Chicken Veracruz Style
This chicken stew is a dish that I’ve been making for years without following a recipe, just the way I grew up cooking it. Just add a little bit of this, a pinch of that, and taste to check if it needs something else. It is so versatile and at the same time so forgiving because you can add other vegetables, and even though you don’t have all the seasonings, the stew will come out wonderful.
I call it Veracruz Style because the basic ingredients are similar to those of the Red Snapper Veracruz Style Stew, but using chicken instead of fish. But many know this dish as “Chicken Stew” (estofado de pollo) or “chicken in tomato sauce”, and it is also similar to other recipes from Europe like chicken fricassee and chicken marengo. Veracruz is a state whose gastronomy is influenced by Spain, the many other European and African foreigners that arrived in Colonial times, and the Gulf of Mexico.
This complex mix rendered one of the richest cuisines in the country, where the local cooks combine all that historical background into their dishes, creating mouth-watering meals like this chicken stew.
How to make Chicken Veracruz Style
DIRECTIONS:
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. (Please check the ingredients list below)
- Add the chicken to frying pan to sear for about 7-8 minutes per side. Once the chicken is browned remove from pan and keep warm.
- Add onion and cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and carrots and cook for 5 minutes before adding the potatoes.
- Cook the vegetables 2 more minutes after adding the potatoes.
- Place chopped tomatoes and cup of water into a blender and process until smooth. Pour tomato mixture to the frying pan using a colander or sieve.
- Add the chicken; bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer. Add bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, olives, raisins, and capers. Season with salt and pepper and cover. Simmer until chicken and vegetables are cooked. The cooking time will vary depending on the size and type of chicken pieces.
Serve with rice and pickled jalapeño peppers.
Chicken Veracruz Style
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or breasts (about 2 pounds)
- ½ medium white onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 carrots diced (about 1 ¼ cup when diced)
- 1 large potato diced (about 1 ¼ cup when diced)
- 1 lb. tomato chopped (about 3 cups when chopped)*
- 1 cup water
- 1 bay leave
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme or small branch if fresh
- ½ teaspoon marjoram optional
- ⅓ cup pimiento-stuffed olives sliced
- ¼ cup raisins
- 2 teaspoons capers
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken to frying pan to sear for about 7-8 minutes per side. Once the chicken is browned remove from pan and keep warm.
- Add onion and cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and carrots and cook for 5 minutes before adding the potatoes.
- Chicken Stew Veracruz Style 4. Cook the vegetables 2 more minutes after adding the potatoes.
- Place chopped tomatoes and cup of water into a blender and process until smooth. Pour tomato mixture into the frying pan using a colander or sieve.
- Add the chicken; bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer. Add bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, olives, raisins, and capers. Season with salt and pepper and cover. Simmer until chicken and vegetables are cooked (about 10-12 minutes). The cooking time will vary depending on the size and type of chicken pieces.
Serve with rice and pickled jalapeño peppers.
Notes
- In the winter time, I make this stew using canned tomatoes instead of fresh. Or, if I’m using fresh tomatoes and they don’t have much juice, I simply add a few teaspoons of tomato paste to the sauce.
- I know there are many ingredients in this stew, but all of them add up to the richness of its flavor. Some people eliminate the carrots and potatoes, while others add the vegetables available by region or season of the year. Sometimes I even add a little bit of wine and sweet peas too. It is simply a matter of taste.
Nutrition
¡Buen provecho!
Mely,
Do you think stews are just for cold winter days?
More recipes:
Shredded Chicken Recipes
Creamy Chipotle Chicken Breast
Pibil Style Chicken / Pollo Pibil
Nammi
it looks very tempting ...
Anonymous
Que rico, lo voy a cocinar hoy! Mi familia siempre lo hacia pero hace mucho que no lo comemos! We do know it as "estofado", thanks!!!
mmartinez
Yes, we also call it estofado! 😉
Betty Boopy20
Can i add a bit of cumin?
Monica Van Rickley
This was easy to prepare and it was delicious. My husband couldn’t stop himself and went for thirds. I added red pepper and a chipotle bullion cube, quite nice. Thank you!
Orlando
I made this pollo veracruzano this morning. I used canned tomates because they are not in season now. OMG! This was simply divine. The sauce is so aromatic that I scooped it up and literarily licked the plate. I will definitely try your other recipes. Thanks.
mmartinez
Hello Orlando,
It is a nice sauce, this is one of my husband favorite dishes!
April
I was a little unsure about this receipt but I tried it anyways, it was so delicious. Why would I have doubts when everything I cook from your receipts are delicious your receipts never fail!! Thank you!!
mmartinez
Hello April,
Thank you for trying the recipe. This is one of my husband favorite recipes. Well, almost any meat cooked Veracruz Style, likes it. I hope you can see the other options here in the blog cooked that way.
Catherine Rowland
Will it make a big difference if i leave out the raisins?
mmartinez
Hello Catherine,
No, the raisins give it the sweet taste and with all the ingredients mixed up creates a whole rich flavor. But, if you don't want to use it, the dish will still be great.
Margarita Gordon
You often say you sometimes use canned tomatoes in the winter...but you do not give the quantity of canned to.atoed to use in place of fresh.
I.e. chicken veracruz.
mmartinez
Hello Margarita,
For this recipe you will need 1 can of tomatoes (24 oz) size.
Lyra
Wonderful and although it looks like a lot, its amazingly fast and easy!
Mely Martínez
Hi Lyra,
Thank you for trying the Chicken Veracruz Style recipe. I'm so glad you like it.
Mikey
Delicious recipe. It was a slight departure from what I normally do, but on Cinco de Mayo, Mexico called my name. These one-pot dishes are the best kind, this one proving the point one time again. This meal is one more example where the process is a cinch yet people may be none the wiser.
What I liked was the unusual range of flavours within each bite. It could be sweet one bite, a little spicy the next (I added a jalapeno - and no, I did not discard the seeds). You just never knew, plus it was a balanced meal. Mexican is one of my favourite cuisines - and Chicken Veracruz is an example why.
Highly likely I will revisit it, and not need to wait until the holiday to do so.