Guisado de Pollo

Guisado de pollo made in a slow cooker, Instant Pot or on the stovetop with boneless skinless chicken thighs, potatoes, carrots and onions is a popular Puerto Rican recipe your whole family will love, either mild or spicy.

Pollo Guisado is the best. Chicken marinates in a pot of super bowl flavors this way all day long until you’re ready to gobble it up. We have a lot of easy Crockpot meals on our site and there are a ton of ways to tweak it. Spicy to medium or mild, try it all.

What is Pollo Guisado?

It’s a traditional Latin American and Caribbean chicken stew made by braising chicken with vegetables, herbs, and seasonings until tender. The dish often features ingredients like onions, bell peppers, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, olives, and fresh herbs, simmered in a flavorful broth seasoned with spices such as cumin, oregano, and paprika typically served with rice, beans, or plantains

The English translation is stewed chicken or braised chicken. In this case I would use the term stewed to better describe it. Yes you can make this on the stovetop too, and faster if you like. I will say that low and slooooooow is definitely the way to go for this one in particular though. Just like our Puerto Rican beef stew it needs time to soak up all the YUM.

Guisado de Pollo with Frozen Chicken

You could use fresh or frozen pieces to make this. Surprisingly there is not much of a difference in cook time if you slow cook it like we suggest below. On the stove it may take an additional 20 minutes or so to get so tender that they can be shredded but not bad. Just make sure once added they are separated from one another so the meat cooks evenly and quicker.

If using frozen chicken thighs in slow cooker I would use small to medium thighs boneless skinless for that. Make sure when you add them that they are broken apart from one another.

Variations

Pollo de Guisado (braised chicken stew) can be made spicy too. If you want to add heat I like either red pepper flakes (the best) or jalapeno powder is amazing too. Start with 1/4 tsp at the beginning. After it has cooked, test and see if you want more. If so add 1/4 tsp and taste again like this so it doesn’t become too much.

As far as the proteins go you could use white meat, but dark is so much better. For an authentic dish that is what you’ll want. A pretty cheap boneless skinless chicken thigh recipe we love. I can dump it all in before I leave for the day and know we will be able to enjoy a great meal together when we all return.

First you’re going to prep all the things. Carrots should be cut into dials and then halved, or quartered depending on how soft you want them. The smaller they are the more tender they will become. I prefer that onions are diced and baby potatoes halved.

Slow Cooker Method

If using boneless skinless and small in sizes, to reach the proper temp of 165F inside it will take about 4 hours. If your pieces are larger though (or if you want so tender you can shred with 2 forks) it may need longer. High power will be faster but typically I suggest low because the texture is better.

Stovetop Method

If you did decide to use a pot on the stove I would set to medium high heat, add a bit of olive oil (or aceite de oliva) and brown the white or dark chicken pieces first. This will keep them moist as they stew for hours. Then add everything else, bring to a boil on low heat and covered with a lid. You would leave on a low boil for about an hour 30 minutes stirring occasionally. It will be ready to serve once the meat is so tender it can be pulled apart with 2 forks.

How you serve it is up to you. Typically it is just ladled into a bowl and that is it. I you want to make it a bit heartier you could serve it over slow cooker white rice which we love or us a slotted spoon to add it into small tortillas to make tacos.

Instant Pot Method

You can make a version of Guisado de Pollo chicken recipe in a pressure cooker too. Basically it would be like our Instant Pot chicken stew recipe. As with anything else we make there are tons of tweaks you can make with it too. Want to make it a bit sweeter? Add a tbsp of brown sugar if you like. I already spoke about heat, or not.

For another version that is not a tomato base, but similar you could give caldo de pollo a whirl too. Same temp. and timing for your Crockpot would apply for that one too. Soups are one of the best meals made this way so they can cook slowly and get everything sort of marinating together with a low heat.

Can you reheat chicken stew the next day?

Of course! You know how I hate to waste food so leftovers is always a thing at our house. I usually eat it for lunch the next day. Make sure it is room temperature before storing in a container overnight, or up to 3 days, in your fridge. Then transfer to a microwave safe dish and heat 45 seconds at a time stirring in between until warm.

I like adding some cheese to melt on the top the last 30 seconds. Then add something cool like sour cream and avocado to the top so it tastes fresh, even though it isn’t. Honestly this is sometimes better the next day as it is allowed to continue to sit and soak. Love this? Try some other easy slow cooker chicken recipes here next.