutes before adding the bulgur, to assure they get fully cooked.
Chicken with Bulgur and Peppers
Serves 4
4 small chicken breasts or chicken breast halves, about 5 oz. each
cumin
paprika
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup medium grain bulgur
2 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf
2 green onions, sliced
Season the chicken to taste with salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika.
Heat a large saute pan with lid over medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the chicken and sear for 1-2 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan.
To the pan, add the onion and peppers and cook until tender, with just a little bit of bite. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the bulgur and stir around to toast, before adding the beef broth and bay leaf.
Bring a mixture to a low boil, and nestle the chicken back in. Cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Cook about 12-13 minutes, then turn off the heat, and let sit for 5 minutes.
Top with green onions before serving.
Bulgar in Spanish is “Trigo burgol” or “trigo partido.”
That translates into “Bulgar Wheat” or “Cracked Wheat.”
Love your recipes. I live in México and do all my own cooking so I have made
many of them and look forward to trying many more.
Saludos,
MAQ
Thanks for the kind words and also for the Spanish lesson, Miguel! 🙂
I love the idea of this dish and I want to use more bulgur in my cooking. It’s one grain I’m least familiar with, unfortunately! Like you said, it’s super healthy and packed with fiber!
I love bulgur and regret always forgetting to buy it at the grocery. Great meal…thanks for sharing!
Another fantastic one pot wonder Elly…I have bulgur lying about in the pantry…time to get on with using more of it!
I rarely add carbs to my dishes, mostly out of laziness. I never feel like breaking out another pot! Bulgur IS one of my favorites though because of how quick and good for you it is. This meal sounds delicious. One of these quick and easy dinners that you can feel good about!
I’ve never tried bulgur. I really need to stop with the white rice already and convert to something healthier! 🙂
Made this tonight – it was delish! Thanks!
So happy you enjoyed it, Stamatia!
I have never tried bulgur whet outside of my favourite tabbouleh so I think it is time to change that.
We had this for dinner the other night. I just happened to have some bulgar sitting in a baggie on my counter & this was perfect to use some of it up. I must have bought too much for something else awhile back. We’d never had bulgar in a side dish. Hubby was skeptical at first but we love it. Better than couscous we thought. I used smoked paprika on the chicken & also the cumin. Thanks for the recipe!!
Glad you both enjoyed it, Melanie!
I need to give bulgur a try. Actually, in general I need to expand my starchy side dish repertoire. But first I’ll start with bulgur and this dish!
Wonderful dish! But now if you could only tell me how to make middle eastern MAKLUBEH. With boneless chicken an bulgur instead of the traditional rice.
Novellian – I have actually made it a few times and never blogged it! But I used Ottolenghi’s recipe, which you can probably search/find online!