One of Spain's most popular comfort foods is migas con chorizo. This easy migas with chorizo recipe combines stale bread, olive oil, garlic, and chorizo for a true treat. Serve Spanish migas for breakfast with a fried egg, or as a side dish (it can even replace your Thanksgiving stuffing this year!).
Migas is the Spanish way to take advantage of stale bread, and the most basic version is a simple dish made by frying stale bread chunks in olive oil seasoned with garlic cloves. I call it Spanish stuffing!
People dampen the stale bread in water first, and once fried to golden perfection, they remove the bread and mix it with a variety of yummy extras-- from fresh chorizo to juicy salt pork to fried eggs and roasted red peppers. Final additions to Spanish migas even include sweet bites, such as grapes or pomegranate seeds.
It's important to note that here in Spain, migas are usually served as a full (and heavy!) dish.
But of course, if you are making migas with chorizo as a part of your Thanksgiving meal, they aren't meant to steal the show. I recommend making this simple version, which I use each year as my Spanish style Thanksgiving stuffing, to accompany your heaping plate of Thanksgiving goodness.
See also: Thanksgiving recipe ideas from Spain
Key Ingredients
All you need is some stale bread, Spanish chorizo, salt pork (or pancetta or bacon), bell pepper, garlic, bay leaf, paprika, olive oil, and salt!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Bread: you can use what you have on hand, but the heartier the better! I like to use a local sourdough, stale baguette, or even a local corn flour bread I find here. Experiment!
- Chorizo: Try to find semi-cured chorizo if you can or otherwise use raw chorizo. A fully cured one won't be quite as tasty.
- Paprika: Use smoked Spanish paprika for the best results. Sweet paprika is most traditional but go for spicy if you prefer.
- Olive oil: Good quality is essential as the bread takes on the flavor of the oil here.
Vegetarian Adaptation
This recipe can easily be adapted for vegetarians. My suggestion is to omit all meat and instead add fried onion, more bell pepper, and roasted chickpeas (garbanzo beans).
Fry the onion separately in large chunks until lightly caramelized. For the garbanzo beans, coat cooked (jarred/canned) beans in olive oil, sea salt, and paprika and spread on a baking tray. Cook at 350°F (175°C) for about 15 minutes until chewy (not dry). Add both the onion and chickpeas at the end for texture and protein.
Migas con Chorizo Recipe: Step by Step
To start making migas con chorizo, you'll need to make your breadcrumbs. Rip your bread into chunks and pulse in the food processor a few times until its in a mix of small breadcrumbs and larger chunks. Then put the crumbs in a large bowl and cover with ¼ cup of water. Mix with your hands and reserve.
Then in a heavy pan (I used my trusty cast iron skillet) fry the garlic cloves and bay leaves. Once the garlic starts to brown you add the meat, and once everything is browned you remove and reserve.
Next, you'll fry the peppers in this delicious pork fat. When they're browned and tender (about 10 minutes) you season with salt and paprika, add back the garlic and meats, add in the bread crumbs and stir frequently to cook and season the breadcrumbs on all sides. You may need to add some extra olive oil and if making for Thanksgiving feel free to add some turkey drippings.
Top with a sprig of rosemary and grapes or pomegranate seeds if you wish.
Recipe Tips & FAQs
- If it's looking too dry (the breadcrumbs look raw and aren't absorbing enough oil) don't hesitate to add more olive oil. The final dish should be somewhat dry but packed with flavor.
Serving Suggestions
I love to serve my migas con chorizo as a Spanish inspired brunch dish with a fried egg on top. It is so satisfying! I also make it as my Thanksgiving stuffing recipe. People love it.
More Hearty Spanish Recipes
If you like this hearty migas con chorizo recipe, try these next time!
- Huevos Rotos: One of Spain's most popular egg dishes, make homemade potatoes topped with eggs, meats, and veggies.Â
- Salt Cod with Eggs and Potatoes: One of my all-time favorite Spanish meals.Â
- Manchego Mashed Potatoes: If this is part of your Thanksgiving meal, don't miss these delicious cheesy mashed potatoes too!
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Migas with Chorizo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large day-old baguette you can use whatever bread you prefer, the heartier the better. It should be day-old (not completely hard/stale).
