paella

American  

[pahy-ey-yuh] / paɪˈeɪ jə /

noun

• paellas
  plural

1. a Spanish dish prepared by simmering together chicken, seafood, rice, vegetables, and saffron and other seasonings.

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paella British  

/ paɪˈɛlə, paˈeʎa /

noun

1. a Spanish dish made from rice, shellfish, chicken, and vegetables

2. the large flat frying pan in which a paella is cooked

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• paellas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of paella

1890–95; < Spanish < Catalan: literally, frying pan, pot < Middle French paella < Latin patella pan. See patella.

Explanation

You're most likely to see paella on the menu at a Spanish restaurant. It's a stew-like dish that combines seafood or meat with rice and vegetables, usually cooked in a large, low-sided pan. This Spanish dish of saffroned rice, usually with seafood and chicken thrown in, is ultimately from a Latin word for "pan," patella , and thus joins a number of foods in which a required cooking utensil forms part of the name of the dish: "hotpot," "hoecake," and "spoon bread," to name a few.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paella paellas

I preferred the big cities—Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León—where I could limp into the town square and reward myself with museums, cathedrals, mushroom pinxtos or paella that could feed 35 people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

On the day of his death, two dishes on the day's menu were listed as being suitable for a textured diet - beef stew and chicken paella.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

Gift mom a day of learning to cook pizza, Mediterranean mezzes, Spanish paella, and other delicious cuisines.

From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024

A stack of blueberry pancakes, a wheel of Camembert cheese, sushi rolls, tacos, paella and a full English breakfast are all cozy socks you can wear around the house.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2023

Then I check through my backpack for any homework I can get a jump on so I can avoid going into the land of ultimate paella.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

Two-tops share paellas of deceptively small circumference that prove to be heaped tall and deep.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 9, 2022

Paella used to be steamed in deep aluminum pots; now the rice is stirred in actual paellas, shallow and as wide as a hub cap, for a more intense flavor and much higher crunch factor.

From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2022

Chef Lidia Fernández Morell cooks world-class paellas on a wood fire; fresh fish and other local fare are also available.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 18, 2021

But it was not all work: Rushby-Smith still remembers the friends who dropped by, giving Arturo the opportunity to cook paellas and tortillas using the precious olive oil he ventured to Soho to buy.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 4, 2017

Ms. Cámara uses Bomba rice, a Spanish variety used in paellas that releases starch as it cooks, binding the dish and giving it a silky texture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2015