Are you looking for a paella cooking class in Barcelona? You’re in the right place! While paella didn’t originate in Barcelona, there are some amazing places to eat and learn how to cook paella in Barcelona. I have scoured the city for the best paella cooking classes in Barcelona, some of which I have tried myself, and others I am hoping to try soon. Let’s find the perfect paella class in Barcelona for you!
What is Paella?
Paella is a traditional Spanish dish that originally came from the Valencia region of Spain. It is a delicious and colourful rice dish, typically cooked in a wide, shallow pan called a “paellera,” which is where the dish gets its name. Paella is known for its rich combination of ingredients, including rice, saffron, vegetables, meat, and/or seafood.
The basic ingredients of paella include:
- Rice: Short-grain rice is traditionally used in paella, which absorbs the flavours of the other ingredients while maintaining a firm texture.
- Saffron: This spice gives paella its characteristic yellow colour and adds a subtle, earthy flavour.
- Olive oil: Used for sautéing the ingredients and adding richness to the dish.
- Sofrito: A mixture of onions, garlic, tomatoes, and sometimes bell peppers, sautéed in olive oil to create a tasty base for the paella before the rice is added.
- Stock: The liquid used to cook the rice, usually chicken stock or fish stock. As the rice cooks, the liquid is absorbed.
- Meat and/or seafood: Popular options include chicken, rabbit, chorizo, shrimp, mussels, squid, and other seafood, depending on regional variations and personal preferences.
- Vegetables: Commonly used vegetables include green beans, artichokes, peas, and red bell peppers.
Paella is traditionally cooked over an open flame or on a stovetop, and the goal is to develop a crispy layer of rice at the bottom of the pan, known as “socarrat.” This crisp layer is considered a delicacy and adds an extra depth of flavour to the dish.
Paella is often enjoyed as a communal meal, with friends and family gathering around the pan to share the delicious dish together, and during festivals, you can find chefs cooking up huge paellas to serve up to hungry punters.
Want to learn how to make paella yourself? Then check out these fabulous Barcelona cooking classes!
⭐ TOP 3 PAELLA COOKING CLASSES IN BARCELONA:
1: Paella Cooking Experience & Boqueria Market Tour – great value class & delicious paella
2: Barcelona Slow Travel Private Farm-to-Table Cooking class – unique experience in the countryside
3: Marta’s Paella Cooking Class – great class at her home, no market tour included
The Best Paella Cooking Classes in Barcelona
Here’s my pick of the best paella cooking classes in Barcelona, from a class with a retired teacher in her home, to a full day of paella expertise!
Travel Bound: Paella Cooking Experience & Boqueria Market Tour
Learn how to cook a traditional Spanish seafood paella with this paella cooking class in Barcelona. I took this class and really enjoyed it, the paella was delicious and I learned a few new tricks like how to de-vein a prawn!
You’ll visit La Boqueria with the chef to buy ingredients for your paella, and take a walk through the old town back to the kitchen. Make sangria, and sample some tasty tapas before watching the chef prepare a delicious seafood paella de mariscos.
Includes:
- La Boqueria Market tour (subject to La Boqueria market opening hours)
- Walk through the old town of Barcelona
- Paella cooking display and interactive instruction
- Sangría mixing class
- Recipes (accessible via QR code)
- All food and drinks including tapas, paella and sangria
- A vegetarian option is available, make sure you request that when you book.
- Doesn’t include transportation or tips
- There are no market tours on Sundays or Public Holidays as La Boqueria will be closed.
During this highly rated paella cooking class, you’ll get different jobs to do to help prepare the meal like preparing the prawns or stirring the sofrito pepper and onion mix. You’ll learn how to make paella as well as a couple of tapas dishes and sangria.
Once the food is ready, sit down with your fellow paella students and enjoy the best part – eating!
The experience is available daily at various times during the afternoon, from 12 noon to 6.45pm, and lasts around 2.5 hours. The meeting point is in the Gothic Quarter close to Las Ramblas then there is a short walk to the market and back to the kitchen.
This experience is great value if you’re visiting Barcelona on a budget, and doesn’t cost much more than a meal in a good restaurant.
Barcelona Slow Travel: Private Farm-to-Table Cooking Class
I’ve just started working for Barcelona Slow Travel as a freelance guide, and their private farm-to-table cooking class is a fantastic way to explore Catalan cuisine. This class starts at a farm outside Barcelona, where you meet the farmer and harvest your own organic vegetables for the class, before sampling some local farm produce.
You’ll then travel to a nearby farmhouse restaurant (booked exclusively for you) where the chef will teach you how to prepare a delicious 3-course meal, accompanied with local organic wines. As this is a private class you can choose the menu, including having the chance to cook paella or a number of other Catalan dishes.
This is a premium experience, including transport to and from your hotel, perfect if you’re looking for a unique, sustainable cooking class in Barcelona where you can meet the producers and pick your own vegetables.
CHECK AVAILABILITY & PRICES
Marta Amb Tu Cuinem: Marta’s Paella Cooking Class
I took this class a few years ago, and it is definitely one of the best paella booking classes in Barcelona. You can only book the class by emailing Marta or contacting her via Facebook, but as you can see from her Tripadvisor reviews, it is a legit class and people love it!
There is no market tour included (unlike most of the othercooking classes in Barcelona), as Marta will have already bought the ingredients, and you will go to her home to prepare the paella together.
