Today David shares a recipe you’re unlikely to find at restaurants. This Spanish chicken and chorizo stew is one of the homemade meals you’ll find in Spanish kitchens, simmering away!
My Spanish chicken and chorizo stew is a go-to recipe for an easy weeknight meal.
It’s simple to prepare (with little prep time), tastes delicious, and leaves plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day (important!). It’s hearty on a cold winter’s eve, but not so heavy that you can’t enjoy it in summer either, served alongside a refreshing Spanish salad.
And like all good stews, it goes with anything! You can serve it with rice, potatoes, noodles, or a simple loaf of rustic bread.
Plus, it’s full of the Spanish flavors that I love. Paprika, garlic, olives, and tomato all combine with chicken and chorizo to bring the flavor of Spain into your kitchen. It’s an easy choice for the middle of the week, and you can substitute many of the ingredients for whatever you have lying around in your pantry!
How to Make this Spanish Chicken Stew
In summer, I like to make this stew using fresh and ripe tomatoes. But if they aren’t in season, canned tomatoes work just as well. If you only have passata left in your pantry, that’s fine; just make sure to adjust your herbs and seasoning appropriately.
Make sure to get good chorizo. It does a lot of heavy lifting in this recipe and brings fat, spice, and umami flavors to the dish. I use semi-cured, uncooked chorizo—completely cured chorizo just won’t give you the same taste or texture.
And as anyone who has been to Spain will tell you, it shouldn’t be spicy! Chilli peppers aren’t too popular with Spaniards, so go for smoky chorizo over spicy ones for a true Spanish flavor. But if you just love your food hot, feel free to experiment!
Lastly, the types of olives you use are going to make a difference. Good green, fat Spanish olives (like Manzanilla or Gordal) are going to give you a better flavor than the salt-bombs you can get if you’re not careful at the store. If you can’t get Spanish olives, don’t worry, just choose ones without too much salt in the brine.
Spanish Chicken and Chorizo Stew Recipe
Easy Spanish Chicken and Chorizo Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in chicken thighs
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb semi-cured chorizo, sliced into roughly 1/2-inch pieces (if you can't find semi cured, use fresh) about 450g
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2 red bell peppers seeds removed and 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 any other dry white wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cans of tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 cup green olives pits removed (you can keep whole or cut into slices -- I prefer the latter!)
Instructions
- Season the chicken thighs liberally with salt and pepper.
- Place a large dutch oven (or heavy pan) over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, sear the chicken on all sides until brown (in batches if necessary), about 7-8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Return the dutch oven to medium-high heat and add the chorizo. Sear for about 2-3 minutes, until the chorizo is brown and releasing its fat to the pan. Add the onion and bell peppers and saute until softened and translucent (about 5 minutes). Stir frequently to avoid burning.
- Next, add the garlic, thyme, paprika, cumin, and bay leaves. When aromatic (about a minute), add the dry wine and stir to remove anything stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock, tomatoes, and tomato paste to the pan. Stir to combine and then return the chicken to the pan.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover the dutch oven and leave to cook for 50 minutes and until the chicken is cooked through.
- If the sauce is still thin after this time, remove the chicken and increase the heat to medium-high so that the sauce can further reduce.
- Add in the sliced olives, along with the chicken and chorizo (if you removed it). Make sure everything is heated through and serve with rice, potatoes, bread, or salad.
Nutrition
What’s your favorite Spanish recipe for weeknight meals? Let me know in the comments below, and tell me how you liked my Spanish stew!
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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.