Pollo Guisado (Puerto Rican Chicken Stew)

Pollo Guisado (Puerto Rican Chicken Stew) is a traditional, highly common dish made with simple ingredients and cooked in a savory broth.  Perfectly tender fall off the bone chicken in a scrumptious delicious sauce with carrots and potatoes.  Serve with white or yellow rice and serve comfort food at its best.

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Looking for total comfort food tonight?  Here it is!

Pollo Guisado (Puerto Rican Chicken Stew) is a dish I grew up with and by far is one of my favorite comfort foods to eat!  It’s a delicious, one pot chicken dish wonder made with simple ingredients and is highly flavorful!

Pair it up with white or yellow rice and you have total comfort food at it’s best!

Origination, Translation and Different Names

Pollo stands for chicken in English while Guisado in English stands for stew, hence, pollo guisado!

This dish is also known as guisado de pollo or guiso de pollo and is a popular and very common dish in Puerto Rico as well as Cuba and Dominican Republic.

My mami would make this meal at least once a week, whereas if you grew up living with my aunt Jeanette, you were definitely eating this fall off the bone chicken stew two three times a week!  Definitely one of her top favorite Puerto Rican meals!

As for me, well you can guarantee to find me making pollo guisado several times a month in my home!

Show up unexpectedly at my home and don’t be surprised to find a large pot of Puerto Rican chicken stew on the stove.

I just love how easy it is to put this dish together.  Put all ingredients in one pot….chicken, carrots, potatoes, olives and spices, cook for 30-40 minutes and done.

Ingredients to Make Pollo Guisado (Puerto Rican Chicken Stew)

3 pounds whole chicken or wings, thighs, drumsticks

1 cup potatoes

½ – 1 cup carrots

12 olives stuffed with pimientos

¼ cup fresh cilantro

2 cups water

2 tablespoon oil

Spices

1 packet of Sazón seasoning with Annatto (found in the Latin section of supermarket)

½ teaspoon oregano

adobo seasoning sprinkled on chicken pieces (found in Latin section)

2 garlic cloves or 1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoon Puerto Rican sofrito (homemade or store bought)

chicken bouillon (2 cubes if large cubes) and (4 cubes if small cubes)

¼ cup of tomato sauce

1-2 dried bay leaves (depending on how large they are)

salt and pepper to taste

*NOTE:  Making homemade sofrito is really easy and only takes 5 minutes to make.  What’s great is once you have it made you can store it in a jar and keep in refrigerator for future Puert Rican meals such as:

Puerto Rican Rice and Beans

Arroz Mamposteao (Dirty Rice and Beans)

How to Make Pollo Guisado

Rinse chicken and season with adobo.

In a caldero or dutch oven over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil for a 2 minutes.

Add chicken pieces, sofrito, sazon packet, fresh chopped garlic (or garlic powder), oregano, chicken bouillon, tomato sauce, olives, bay leaf and water.

Bring to a boil and cook on medium high heat for 10 minutes covered.

Then add carrots.

*NOTE:  If using a whole chicken, do not add chicken breast pieces now (they will dry out by the time the pollo guisado is done, add at the last 10-15 minutes of cooking).

Add potatoes.  Add cilantro.  Cover again.

Cook on medium heat for an additional 30-40 minutes.

Top with additional cilantro.  Done!!

Chicken will be falling of the bone and stew will be absolutely scrumptious.  The flavor of the broth will be heavenly and chicken perfectly tender.

Serve with white or yellow rice.

What to Serve Pollo Guisado (Puerto Rican Chicken Stew) With

• Serve with white or yellow rice
• Mashed potatoes
• Garlic crusty bread

Pollo Guisado Recipe in a Slow Cooker

Put everything in the pot and cook for 2 hours on high.

Chicken Stew in Pressure Cooker

Put everything in pot and cook for 25 minutes.

***For more delicious recipes you will love these as well.

Alitas de Pollo Fritas (Puerto Rican Fried Chicken Wings)

Caldo de Pollo (Mexican Chicken Soup)

Chicken Sopes

Chilaquiles Verdes with Chicken

Easy as Pie Chicken Empanadas

Authentic Mexican Chicken Enchiladas in Red Sauce

📖 Recipe

Pollo Guisado (Puerto Rican Chicken Stew)

Pollo Guisado (Puerto Rican Chicken Stew) is a traditional, highly common dish made with simple ingredients and cooked in a savory broth.  Perfectly tender fall off the bone chicken in a scrumptious delicious sauce with carrots and potatoes.  Serve with white or yellow rice and serve comfort food at its best.

5 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Puerto Rican

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 396kcal

Author: Catherine Arena

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 lbs whole chicken or combination of wings, thighs and drumsticks whole chicken cut up and chicken breast cut into 2 inch chunks
• ▢ 1 cup potatoes cut into large chunks
• ▢ ½ -1 cup carrots depending on how much carrots you want in your stew
• ▢ 12 olives stuffed with pimientos
• ▢ ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
• ▢ 2 cups water
• ▢ 2 tablespoon oil

Spices

• ▢ 1 packet Sazón seasoning with Annatto found in the International or Latin section
• ▢ ½ teaspoon oregano
• ▢ adobo sprinkled on chicken pieces
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoon Puerto Rican sofrito homemade or store bought
• ▢ 2 large chicken bouillon cubes or 4 small cubes
• ▢ ¼ cup tomato sauce
• ▢ 1-2 dried bay leaves depending on how large they are
• ▢ salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Rinse chicken and season with adobo.

  In a caldero or dutch oven over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil for a 2 minutes.

  
  

  Add chicken pieces, sofrito, sazon packet, fresh chopped garlic (or garlic powder), oregano, chicken bouillon, tomato sauce, olives, bay leaf and water.

  
  

  NOTE:  do not add chicken breast pieces now or they will dry out by the time the pollo guisado is done, add at the last 10-15 minutes of cooking.
• Bring to a boil and cook on medium high heat for 10 minutes covered.

  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Add carrots, potatoes and cover with lid.

  Cook on medium heat for an additional 30-40 minutes.
• Top with additional cilantro.  Done!!Serve with white or yellow rice.

Notes

Could also serve with mashed potatoes or crusty bread .

Nutrition

Serving: 4g | Calories: 396kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 382mg | Potassium: 576mg | Fiber: 1g | Vitamin A: 410IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 3.4mg

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