My Spanish chicken stew is packed with authentic Mediterranean flavors such as smoky chorizo, peppers and olives. It is an easy one-pot meal that's quick enough for a weeknight but tastes like it has been cooking all day. Naturally low carb and keto, too!
I recently went to Spain and fell in love with the wonderfully rustic Spanish cooking.
This chicken and chorizo stew is my Spain holiday distilled into one pot. It is like having dinner by the Mediterranean sea.
Here is what you'll get: Tender chicken and smoky chorizo simmered with peppers and olives in a herby, garlicky tomato sauce. Satisfying, filling comfort food.
Even better, I have given it my very on low carb twist, so one generous serving is only 7.8g net carbs.
Also try my Moroccan lamb stew and this beef and cabbage stew.
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What's To Love About This Recipe
Easy. This is a simple one pot dinner with minimal prep that simmers on the stove. It basically cooks itself and is ready in 45 minutes.
So tasty. This is tomato chicken stew at its best - a deeply savory, thick sauce with rustic Spanish sabores. Plenty of chicken and smoky chorizo, veggies and green olives for a tangy twist. Plus a Mediterranean style topping that I heartily recommend!
Naturally low carb. My keto chicken stew skips the beans, rice and potatoes without anyone feeling like they're missing out. It is also high in protein and gluten free.
Great for meal prep. The stew can be prepared ahead and freezes well. It's a family-friendly meal that you can also prepare in the slow cooker or the Instant pot.
Ingredients
This recipe uses classic Spanish stew ingredients. You'll find exact quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, but I wanted to give you a bit of extra info right here:
- Chicken - I used skinless chicken breast here, but skinless, boneless thighs are fine, too.
- Chorizo - Use a Spanish cooking chorizo and not a Mexican chorizo. Spanish chorizo is cured, which makes it firmer than the raw Mexican type. It gives the stew its signature smoky flavor.
The brand I like the most is Alejandro. They don't add any preservatives or sugars. Of course, a basic supermarket chorizo will taste just fine. - Vegetables - Onion and garlic are essentials, plus bell peppers (any color) and fennel. Fennel is a traditional ingredient in Spanish stews, especially in Mediterranean regions like Anadalucia. Use a mandoline for thin fennel slices, which thicken the stew.
- Herbs - Oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. I had fresh to hand, but you'll find amounts for dried herbs in the recipe card.
- Sauce - A dry white wine, plus a tin of chopped tomatoes (I like the Mutti brand) plus double concentrated tomato paste and chicken stock. I also added smoked paprika.
- Extras - Chopped sundried tomatoes add oodles of flavor and melt into the sauce. Last but not least, no Spanish stew would be complete without green olives.
I topped the stew with crumbled feta cheese. This is my personal (Mediterranean) tweak. I think the tangy saltiness of feta works PERFECTLY in this recipe. Don't omit it!
Instructions
It is simple to make a Spanish chicken stew. Here are the basic steps.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed method with ingredient amounts, timings and nutrition information.
STEP 1
Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Add the sliced onions and sauté until they are starting to soften.
Next, add the sliced (or diced) chorizo. Fry until it releases its fat and is nice and crispy.
STEP 2
Add the garlic, chicken, fennel and peppers. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the chicken is no longer pink.
STEP 3
Stir in the thyme, rosemary, oregano, bay, salt, pepper and paprika. Then, pour over the white wine and cook it off.
STEP 4
Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, sun-dried tomatoes (if using) and chicken stock. Bring everything to the boil.
Stew on a medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes until the flavors are concentrated.
STEP 5
Add the olives and cook for another few minutes to thicken the stew. Season to taste again with salt and pepper. Top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and parsley plus optional feta cheese crumbles.
Katrin's Top Tips
Chorizo #1: If your chorizo is quite fatty, fry it first. Once it is crisp, brown and has released all its fat, remove it from the pan. Then, sauté the onions slowly in the chorizo fat. Add the chorizo back to the pan when you add the chopped tomatoes.
Chorizo #2: There are spicy versions of cooking chorizo (called "picante"). If you like a bit of heat, choose one of those. This will flavor the entire stew.
Add olives at the end. This way, you preserve their plumpness and texture.
Make it ahead. I think the stew tastes even better on day 2, once the flavors have time to meld together.
Variations
If carbs are not a concern, feel free to add chickpeas (garbanzos) or butterbeans straight into the stew.
