Description
Someone in Cuba figured out that if you brown chicken until it’s golden, sauté a ridiculous amount of peppers and onions, add wine and tomatoes, throw in some olives for brininess, and let everything simmer together until the chicken falls off the bone, you get something that makes people lean back in their chairs and go quiet for a minute. Cuban Chicken Fricassee (Fricase de Pollo) is what happens when Spanish sofrito meets Caribbean ingredients meets “I’m going to make this so good you’ll forget your own name” home cooking. It’s tender chicken swimming in a sauce that’s savory, slightly sweet, tangy from wine and tomatoes, and punctuated with briny olives and sweet peppers.
This isn’t some bland, beige chicken stew. This is “brown that chicken hard, caramelize those vegetables until they’re sweet and soft, deglaze with wine like you mean it, and simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat everything in flavor” cooking. The chicken is fall-apart tender. The potatoes soak up all that incredible sauce. The peppers and olives add pops of flavor and color. Together, they’re the kind of one-pot meal that makes you understand why Cuban food has such a devoted following.
This is abuela energy without needing the abuela. It’s what happens when you take simple, accessible ingredients and treat them with patience and proper technique. It’s the kind of dinner that tastes like it took all day but actually just requires occasional stirring while you do other things.
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 3–4 pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks (bone-in, skin-on for maximum flavor)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil (for browning)
For the Sofrito Base:
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 4–5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional but adds depth)
For the Sauce:
- 1 cup dry white wine (nothing fancy, just drinkable)
- 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken stock or water
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (concentrates the tomato flavor)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (balances the acidity)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
For the Mix-Ins:
- 4–5 medium Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 cup green olives with pimientos, drained (the Cuban signature ingredient)
- 1/2 cup raisins (optional but traditional—adds subtle sweetness)
- 2 tablespoons capers (optional but adds briny punch)
- 1/4 cup frozen peas (add in the last 5 minutes)
- Fresh parsley or cilantro for garnish
Optional But Highly Recommended:
- Red wine vinegar (a splash at the end brightens everything)
- Sazón seasoning packet (adds color and flavor)
- White rice for serving (non-negotiable in Cuban cuisine)
- Crusty bread for sopping up sauce
- Hot sauce at the table (for heat lovers)
- Extra olives because you can never have too many
Special Equipment:
- Large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with lid
- Tongs for flipping chicken
- Wooden spoon for stirring
- Sharp knife for chopping vegetables
- Patience (this dish rewards time)
Instructions
Pat the chicken pieces completely dry with paper towels—wet chicken won’t brown properly. In a small bowl, mix the salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano. Season the chicken generously on all sides with this spice mixture. Let it sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes while you prep your vegetables. This brings the chicken to room temp for even cooking and lets the seasonings penetrate the meat.
Heat the oil in your Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it’s shimmering and almost smoking. Working in batches if necessary (don’t crowd the pot), add the chicken pieces skin-side down. Let them sizzle undisturbed for 6-7 minutes until the skin is deeply golden brown and crispy and releases easily from the pot. Flip and brown the other side for another 5-6 minutes. You’re building a flavor foundation here—those brown bits stuck to the pot are pure gold. Remove the chicken to a plate. It’s fine if it’s not cooked through yet.
Pour off all but about 2-3 tablespoons of fat from the pot. If there’s not enough, add a bit more oil. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion and pepper strips. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes until the vegetables are very soft and starting to caramelize. They should be sweet and tender, not crunchy. This is the sofrito base—the flavor foundation of Cuban cooking. Don’t rush it.
Add the minced garlic, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, and bay leaf. Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes until incredibly fragrant and the garlic has softened but not browned. If you burn the garlic, it’ll taste bitter. Keep stirring. Your kitchen should smell absolutely incredible right now—that’s how you know you’re doing it right.
Pour in the white wine. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all those beautiful brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot—this is called deglazing and it’s where massive flavor lives. Let the wine bubble and reduce for 3-4 minutes until it’s reduced by about half and the raw alcohol smell has cooked off. The liquid should look slightly syrupy.
Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, chicken stock, and sugar. Stir everything together until the tomato paste is fully dissolved and the sauce is smooth. Taste it—it should be savory, slightly acidic, and aromatic from the spices. Season with salt and pepper. Remember that the olives and capers you’ll add later are salty, so go easy on the salt now.
Nestle the browned chicken pieces back into the pot, skin-side up if possible. Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken. Add the olives and raisins (if using) now—they need time to infuse their flavor into the sauce. Bring everything to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and let it cook gently for 25-30 minutes.
Add the potato chunks to the pot, nestling them into the sauce around the chicken. They should be mostly submerged. If there’s not enough liquid, add a splash more stock or water. Cover and continue cooking for another 25-30 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender and the chicken is falling off the bone. Check occasionally and give everything a gentle stir.
Add the capers (if using) and frozen peas in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning—add more salt, pepper, or a splash of red wine vinegar if it needs brightness. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon but still saucy. If it’s too thick, add a bit more stock. If it’s too thin, simmer uncovered for 10 minutes to reduce it.
Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit, covered, for 10 minutes. This resting time lets the flavors meld and the sauce thicken slightly. Remove the bay leaf—nobody wants to bite into that. Give everything one final gentle stir. The chicken should be so tender it’s practically falling apart.
Ladle the fricassee into shallow bowls over a mound of fluffy white rice. Make sure each serving gets chicken, potatoes, peppers, olives, and plenty of that incredible sauce. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley or cilantro. The green herbs aren’t just for looks—they add a fresh note that balances the rich stew.
Take a bite. Notice how the chicken is fall-apart tender and infused with all those flavors from the sauce. Taste the potatoes that have absorbed the wine, tomato, and olive-flavored liquid. Experience the briny pop of olives, the sweetness of peppers, the subtle raisins if you used them. Feel how the sauce coats everything in savory, slightly tangy goodness. Realize you’ve just made authentic Cuban comfort food and it tastes exactly like it should. Immediately reach for another bite.
Notes
Don’t Skip the Browning: That deep color on the chicken and those stuck bits create the flavor base. No shortcuts.
Sofrito Needs Time: Cook those onions and peppers until they’re truly soft and sweet. Crunchy vegetables ruin the texture.
Wine Quality Matters: Use something you’d drink. Cooking wine from the grocery store tastes terrible.
Low and Slow: Once everything’s in the pot, keep the heat low. Gentle simmering makes tender chicken.
Taste and Adjust: The olives and capers are salty. Taste before adding more salt at the end.
Let It Rest: Ten minutes of resting time improves the texture and flavor. Be patient.
Serve Over Rice: Cuban fricassee without rice is like tacos without tortillas. Just wrong.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Nutrition
- Calories: ~420 kcal
- Fat: ~18g
- Carbohydrates: ~32g
- Protein: ~35g