This rich, warmly spiced Caribbean Chicken Stew is - without question - one of the most delicious, satisfying, flavorful chicken stews you'll ever eat!
A simple buttermilk-jalapeño marinade gives this rich, hearty chicken stew has just the right amount of kick. The long, slow baking time mellows the pepper's heat, resulting in a thick, savory, mildly spiced chicken stew.
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This Caribbean Chicken Stew is one of our very favorite family meals! Not only is it easy to make and dependably delicious, but it's economical too; making it perfect for a gathering of friends or a cozy family meal any night of the week.
One of the keys to this recipe is browning the marinated chicken before making the stew - that all adds some serious next-level flavor to an already amazing combination.
Recipe Updated July 2, 2020 (Originally published May 2, 2014)
How to Make Caribbean Chicken Stew
Marinade the Chicken
Gather and prep marinade ingredients.
Combine cilantro, garlic, brown sugar, chopped pepper, buttermilk, oil, salt, and pepper in a blender cup and process until smooth.
If you like things a little more spicy, add an extra jalapeño to the marinade mix.
Put the chicken pieces in a large, resealable bag, pour marinade over chicken, and seal bag.
Squish everything around thoroughly to coat all chicken pieces. Allow to marinate in refrigerator for at least one hour, and up to 24 hours.
Make the Stew
Preheat oven to 375°. Gather and prep stew ingredients.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Use tongs to place chicken pieces in hot oil. Chicken should sizzle and pop immediately. If it doesn't, you need to heat the pan longer.
Brown chicken on two sides, 2-3 minutes on each side. Brown chicken in batches; do not not crowd the chicken in the pan.
Remove browned chicken pieces from Dutch oven and set aside. Reserve any marinade left in the bottom of the marinating bag.
Reduce heat to medium. Add a little additional olive oil if the pot seems too dry.
Add the sliced onions to the hot oil in pot and sauté until translucent in whatever is left in the bottom after browning chicken.
To the onions in the Dutch oven; add coconut milk, tomato paste, white wine, grated ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes more, then remove from heat.
Stir reserve marinade into the sauce.
Place chicken pieces back in Dutch oven on top of sauce.
Put the cubed vegetables on top of the chicken. Cover Dutch oven tightly and place in middle of preheated oven.
Cook for 2 hours at 325°F | 163°C. (See Cooking Times in notes)
At this point, the vegetables should all be tender, and the chicken should be nearly falling off the bone.
Using tongs or a slotted spoon, carefully remove chicken pieces from stew. Carefully toss the cooked vegetables in the sauce at the bottom of the Dutch oven.
Replace the chicken in the stew and serve; alone or over rice. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
If you love chicken stew, be sure to check out our recipes for Apricot Chicken Tagine with Ginger & Mint and Classic Homemade Chicken Pot Pie (from Scratch).
Caribbean Chicken Stew
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1½ ounces cilantro about 1 cup chopped; reserve a little extra for garnish
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar See Notes
- 1 medium jalapeno pepper rough chopped [Seeds=Spice; remove them if desired. Even with the seeds, the end result is a very mildly spiced stew.]
- 6 ounces buttermilk or plain yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoons turns freshly ground pepper
Stew Base
- 3 pounds chicken pieces bone-in chicken; skinless or skin-on I prefer to use legs & thighs for this recipe.
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion peeled and thinly sliced root to stem
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste ketchup works
- ½ cup white wine or water
- ½ ounce fresh ginger grated or minced; about 1½ Tbls
- ¼ teaspoons freshly ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Root Vegetables [Use a TOTAL of 3 lbs /1.3kg of any combination of the following.]
- 1 large sweet potato peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 large yam peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 medium carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium plantain sliced in thick rounds
Instructions
Marinate the Chicken
- Gather and prep marinade ingredients.
- Combine cilantro, garlic, brown sugar, chopped pepper, buttermilk, oil, salt, and pepper in a blender cup.
- Process until smooth.
- Put the chicken pieces in a large, resealable bag.
- Pour marinade over chicken and seal bag. Squish everything around thoroughly to coat all chicken pieces. Allow to marinate in refrigerator for at least one hour, and up to 24 hours.
Make the Stew
- Preheat oven to 375°. Gather and prep stew ingredients.
- Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Use tongs to place chicken pieces in hot oil. Chicken should sizzle and pop immediately. If it doesn't, you need to heat the pan longer.
- Brown chicken on two sides, 2-3 minutes on each side. Brown chicken in batches; do not not crowd the chicken in the pan. Remove browned chicken pieces from Dutch oven and set aside. Reserve any marinade left in the bottom of the marinating bag.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add a little additional olive oil if the pot seems too dry. Add the sliced onions to the hot oil in pot.
- In Dutch oven, sauté onions until translucent in whatever is left in the bottom after browning chicken.
- To the onions in the Dutch oven; add coconut milk, tomato paste, white wine, grated ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
- Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes more, then remove from heat.
- Stir reserve marinade into the sauce.
- Place chicken pieces back in Dutch oven on top of sauce.
- Put the cubed vegetables on top of the chicken. Cover Dutch oven tightly and place in middle of preheated oven.
- Cook for 2 hours at 325°F | 163°C. (See Cooking Times in notes)
- Using tongs or a slotted spoon, carefully remove chicken pieces from stew. (At this point, the vegetables should all be tender, and the chicken should be nearly falling off the bone.)Carefully toss the cooked vegetables in the sauce at the bottom of the Dutch oven.
- Replace the chicken in the stew and serve; alone or over rice. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
Notes
- 325°F | 163°C -- 2 hours [Preferred]
- 350°F | 177°C -- 1½ hours
- 1 large sweet potato
- 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 medium yam*
- 3 medium carrots
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
DID YOU KNOW? If you live in North American, chances are you've never eaten a real yam!
True yams are almost impossible to find in North America! In fact, if you are an American, it’s very likely that you have never eaten a real yam! Real yams originated in and are now mostly commercially grown in Africa. The two top-producing sweet potato states in the nation are North Carolina and California.
If you're looking for a light, easy side with a little Caribbean flare to serve alongside this incredibly tasty chicken stew, be sure to try out our Caribbean Mango Salad! (Find more delicious side dish recipes here!)
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Crystal A. says
I wonder what mangoes would do to this stew. It sounds really yummy!
Renée ♥ says
You really *do* love your mangoes, don't you,Crystal!?! (We do too!) I think if you added them to the stew, they would probably cook down and add some sweetness to the stew "sauce," but I don't think you would get mango bites unless you added them toward the end. We served this up with my Caribbean Mango Salad from the other day and they complemented one another really well.
Adventures in Dressmaking says
Yum, sounds delicious!!! I've only made chicken a handful of times , recently, since I was vegetarian and vegan for 13 years and just don't like it that much unless it has great flavor and extra healthy fats added! I made a chocolate chicken mole in the slow cooker the other day from The Paleo Foodie cookbook, it was soooo good. This recipe sounds like something I'd like, too!! Lots of spices, different/exotic flavor. Will have to remember this one!
Pech says
Great photos! I love the extra detail of the grill marks!
Courtney Nicole says
My boyfriend and I were just talking about how we need to change up our chicken recipe. This sounds like our solution. Looks scrumptious - thanks for sharing!
Mary Ann says
What an amazing looking recipe! Adding this to Pinterest now, and hopefully making it soon!
Lindsey says
After meeting you at the PDX Bloggers event, I kept meaning to reach out to you! I'm so glad I made my way back to your site after joining the post feed group 🙂
What a great post - and I'm so glad you posted a veggie option! I've been looking for some new veggie meals to work into my menus and almost forgot you had experience with that from your family. Goes to show I need to keep in touch better!
Isabela Machado says
This yes is a great recipe with chicken! I have a meeting tomorrow with friends and now I know what to do for dinner. Great tips.
Suzy says
This was such a hearty and tasty dish! So easy to make! The flavor was amazing!
Irina says
I am used to making beef stew, but I have never tried chicken stew. Your recipe sounds amazingly delicious! I cannot wait to give it a try. Well, tomorrow is my day 😉
Whitney says
This looks mouth watering, can't wait to try it! I also think adding some mango or even pineapple to the stew would create an interesting flavor!
Ashley says
This sounds absolutely phenomenal!! I'm saving to make later next week!
veenaazmanov says
A mouth melting, super delicious and well cooked stew with all the yummy spices, surely makes this dish a perfect and a comforting meal for the family. I love it all.