- 1 link of Spanish style chorizo about 100g/3.5 oz, roughly chopped. Semi cured or raw chorizo is best.
- 1 piece of salt pork about 75g/2.5 oz. Pancetta or bacon will also work, chopped into small bits.
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- ½ green bell pepper diced
- 1 head of garlic don't peel!
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika sweet
- Extra virgin olive oil Spanish of course!
- Salt
- 1 sprig of rosemary optional
- sliced seedless grapes or pomegranate seeds to decorate for a sweet and savory combo optional
Instructions
- Rip the stale bread into chunks and put it into a food processor (if you prefer, you can also do this part by hand). Pulse a few times until the bread becomes half breadcrumbs, half small chunks.
- Place the breadcrumbs in a large bowl and drizzle about ¼ cup of water on top. Mix everything together with your hands. The bread should absorb the water and be damp, but not saturated or soggy (or too dry!). Add more water if necessary.
- In a large frying pan over a medium heat, add two generous tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and add the garlic cloves (with skin on) from one whole head of garlic and the bay leaf. Fry over medium heat for a few minutes, browning the garlic cloves.
- Add the chorizo and salt pork, cut into rough chunks. I like my chunks small, but you can cut large chunks if you prefer. Stir and brown for a few more minutes.
- Once browned, remove everything from the oil with a slotted spoon and reserve.
- Add the diced peppers to the seasoned oil and fry until golden brown (about 10 minutes).
- Add the paprika and saute for 10 seconds. Then add back the garlic and meat mixture and season with salt.
- Add the rehydrated bread crumbs and saute everything for about 5 minutes, allowing the bread to absorb oil and become golden. The result should be a very dry stuffing, but if the bread looks raw (not golden) add more olive oil.
- Right before serving you can optionally add a spoonful of cooking liquid from the turkey. Decorate with rosemary sprigs if you wish. And I love to mix in pomegranate seeds for a sweet and savory rendition (here in Spain people also add grapes!).
Notes
- Make sure the bread is damp (but not soggy) before adding to the pan. If too dry they won't absorb enough flavor to be tasty.
- If the migas are looking raw, you need to add more olive oil.Â
- Add a fried egg on top to make this a full meal!
Vegetarian Adaptation
Omit all meat and instead add fried onion, more bell pepper, and roasted chickpeas (garbanzo beans).- Fry the onion separately in large chunks until lightly caramelized.
- For the garbanzo beans, coat cooked (jarred/canned) beans in olive oil, sea salt, and paprika and spread on a baking tray. Cook at 350°F (175°C) for about 15 minutes until chewy (not dry).
- Â Add both the onion and chickpeas at the end for texture and protein.Â
Update note: This recipe was originally published on October 31, 2017 and was republished with new photos and information on January 20, 2021.
What do you think? Will Spanish migas con chorizo make it onto your Thanksgiving table next time? Or perhaps be your next Sunday brunch? Enjoy!
Paul Huckett
My wife’s mother raised turkeys for years and we took over when she became too old . We raised about a hundred birds .It was a sideline on a sheep farm bringing in much needed cash just before Christmas. We did it for fifteen years before retiring ourselves. Always raised organically , always free-ranged and always fed our own farm-grown grains and greens . We however always brined our own turkey . Salt, garlic, lemon, rosemary and thyme , honey and peppercorns . 24 hours in the brine , in the fridge . A much better , more tender bird emerges with a lovely undercurrent of vague sweetness and aromatic meat.. This stuffing will beautifully complement our bird this year . Thank you.
Nicole @ Bento Momentos
This looks heavenly -- I also just saw a recipe for chorizo on top of a burger. Time to buy chorizo!!
Lauren Aloise
I think the moral of the story is that chorizo is good on everything! Ha! Off to the store...
Frank
Portuguese immigrants to America have been making a Thanksgiving stuffing similar to your migas variation since I can remember. Some versions are even more elaborately rich and outshine the turkey by far. (there's a reason turkey is eaten once or twice a year and it's not related to cost.)
Lauren Aloise
Oh yum! Would love to come to a Portuguese-American Thanksgiving one day!
Charlie
Yum! I wanted to try migas in Granada last week, but the restaurant said they only made it on Saturdays.