Spanish Chicken Stew is a hearty and comforting dish that we grew up eating all the time. Served on a bed of white rice, the sauce soaks right in, and a few dashes of hot sauce complement the richness of tender chicken thighs and the tanginess of the occasional green olive. In short, it’s perfection for cold days like the ones we’ve been having here in New York.
A Mom’s Fridge Cleanout Recipe
The name of this recipe is really Ma’s Spanish Chicken Stew, because my mom is the one who created this recipe one day from a jumble of old veggies, random jars of pickled things on the fridge door, a few trusty cans of beans and tomatoes, and a sneaky little packet of Sazon seasoning.
It’s essentially her made-up version of pollo guisado. I don’t remember the first time she made it, but I do remember us all requesting it many, many times, gleefully digging into many a batch, and reheating leftovers more times than I can remember.
The Changing Tastes of a Chinese Immigrant Mom
Being an immigrant, my mom has had ever-changing ideas about what non-Chinese dishes look and taste like over the years. For example, when she and her family first came to China (she was 16), they thought pizza was a pretty sorry excuse for food, and that cheese was disgusting smelly goop.
Over the years, even as she became more American, the average delectable dessert might get shunned for being too sweet, while some spongy something or other cake might get revered. Only certain pastas were favored––linguine with clams, anyone? Hot dogs were blech, while Italian sausage was king.
Needless to say, we grew up eating a lot of Chinese food to avoid the hassle of interpreting other cuisines, which was often left to our born-and-raised-in-upstate-New-York dad.
In fact, I vividly remember the first time my mom made a fancy dinner for us of non-Chinese food: she assembled a vaguely French bean soup, and little chicken cutlets magically (to my 5 year-old brain) rolled into chicken cordon bleu. Everything was delicious, and the homemade bread would have been the crowning achievement of the evening, but alas, an ill-timed nap resulted in it burning to a hockey-puck-like crisp.
But in my memory at least, this was the start of some much needed variety in our weeknight dinners. One recipe that resulted was this “Spanish Chicken Stew.” Though we never really knew if it was truly Spanish. It seemed to just be some recipe my mom pulled out of her hat and dubbed “Spanish,” because it had jarred Spanish olives and a Goya Sazon (Spanish!) packet tossed in.
Whatever the true origins of this Spanish Chicken Stew, it does resemble pollo guisado, a beloved dish in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and other Spanish-speaking countries.
There are only a handful of recipes that truly stand the test of time in our family, and this is definitely one of them! We hope you enjoy it for years to come, just like we have.
Ma’s Spanish Chicken Stew: Recipe Instructions
First, heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Spread 2 tablespoons of oil evenly across the cooking surface, and brown the chicken thighs on both sides. Set the browned chicken aside on a plate.
Add the garlic and onion to the skillet.
Cook for a minute or so, and then add the celery, carrots, bell pepper, and potato. Cook for a few minutes until the carrots begin to soften.
Add the seasoning packet and stir to combine.
Add 2 bay leaves, ½ cup of Spanish green olives, chopped or whole (we like whole, but sometimes chopped adds more of a delightful relish effect to the sauce), and the entire contents of the 14-ounce can of whole (use a spatula to break them up into chunks) peeled tomatoes and the 14-ounce can of pink beans (the starch from the beans helps thicken the sauce).
Add the chicken to the pot with the vegetables along with 2 cups of water.
Bring to a boil, cover, and turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Then uncover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes on medium high heat to reduce the sauce.
Serve this Spanish Chicken Stew with white rice mixed with ¼ cup of olive oil, a sprinkling of 1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste), and ¼ cup chopped parsley. This stew goes great with a little hot sauce on the side––Crystal (our favorite) or Tabasco are both great options.