Marta is a wonderful host, and this informal but very informative class is great for families as it takes place in Marta’s home, and she can adapt the recipe for vegetarians and other special dietary requirements.
Barcelona Cooking: Half-Day Spanish Cooking Class & Boqueria Market Tour
Learn to cook a traditional Spanish meal during this half-day cooking class with Barcelona Cooking. Go with the chef to select fresh and seasonal ingredients from La Boqueria Market on Las Ramblas. Then, prepare your dishes together before eating the results with wine pairings.
I took a tapas cooking class with Barcelona Cooking a few years ago and loved it! We didn’t make paella but made some incredible patatas bravas, and other delicious dishes so I can personally recommend the Barcelona Cooking paella classes.
- Market tour (except evening cooking class)
- Prepare a 4-course meal for an authentic culinary experience
- Unlimited premium Spanish wines
- Hands-on tips from professional chefs
- Water
- All Recipes
- Menus can be adapted to accommodate any food restriction if you advise in advance.
- Transport and tips are not included
- There are no market tours on evening experiences or Public Holidays as La Boqueria will be closed.
Barcelona Cooking offer a variety of cooking classes in their kitchens on La Rambla, including a morning and an evening paella cooking class. A tour of the Boqueria Market is included in the morning tours only, so be sure to book in the morning if you want to go to the market.
The cooking classes take place every day except Sundays. The usual menu includes a four-course Spanish meal of paella, soup, appetizer and a dessert, which is accompanied by Spanish red and white wines. Wednesday morning and Saturday evening classes are for tapas and don’t include paella on those days.
The experience lasts for 3-4 hours, with morning classes starting at 10am, and evening classes starting at 6pm (without the market tour). The meeting point is on Las Ramblas, but does depend on which class you choose.
Gastronomic Arts Barcelona: Paella Cooking Class with Sangria & Market Visit
This fun and interactive paella cooking class in Barcelona gets great reviews. As well as visiting the Boqueria Market for fresh ingredients, you’ll enjoy some tasty tapas and sangria before rolling up your sleeves to start preparing a vegetarian or seafood paella.
- Interactive Paella class
- La Boqueria Market visit
- Spanish Sangria class
- Selection of seasonal tapas (approx 4-5)
- Family-style meal
- Recipes to recreate at home
- Doesn’t include Hotel pickup and drop-off or tips
- Coffee and dessert are not included
- There are no market tours on Sundays or Public Holidays as La Boqueria will be closed.
Start times vary depending on the day, but you can usually choose between 11am, 2.30pm and 6pm and the class lasts for 3 hours. The meeting point is in El Raval, close to Palau Guell, which is about 7 minute’s walk from the Boqueria Market.
The Paella Club
This hands-on, interactive paella workshop shows you how to cook your own paella under the guidance of experienced chefs. Each participant (or pair) gets their own cooking station with ingredients and utensils to prepare several styles of paella, so depending on the class size, you will be able to try different types, from traditional seafood to vegetarian options.
The class is designed to be fun and educational, suitable for all skill levels, and accompanied by plenty of local wine. After cooking, everyone sits down together to enjoy the paellas you’ve made.
There is no market tour included with the class, but you can choose from three different options, depending on how much time you have and the number of courses included with the menu. I haven’t taken this class yet but it gets great reviews.
The Best Barcelona Paella Cooking Classes
So, there we have it! I hope you’ve found at least one paella cooking class in Barcelona that you want to try, so you can enjoy some of the best food Barcelona has to offer and learn something at the same time!
No matter which Barcelona paella class you choose I’m sure you’ll have a fabulous time, and I’m looking forward to trying out more of these myself too. Let me know what you decide!
Where to Eat Paella in Barcelona?
You can find paella on the menu in practically any restaurant in Barcelona, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be good! Some tourist restaurants and bars will stock frozen paella that they reheat in the microwave, so avoid anywhere with a generic sign outside with photos of paella.
There are some excellent paella restaurants in Barcelona that specialise in rice dishes like paella, as well as similar dishes like arros negre (black rice flavoured with squid ink) and fideua (made with short vermicelli-style noodles instead of rice).
My personal favourite is El Glop in Gracia, which has delicious paella and other rice dishes for a good price, as well as more Catalan favourites on the menu. Xiringuito Escriba has views of the sea where you can eat some of the best paella in Barcelona.
Other restaurants like 7 Portes are very good (if a little pricey). Barceloneta neighbourhood has lots of great paella restaurants too, with places like Can Majo, Can Ramonet and La Mar Salada serving up what some say is the best paella in Barceloneta.
And of course, another fabulous place to eat paella in Barcelona is at a cooking class where you learn to make it yourself!
If you’re visiting Barcelona alone, it can be hard to find paella for one person as it is usually for a minimum of two people, but with a cooking class, you can easily go by yourself and make friends there. Would you try a paella cooking class in Barcelona? Let me know in the comments!
More Barcelona Food & Drink Experiences
If you’ve had enough paella for the moment, check out some of these other experiences and food tours in Barcelona:
- Walking Tour with Local Tapas and Wine
- Old Town Evening Tour with Tapas and Drinks
- Tapas and Wine Small Group Walking Tour
- Cocktail Master Class by Mixologist with Tapas
- Estrella Damm Old Brewery Tour with Tasting