Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): El pollo a la plancha es muy sabroso y sano. - Grilled chicken is very tasty and healthy.

pollo (chicken, as food or a young chicken) is a masculine noun, so it takes the article el.
- el pollo = the chicken
plancha (griddle, flat grill, iron) is feminine, so it takes la:
- la plancha = the griddle / the flat grill

So in the sentence you get:

El pollo (masculine singular noun)
a la plancha (a fixed phrase with la plancha, a feminine noun)

That’s why you see both el and la in the same short sentence: they refer to different nouns.

What does a la plancha mean exactly? Is it just “grilled”?

A la plancha literally means “on the griddle/flat grill”.

It refers to a specific cooking method:

Food is cooked on a very hot, flat metal surface (with little or no oil).
It’s common for fish, meat, and vegetables in Spain.

In English, it’s often translated as:

“grilled chicken”
“griddled chicken” or “chicken cooked on a griddle”

But in many Spanish contexts, a la plancha suggests:

A flat, smooth surface (not bars like on a barbecue grill)
Quick cooking at high heat
A relatively “light” preparation (not deep-fried or with heavy sauces)

So a la plancha is close to “grilled”, but more specifically “cooked on a flat griddle.”

Why is it es and not está here?

Both ser (es) and estar (está) can be translated as “to be”, but they’re used differently.

In El pollo a la plancha es muy sabroso y sano:

es is used because the speaker is expressing a general, characteristic quality of grilled chicken:
- “Grilled chicken is (in general) very tasty and healthy.”

If you said:

El pollo a la plancha está muy sabroso hoy.
→ “The grilled chicken is very tasty today.”

Here está suggests:

A temporary state or condition
Specific chicken, at a specific time (e.g. the dish you’re eating now)

So:

es → general truth, inherent characteristic
está → temporary condition, how something is right now

Why are the adjectives sabroso and sano masculine and singular?

In Spanish, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

The noun here is el pollo:
- masculine
- singular

So both adjectives take:

masculine singular form:
- sabroso (tasty)
- sano (healthy)

If the noun changed, the adjectives would change too, for example:

Las verduras a la plancha son muy sabrosas y sanas.
- las verduras = feminine plural
- sabrosas and sanas = feminine plural to match verduras

Could I say sabrosa y sana instead?

Not with el pollo, because pollo is masculine.

El pollo → masculine → adjectives must be masculine:
- sabroso, sano

You would use sabrosa and sana with a feminine noun, for example:

La carne de pollo a la plancha es muy sabrosa y sana.
- la carne (meat) is feminine
- so sabrosa, sana are feminine to match carne

So the form of the adjective depends on the noun, not on what it refers to in English.

What’s the difference between sabroso and rico?

Both mean that something tastes good, and in many cases you can use either.

sabroso
- A bit more “standard” or neutral: tasty, flavorful.
- Common in written Spanish and speech.
rico (about food)
- Very common in everyday speech, especially when eating.
- Often sounds more enthusiastic or spontaneous: “Yum, this is good!”

Example:

El pollo a la plancha es muy sabroso.
El pollo a la plancha está muy rico.

Both suggest the chicken tastes good. The second one, with rico, might feel more casual and immediate (what you’re eating right now), especially with está.

What’s the difference between sano and saludable?

They’re very close in meaning and often interchangeable, but there are some nuances:

sano
- Can describe:
  - a person in good health: Estoy muy sano. (I’m very healthy.)
  - food that is good for your health: Es un alimento sano.
- Very commonly used in everyday speech.
saludable
- Slightly more formal or technical-sounding.
- Frequently used in:
  - medical / nutritional contexts
  - talking about habits: una vida saludable (a healthy life)

In your sentence:

El pollo a la plancha es muy sano.
You could also say:
El pollo a la plancha es muy saludable.

Both are correct. sano may sound a bit more everyday, saludable a bit more “health advice” style.

Why is there no article before muy sabroso y sano, like in “very tasty and healthy” in English?

In Spanish, you don’t use an article before adjectives when they’re used after the verb ser to describe a noun.

Structure:

[Noun] + ser + [adjectives]

So:

El pollo a la plancha es muy sabroso y sano.
- muy sabroso y sano are just adjectives describing el pollo.

You wouldn’t say:

✗ El pollo a la plancha es el muy sabroso y sano. (incorrect here)

The article el is only for the noun (el pollo). The adjectives follow directly after es.

Why is muy before the adjectives and not after, like in English position differences?

In Spanish, adverbs like muy (very) normally go before the adjective they modify.

Pattern:

muy + adjective

So:

muy sabroso = very tasty
muy sano = very healthy

You can’t put muy after the adjective:

✗ sabroso muy (incorrect)
✗ sano muy (incorrect)

If there is a list of adjectives, muy usually comes before the first adjective and is understood to apply to both:

muy sabroso y sano → very tasty and (very) healthy

Could I say El pollo a la plancha está muy sabroso y sano instead? What would change?

Yes, it’s possible, but the meaning shifts slightly.

El pollo a la plancha es muy sabroso y sano.
- General statement about grilled chicken as a type of food.
- “Grilled chicken is (in general) very tasty and healthy.”
El pollo a la plancha está muy sabroso y sano.
- Sounds more like you’re talking about a specific serving of grilled chicken you’re eating now.
- You’re commenting on its current taste and healthiness/quality.

In practice:

es → general characteristic
está → current state, specific occasion

Both sentences are grammatically correct; the context decides which is more natural.