Ma’s Spanish Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 6 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 onion (diced)
- 2 stalks celery (diced)
- 4 medium carrots (diced)
- 1 green bell pepper (diced)
- 2 medium potatoes (diced)
- 1 packet of Goya Sazon con culantro y achiote seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup Spanish green olives (whole or roughly chopped)
- 14 ounces canned whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 14- ounce can pink beans
- 2 cups water
- Salt to taste (we added an additional ½ teaspoon)
- 3 cups uncooked white rice (steamed and thoroughly mixed with ¼ cup of olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ cup chopped parsley)
Instructions
- First, heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Spread 2 tablespoons of oil evenly across the cooking surface, and brown the chicken thighs on both sides. Set the browned chicken aside on a plate.
- Add the garlic and onion to the skillet. Cook for a minute or so, and then add the celery, carrots, bell pepper, and potato. Cook for a few minutes until the carrots begin to soften. Add the seasoning packet and stir to combine.
- Add 2 bay leaves, ½ cup of Spanish green olives, chopped or whole (we like whole, but sometimes chopped adds more of a delightful relish effect to the sauce), and the entire contents of the 14-ounce can of whole (use a spatula to break them up into chunks) peeled tomatoes and the 14-ounce can of pink beans (the starch from the beans helps thicken the sauce).
- Add the chicken to the pot with the vegetables along with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Then uncover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes on medium high heat to reduce the sauce.
- Serve with white rice mixed with ¼ cup of olive oil, a sprinkling of 1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste), and ¼ cup chopped parsley. This stew goes great with a little hot sauce on the side––Crystal (our favorite) or Tabasco are both great options.
Tips & Notes:
nutrition facts
That’s actually not a bad take on Spanish pollo guisado at all! In Spain we would use pimentón rather than the seasoning you use. But you could serve this dish in any household in Spain and nobody would bat an eyelid. Well done to your Ma!
Thank you! High compliments :)
I made this dish for my family last night using pork stew meat. I used one cup of yellow rice and enough chicken broth and water to make 2 cups. I baked it in the oven, covered, at 3:50 for about an hour, perhaps a bit longer so the pork could get tender…. it was amazing! This definitely has a permanent place in my recipe box!
Glad you liked it, Dee! Thanks for the stars and we’re honored that we made the recipe box cut!
I’m a puertorican myself, scrolling down pages to find inspiration to cook something different than Hispanic food. It draws a smile on my face knowing your mom had this moment of some diversity as well. I’m taking the beef bulgogi recipe to try it this weekend. Thank you so much for sharing your culture!
Thank you so much, Belgica! We always return to the foods of home but it’s fun to take detours through other food cultures along the way. :)
Love this! Reminds me of some Italian stews I’ve had
Thanks, Joanna! It’s one of our all-time faves :)
Hi Kaitlin, l love your mother Spanish recipe l made it
I like very much and l plan to make it again for the future.
P.S. l can wait for my book.
Thank you so much the recipe was amazing my family loves it this is my go to spanish stew recipe
Thank you, Tamika! :) I’m so glad.
what are pink beans ?
Hi Karen, you can use any beans you want. Pink beans are very similar to pinto beans.
SO GOOD MY EYES ROLLED AT THE FIRST TASTE !!!
Hahah thank you June! It makes us so happy to share our mom’s concoction and have other people enjoy it as much as we do!
How many grams is the goya sazon packet? When looking at options online, they seem to very from 40g to 189g.
Hi Melissa, good question, I have seen them in various sizes from 1.41, 2.52, 3.52 and even 6.33 ounce packets but in this recipe, we are using the 2.52 ounce packets.
This reads like a great recipe! I’m looking forward to making it one day. I do have a concern about the Goya seasoning packet. I believe it contains MSG. Any other suggestions you can offer? Maybe I can put together my own seasonings similar to what’s listed on packet.
Hi Carmelita, it is delicious! If you check the packet ingredients, you can definitely try recreating it! It’s a shortcut for us, but definitely not crucial if you want to avoid MSG.
Do you drain the beans beforehand? Or do you also use the liquid in the can of beans?
Hi Melissa, there’s likely less variability if you drain the beans, but using the liquid helps with starchiness and stew-thickening :)
nice recipe and photos itself mouth watering thanks for the recipe many suggestion in comments
Thank you! :)