Pollo guisado – Puerto Rican chicken stewfeatured

This pollo guisado- or chicken stew- is a Puerto Rican classic. Chicken stewed in a flavorful base of sofrito, onions, garlic, tomato and vegetables of choice until falling off its bones into a richly savory sauce.

Simple to make and endlessly customizable, this stew is a family favorite.

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Main ingredients in pollo guisado

This pollo guisado recipe is super pretty flexible.

Below I’ve listed the main components, but each one has flexible options and substitution suggestions.

Chicken

Naturally, this pollo guisado is going to need some pollo– chicken.

For chicken stews I usually opt for bone-in, skin-on chicken legs, and this recipe is no exception. This is for a few reasons;

• chicken legs are more tender and flavorful than breast meat,
• bone-in meat is less likely to dry out during cooking,
• bones add tons of chickeny goodness to the stew, and
• the skin, seared and browned before cooking, adds even more depth of flavor.

I opt to cut my chicken legs in three pieces: separating the drumsticks from the thighs, then cutting each thigh in two pieces along the thigh bone. While the pieces are rather large, once cooked they will fall right off the bones and be super easy to serve and eat.

If you prefer using boneless or skinless chicken, or white meat, feel free to make those substitutions.

Sofrito

The next most integral ingredient in this recipe is sofrito. Sofrito, also known as recaito, is a blend of herbs and peppers, along with onions and garlic, that forms the most flavorful base for countless Puerto Rican dishes.

My recipe for sofrito contains traditionally used ingredients like culantro, aji dulce peppers, onions, garlic, cilantro, and bell peppers. But, offers suggestions to tailor your sofrito based on what you have available.

You can make a large batch and freeze what’s left for future use.

If you aren’t able to make the homemade sofrito, you can use store-bought. Though less flavorful, it will totally work. You can find jarred sofrito in many grocery stores with a Latin aisle or Goya brand section or this great option by Loisa brand online here (affiliate link).

Another alternative to making a batch of homemade sofrito is to finely mince some sweet peppers, such as bell pepper or cubanelles, along with fresh cilantro, and use that as a substitute.

Onions and garlic

While your sofrito will have onions and garlic already, I add some more to amp up the flavor even higher. The addition of onions also adds to the texture of the sauce, giving it more body. I

f you are out of either of these but have homemade sofrito on hand, use a bit more of that. Ground garlic can also be used if you are out of fresh.

Tomato

In this recipe I use tomato paste because I love the intense umami flavor it lends to the sauce. However, you can absolutely use tomato sauce or passata instead if that’s what you have on hand. Just increase the amount by double at least.

Spices

This recipe uses ground cumin and sazón, Sazón is a staple Puerto Rican spice blend that can consist of spices like cumin, coriander, garlic and black pepper, along with achiote aka annato. Achiote lends many Puerto Rican dishes a signature orangey red hue. Be aware that some sazón blends also contain salt, and you may need to temper your salt use as a result.

I recommend Loisa Sazón for an organic and salt-free option (affiliate link).

You can substitute sazón with an equal amount of cumin, coriander and paprika for color.

Alcaparrado

Many Rican dishes also include in their base alcaparrado- a mix of pimentos, pitted green olives and capers. This mix is sold jarred in the Latin food aisle or alongside Goya products in many grocery stores. It can also be found online here (affiliate link).

While this mix is nice to have, you can also use pimento-stuffed green olives and capers that are bought separately, or substitute the alcaparrado with just stuffed olives.

While the alcaparrado adds a bright brininess and additional salt to the stew, if you dislike olives and/or capers feel free to omit this ingredient. You will salt the stew to taste near the end of cooking to adjust for their absence.

Optional veggies

In this version of pollo guisado I added chopped carrots and potatoes. I love how the potatoes release their starch while cooking and help to thicken the stew.

There are endless options for additional veggies and you should use what you like. I also often add cooked chickpeas to the stew, or pigeon peas.

How to make pollo guisado

Making pollo guisado is simple and straightforward.

The key to maximizing the flavors of any stew, including this one, is to layer your ingredients- adding them bit by bit to the pot, searing and sauteeing each to release its unique flavors.

The first step to doing this, is searing your chicken in a neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as vegetable, canola, avocado, or grapeseed oil.

After patting your chicken dry and salting it liberally, you will sear it in batches until the skin is crisp and its a nice golden brown color.

Next, you will add your additional ingredients to the pot in layers to create an intensely-flavored and delicious base for your stew. I will show you how to maximize the flavors and textures of your sofrito, tomato, alcaparrado and other base ingredients.

Then add your golden seared chicken pieces back to the pot and toss with your stew base.

Add chicken stock or water and an optional chicken stock cube to the pot. Add enough liquid to almost reach the top of the chicken, but do not submerge it, like so. Then add some salt and your potatoes, and any additional vegetables of choice.

Bring the pot to a boil.

Then, you have two options- transferring the pot, covered, to a preheated oven to braise, OR, reducing the heat and simmering on the stove.

Cook as instructed until the chicken is super tender and falling off the bones, and potatoes and carrots and practically melting into the luscious stew.

Serving pollo guisado

Pollo guisado is best served over fluffy white rice.

I love it served alongside sliced ripe avocado.

It also goes great with a side of fried plantains- either sweet maduros, or savory tostones. You can find my recipes for plantain tostones or breadfruit tostones below. Make either one to round out this meal!

 ¡Buen Provecho! Enjoy!

As always, if you have tried this recipe and enjoyed it, please leave a comment and starred review below!