Puerto Rican Chicken stewed in a flavorful broth of sofrito and tomato. In Spanish it’s called Guisado de Pollo and it’s a classic dinner served with rice. A steaming bowl of stewed chicken is Puerto Rican comfort food at its best! 

Puerto Rican Chicken

Hello, readers! You all looove Puerto Rican food! Also sweets, but when it comes to dinner my Puerto Rican recipes are the most popular on the blog.

Today I’m adding another essential recipe to the arsenal: Puerto Rican Chicken. Sometimes this dish is called Pollo en Fricase, sometimes Guisado de Pollo.

The only real difference I can find between the two is the amount of liquid in the final product. Guisado (or stew) is usually more soupy and fricassee more tomato-y. Sometimes it’s all about the chicken and sometimes potatoes or other vegetables are added.

My mom likes to add zucchini to her Puerto Rican chicken. This is not at all traditional, but it increases the nutritional value and tastes delicious! Basically, anything you add to this stew will soak up the incredible flavors of the broth which is my favorite part.

Because the broth is so tasty and flavorful, we like to serve this stew over over. It soaks up every last drop and increases the comfort level. I’m getting hungry as I write this!

You’ll need sofrito to make this recipe, so check out my post on Puerto Rican sofrito, which also includes substitutes if you can’t find certain ingredients!

Puerto Rican Chicken (Guisado de Pollo)

Yield: 4-6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Puerto Rican style chicken stewed in a sofrito based broth with potatoes and olives.

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Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs and/or legs
• 1 tablespoon adobo
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

For the broth:

• 2 heaping tablespoons sofrito
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons Manzanilla or Spanish pimento-stuffed olives
• 1/2 pound potatoes, peeled and diced into large chunks
• 1/2 pound zucchini, sliced (about 2 medium squash)(optional)
• 2-3 cups of water or chicken stock
• 1 packet Sazón with Coriander and Annatto (aka Culantro y Achiote)
• 1 teaspoon adobo
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic power
• 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Cooked white rice, for serving

Instructions

For the chicken:

1. Heat oil in caldero or large pot. Meanwhile, season chicken with adobo, garlic powder, salt, pepper and oregano. Brown chicken on all sides, then remove from pan.

For the broth:

1. Add sofrito to pot and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Add, olives, potatoes, zucchini and water (or chicken stock). Use more or less water depending how soupy you like it.
2. Stir in Sazón, adobo, garlic powder and oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then taste again, broth should taste bold and salty.
3. Add chicken back to pot and lower heat. Cover and simmer until cooked through, about 30-45 minutes. Serve over white rice.

Did you make this recipe?

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