This Spanish chicken and chorizo stew is hard to find at restaurants, but it's a popular homemade meal you'll find simmering away in Spanish kitchens. I hope you enjoy the amazing Spanish flavors of tomatoes, chorizo, paprika, and garlic in this easy, healthy stew.
If you love this stew, you'll enjoy similar flavors in Spanish chicken and rice with chorizo and this comforting chicken chilindrón.
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Introduction
My Spanish chicken and chorizo stew is a go-to recipe for an easy weeknight meal. It's simple to prepare, tastes delicious, and makes plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.
It's hearty on a cold winter's eve, but light enough to be enjoyed in the summer with a Spanish salad. Like all good stews, it goes with anything! You can serve it with rice, potatoes, noodles, or a simple loaf of rustic bread.
The Spanish flavors of paprika, garlic, olives, and tomato combine with chicken and chorizo to bring the flavor of Spain into your kitchen. What makes it even better is that you can easily substitute many of the ingredients based on what you have on hand!
Ingredients
Curious what you need to make a cozy pot of chicken and chorizo stew? This recipe takes standard ingredients, which means you might already have them on hand! Let's talk about the most important ingredients.
- Chicken: Be sure to use dark meat for the best flavor. Either bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks work well!
- Chorizo: Choose a smoky, semi-cured chorizo for the most authentic flavor.
- Tomatoes: Use either fresh or canned tomatoes--both work well.
- Olives: Choose Spanish green olives such as Manzanilla or Gordal for the best flavor. If you can't find Spanish ones, use canned green olives that aren't too salty.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Vegan/Vegetarian: Swap the chorizo for vegan chorizo, and replace the chicken with another meat alternative or for cooked lentils, beans, or mushrooms.
- Spicy: Try a spicy chorizo to add extra heat if you like spicy food!
- Don't have tomatoes? Try using passata; just adjust seasonings to taste.
How to Make
If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.
- Pat the chicken thighs or dumsticks dry with paper towels, then season generously with salt and pepper.
- Sear the chicken in hot olive oil in batches until it's browned on all sides.
- Add the chorizo to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the fat is released from the meat.
- Add the onion and peppers and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the seasonings and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Deglaze with white wine, scraping off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the chicken stock.
- Dump in the tomatoes and tomato paste and mix until combined.
- Add the browned chicken to the pot and bring to a boil.
- Turn the heat down and simmer until the chicken is cooked and has an internal temperature of 175°F (79°C), about 50 minutes.
- If the sauce is too thin, let it simmer and reduce a little more once the cooked chicken has been removed.
- Add the sliced olives.
- Add the cooked chicken and chorizo and cook until heated through.
- Serve this stew hot with bread, rice, potatoes, or salad on the side and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
The general name for stews in Spanish is estofados. In Spanish, this chicken and chorizo stew would be called estofado de pollo y chorizo.
Cook the chorizo in a pot or skillet over medium-low heat until it smells aromatic and its fat has rendered. It's done cooking when it's crumbly and has a temperature of 160°F (71°C).
Make sure to simmer the stew long enough to make the chicken tender and moist, which takes about 50 minutes. You can also remove the chicken when it's cooked and let the sauce reduce further by simmering longer, which will improve its flavor. Be sure to season to taste as well.
Serve
I like to serve this stew with rice, bread, potatoes, or salad on the side. Try this ensalada mixta, ensalada rusa, or ensalada malagueña for some fun salad options!
Store
Leftovers: Like all tomato-based stews, this chicken and chorizo stew tastes better the second day. Refrigerate leftovers in a pot or sealed container for up to 3 days.
Freezing: This stew freezes really well! Let it cool completely and seal it in freezer bags or airtight containers, then freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then reheat.
Expert Tips
- In summer, feel free to use fresh, ripe tomatoes, but if they aren't in season, canned tomatoes or passata work just as well.
- Choose a smoky, semi-cured chorizo for a more authentic taste, as spicy hot foods aren't popular in Spain. Feel free to try a spicier chorizo if you prefer.
- Use green, fat Spanish olives (like Manzanilla or Gordal) for the best flavor. If you can't get Spanish olives, choose ones without too much salt in the brine.
- Season to taste for the best results.
Other Spanish Soups & Stews
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Easy Spanish Chicken and Chorizo Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound semi-cured or fresh chorizo sliced into ½-inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2 red bell peppers thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup dry sherry or dry white wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 15-ounce cans tomatoes or 4 cups fresh diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup pitted green olives whole or sliced
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season it liberally with salt and pepper.
- Place a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, sear the chicken on all sides until it's browned, about 7-8 minutes total. Work in batches if necessary. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Return the Dutch oven to medium-high heat and add the chorizo. Sear the chorizo until it's brown and rendering its fat, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the onion and bell peppers to the chorizo and sauté until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid burning.
- Add the garlic, thyme, paprika, cumin, and bay leaves and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Deglaze by pouring in the dry wine and scraping off anything stuck to the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half, stir in the chicken stock, tomatoes, and tomato paste.
- Add the browned chicken to the stew, then bring it to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer covered until the chicken has an internal temperature of 175°F (79°C), about 50 minutes.
- If the sauce is thinner than you'd like, remove the chicken and increase the heat to medium-high. Let the sauce reduce further, stirring frequently, until it's thickened.
- Stir in the sliced olives, chorizo, and cooked chicken (if you removed it) and cook until heated through.
- Serve the stew hot with rice, potatoes, bread, or salad and enjoy.
Notes
- In summer, feel free to use fresh, ripe tomatoes, but if they aren't in season, canned tomatoes or passata work just as well.
- Choose a smoky, semi-cured chorizo for a more authentic taste, as spicy hot foods aren't popular in Spain. Feel free to try a spicier chorizo if you prefer.
- Use green, fat Spanish olives (like Manzanilla or Gordal) for the best flavor. If you can't get Spanish olives, choose ones without too much salt in the brine.
- Season to taste for the best results.
Karol Kane
I am Scottish but live n Spain in the South. I love your recipies,unfortunately it is difficult to get proper home cooked type authentic Spanish food here. I enjoy cooking and have two Spanish cook books but your recipies always turn out to be the most delicious. Your instructions are clear. It is a wonderful treat. Congratulations.
Patrick
We're going to try this tomorrow so no rating but we're confused by the calories. Is the 943 calories per serving or in total please?
Lauren Aloise
It should be by serving but the calculator is not perfect and is just an estimation based on ingredients divided by serving size.
Roger Tauss
The easy Chicken and Spanish Chorizo Stew recipe calls for two cans of tomatoes. Are we talking about the 15-oz or the 28-oz can?
Lauren Aloise
15 oz!
Terence
I wish I had seen this sooner.
Celeste Mann
Delicious! I made this today. I have some variations based on ingredients I had on hand. I added some leftover black beans and a potato. We don't have chorizo here (in my area in the USA) so I used mild pork sausage--I think Italian. I added a bit more tomato paste and about 1/2 cup more chicken broth, since it was very thick. I didn't have any white wine, or dry sherry, so I used a cup of Portuguese madeira wine, which is sweet. With so many changes, it probably is not really this recipe, but it turned out well nonetheless.