Asopao de Pollo is a deliciously hearty Puerto Rican chicken stew made with sofrito, adobo seasoning, and rice. It's the perfect meal for a cold winter night, or whenever you're feeling under the weather.
Recipe by Salima Benkhalti on February 28, 2022
Prep time: PT20M
Cook time: PT30M
Total time: PT50M
Rating
4.9 stars ( reviews)
Keywords
Asopao de Pollo, Puerto Rican Chicken Stew
Ingredients
1 tbsp achiote oil or olive oil
2 lbs chicken thighs, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 tsp adobo seasoning (see note for substitutions)
2 tsp sazon seasoning (see note for substitutions)
¼ cup sofrito (see note for substitutions)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 bay leafs
1 cup tomato sauce
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1 ½ cups medium grain white rice, rinsed
1 cup peas
1/2 cup pimento stuffed olives, drained and sliced in half
salt & pepper to taste
fresh cilantro to garnish
a squeeze of lime to garnish
Categories
Entree
Cuisine
Latin
Steps
In a large pot heat the oil over medium heat before adding in the chicken and sprinkling with adobo & sazon seasoning. Cook the chicken for a few minutes, turning regularly to brown on each side.
Add sofrito, bell pepper, carrot and celery to the pot and cook for a few more minutes or until the onions and garlic become fragrant.
Toss in bay leafs, tomato sauce, stock, and water and bring to a boil.
Once the liquid reaches a boil, add rice, lower to medium, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until rice is cooked through.
Once it’s cooked, add peas and olives; stir and cook for another minute or two.
Taste before adding salt and pepper. Garnish with extra cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.
Reviews
Meg on 2022-06-05 (5 stars): This was delicious. My husband raved about it. I'm making it again tonight.
Cecilia Lawson on 2023-03-27 (4 stars): Salima, I followed your recipe until In your instructions #2- no inclusion of garlic or onions were included in the enumerated recipe.
What are the correct amounts of garlic and onions are needed? Altho I added them to the measurements I thought would be fine.
Anne on 2023-04-06 (5 stars): That was quite tasty. Something I'd definitely make again.
Andriette Blackwelder on 2025-11-05 (5 stars): Thank you so much! I ended up going with frozen! It was a huge hit
Kaytee Heinrichs on 2023-12-19 (5 stars): This recipe came out great! Very close to my Grandma’s. We’re vegetarian so we used Gardein Chikn Strips. Amazing!
Rafa on 2024-03-22 (5 stars): Thank you for your recipe. I've made it many times, and use it as the base for my personal asopao recipe. My Puerto Rican parents approved :)
Frank on 2024-10-19 (5 stars): Hello 😀 I made this once before and the rice came out very mushy. I wonder if I didn’t rinse it enough. I am going to make it again tomorrow because I love this dish. My mother-in-law made this for me all the time and I miss it. Question is, should the rice be mushy or did I do something wrong? Thank you in advance and love your site and recipes.
Florence on 2024-11-11 (5 stars): I tried your recipe tonight and it came out so good! How do I keep the rice from soaking up the broth? Do I add more when I warm it up? I want it to stay soupy lol
Nikki on 2025-02-09 (5 stars): Is there a way to do this in the crock pot? Normally I don’t do a lot a crock pot or slow cooker stuff, we’ve been so crazy busy lately. If not I guess I could wing it. My husband did a tour in PR for hurricane Maria so I was fortunate enough to learn some great recipes. I know everyone’s pernil is different I’m going to try yours.