Olives: Black olives taste just as good as green olives in a Spanish-style chicken stew. Just make sure they are de-stoned so therer are no dental emergencies.
Tomatoes: You can use fresh tomatoes instead of tinned. They must be ripe, sweet and of good quality. Just like all Mediterranean cuisine, Spanish cooking is so great because it uses simple, fresh and natural ingredients.
Change the protein: Swap the chicken for pork or add prawns like I do in my keto paella. Add the shrimp right at the end so they don't go chewy.
Dairy-free: Top the stew with a dairy-free feta such as by Violife.
You could also add shavings of manchego cheese to keep the stew fully Spanish.
Serving Ideas
The stew tastes great all on its own and one serving is a filling meal. But, you can add a side for extra hungry people.
If you're on keto, serve over cauliflower rice, with zucchini noodles or keto pita bread.
For the non-keto family, option to serve over rice or potatoes. Or, let them scoop up the sauce with a slice of crusty bread. Both sourdough or focaccia would work great.
Last but not least, consider adding a crunchy green side salad!
Recipe FAQs
No. My chicken stew is smoky rather than hot. The smoky flavor comes from the paprika in the Spanish chorizo and from the smoked paprika.
Yes. This stew tastes even better after a day in the fridge. It also freezes well. You can double or triple the recipe to make a large batch.
Yes. Chicken thighs stay especially tender during simmering.
I recommend it, yes. Even if you are usually not a fennel fan, I am sure you'll love it in the stew. It adds a gentle, mellow sweetness and complements the smoky chorizo flavor beautifully.
Storage
Fridge: The stew stays fresh for up to 4 days. Put the whole pot into the refrigerator with the lid on, once it has cooled down fully.
Freezer: Chicken stew is perfect for freezing. I portion it out into single servings and freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheating: Reheat leftovers over a low heat on the stovetop or in the microwave on a medium power level. If previously frozen, let it defrost overnight in the fridge.
More Mediterranen Chicken Recipes
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Recipe
Spanish Chicken Stew (Easy One-Pot Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion finely sliced, 70g
Meat
- ½ chorizo ring sliced or diced, 100g / 3.5oz
- 3 chicken breasts skinless, cubed, 600g / 1.3lb (or use thighs)
Vegetables
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup fennel thinly sliced, 100g
- 1 cup red bell pepper diced, 1 large / 120g
- 1 cup orange bell pepper diced 1 large / 120g
Herbs & Spices
- 6 thyme sprigs or 1-2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika add 2 teaspoons for a smokier flavor
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ⅓ teaspoon black pepper
Sauce
- ¼ cup white wine 60ml
- 1 can chopped tomatoes 14 oz / 400g
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste 30g
- 4 sundried tomatoes chopped, 12g (optional)
- 1 ¾ cups chicken stock 420ml
- ⅓ cup pitted olives green or black, 70g (20 olives)
To Serve
- 1 tablespoon parsley finely chopped
- ⅓ cup feta 50g, crumbled (optional)
- ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil to drizzle over the top, optional
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions on a medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the sliced or chopped chorizo for 2-4 minutes or until it is crispy and releases its fat. ***see recipe notes
- Add the garlic, chicken, fennel and peppers. Cook for 8 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink.
- Stir in the thyme, rosemary, oregano, bay, salt, pepper, paprika. Pour in the white wine and cook it off for 3 minutes.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, sun dried tomatoes (if using) and chicken stock. Bring everything to the boil, then cook on a medium heat for 15 - 20 minutess until the flavours are concentrated.
- Add the olives, and cook for another 3-5 minutes to thicken the stew. Season to taste again with salt and pepper to taste before serving with chopped parsley, optional crumbled feta and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Anne
I loved this recipe and so did my family. Definitely will make it again. The only alteration I was was to use more herbs and paprika.
Mrs Maria Hall
Thank you for this recipe, love this stew, very tasty, my husband doesn't like olives but in the stew he doesn't mind, he said, you have to make it again.
Katrin Nürnberger
Sounds like you have to put it on the “regulars” list!
Randy
For someone who can't have tomatoes, what would be your suggestion for a substitute? My mother is super allergic to anything tomato based, otherwise this looks amazing.
Katrin Nürnberger
I would use chicken stock and a mix of red peppers and celery and zucchini. Imagine this like a blended soup, with the same consistency as a can of chopped tomatoes. Zucchini is great for thickening low carb sauces as it does not have a strong flavour.