Fricase de Pollo (Chicken Fricassee or Fricase en Pollo) is a Cuban style chicken stew recipe that has onions, garlic, red peppers, potatoes, green olives with pimentos, and is cooked in a tomato and spice based sauce.

This Cuban chicken stew recipe is a one pot comfort food.

Chicken Stew with Potatoes & Sliced Green Olives In A Red Enameled Cast Iron Pot

This Cuban style Fricassee de Pollo recipe is delicious with bone in or boneless chicken thighs or legs. You could also use chicken breast but dark meat (thighs and legs) are really where it's at for tender chicken stews recipes.

Fricase is a French word that traditionally meant to braise (cook low and slow) a meat in a sauce (usually a white sauce but not always) until the tender meat falls apart and makes a stew type consistency.

What Kind Of Potatoes Work With Chicken Fricassee?

Don't have fingerling potatoes? Cool, chicken fricassee works with any kind of potato you got.

Yukon golds are great for stews because they hold their form.

Russet potatoes will work as well for chicken stew, but are prone to falling apart if cooked too long. Russets will thicken the fricase stew. They soak up the liquid and release starch so the sauce would need a little extra liquid.

Sliced onions, diced red peppers, sliced green olives with pimentos, tomato sauce, chicken broth in different bowls with 5 teaspoons of colorful spices in teaspoons and a bay leaf on the table.

Should I Sear The Chicken For The Fricase Stew?

In a hurry? Skip the sear on the chicken and just throw all the fricase ingredients in a stockpot and go.

Don't want to spend the time searing and braising the chicken on the stovetop? Easy enough - throw it all in a slow cooker / crock-pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours or in an instantpot.

Slow cooking Cuban chicken stew on the stovetop in a pot develops more flavor and complexity to the sauce, but crockpots are easier and produce just as tender meat. The fricase sauce will not be as cohesive in a slow cooker or instant pot, but it will still be delicious.

Have leftovers? Yay! Fry some eggs for breakfast with your leftover Fricase de Pollo!

3 sunny side eggs being fried in a pan with a tomato and potato based sauce with green olives. — *Have leftovers? Fry some eggs in the leftover sauce for a quick and easy breakfast or lunch.*

If you like this Fricase de Pollo recipe then, check out these other chicken stew recipes:

Fricase de Pollo - Cuban Style Chicken Stew

Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.5 from 4 reviews

EatSimpleFood.com

Fricase de Pollo (Chicken Fricassee or Fricase en Pollo) is a Cuban style chicken stew recipe that has red peppers, potatoes, green olives, and is cooked in a tomato and spice based sauce.

Author: beckie
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Yield: 5
Category: Main Dish
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: Spanish
Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

2 ½ lbs (~10) chicken thighs, boneless & skinless
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 red pepper, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 ½ lb fingerling potatoes
5 ounces (drained) green olive w/ pimento, sliced
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon oregano flakes
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 ¼ cup chicken broth
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper

Instructions

Remove any excess fat from the thighs (no need to be neurotic - just a little fat off the sides). Salt and pepper the chicken.
Bring a large pot to medium high heat and sear the chicken in batches ~ (4 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other). You may need to do this in batches if the pan is not large enough. Set chicken aside on a plate (it is not yet fully cooked).
Reduce heat to medium and add onions and peppers. Cook ~ 4-5 minutes or until veggies are soft.
Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
Add green olives, potatoes, all spices, tomato sauce, and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered ~ 15 minutes.
Add chicken and any juices to pot. Cover and cook ~ 30 minutes or until potatoes are done, stirring occasionally.
Add salt to taste. Happy Eating! Beckie

Notes

In a rush? Throw everything into the crockpot / slow cooker or instantpot and walk away.

What My Man Says

"This recipe is easy (sear the chicken, cook the onions and garlic, throw everything else in the pot), and really delicious."

"I wanted to get a really nice sear on the chicken, so I seared the chicken in a non-stick pan while cooking the onions, peppers and garlic in a dutch oven."

"And after I had added everything to the dutch oven, I promptly forgot to turn down the heat enough, and after a while I realized my (remaining) sauce was quite thick. But that really wasn't a big deal. I just added a cup of water and another ½ cup of tomato sauce, stirred everything together and I was back in business 🙂 "

"We had some leftover potatoes and sauce, and we fried some eggs with it for lunch and served it with avocado and a bit of sour cream - delicious!"

Things In My Kitchen:

Crock-pot for when you don't want to mess with searing and steps.
6 quart dutch oven for when you want to take the time to sear and reduce the sauce.

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Serving Suggestion

While this Fricase de Pollo recipe definitely doesn't need anything else to make a complete meal, you can serve it with one of these complementary dishes.