Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Seco de Pollo (Chicken Stew)
Chicken braised slowly in a sauce of tomato, onion, peppers, cilantro and beer until tender and glossy, served over rice.
Ecuadorian · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 60 min
~1074 cal · 94g protein · 101g carbs · 28g fat · 6g fiber · 19g sugars · 7g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Seco de pollo is Ecuador's everyday chicken stew, cooked slowly in a sauce of tomato, onion, peppers, herbs and a splash of beer until the meat is tender and the sauce turns thick and glossy. Despite the name, which means dry, it is a saucy , served over rice.
The traditional cooking liquid was chicha, a corn drink, but most cooks today reach for a light beer, sometimes with the tart juice of naranjilla (lulo) to keep the flavour bright. The chicken is browned first, then simmered with a blended sofrito of onion, garlic, bell pepper, tomato and plenty of cilantro.
It is a homey, satisfying dish, usually plated with yellow rice, fried ripe and slices of avocado.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
3 lb bone-in chicken pieces
2 tbsp () oil
1 white onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup light beer
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
to taste salt and black pepper
4 cups cooked white or yellow rice, to serve
2 ripe , fried, to serve
Instructions
1
Rub the chicken with cumin, salt and pepper. Brown the pieces in the achiote oil in a heavy pot, then set aside.
2
Blend the onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, half the cilantro and parsley, the oregano and the beer into a smooth sauce.
3
Pour the blended sauce into the pot, scraping up the browned bits, and simmer a few minutes to cook off the raw edge.
4
Return the chicken, cover, and braise on low about 45 minutes until very tender.
5
If the sauce is thin, lift out the chicken and reduce the sauce until glossy, then return the chicken and stir in the remaining herbs.
✎ Chef’s note
If the beer leaves any bitterness, a squeeze of orange or lime brings the sauce back into balance.
6
Serve over rice with fried ripe plantains and avocado.
Ecuadorian home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Pichincha (Andes). Altitude sets the menu. Quito sits around 2,850 metres up, where water boils below 100 degrees and everything simmered takes longer, and the potato does the work that rice does lower down. Locro is simply the Quechua word ruqru, meaning stew, and it arrives thick with potato, cheese and avocado.
🗺️
Ecuador. The Andes eat what the coast does not. Locro de papa is a potato soup finished with cheese and avocado; mote, hulled hominy corn, turns up beside almost everything in the southern highlands; and the aji sauce on the table is thinner and sharper than a Mexican salsa, usually built on tree tomato or the small yellow rocoto family.
🌍
South America. South America's cooking follows its dramatic geography, potatoes and quinoa in the high Andes, cassava and river fish in the Amazon basin, and grass-fed beef on the pampas. Indigenous ingredients like maize, ají peppers, and cacao meet Spanish, Portuguese, African, Italian, and Japanese influences brought by five centuries of migration. Ceviche, feijoada, arepas, and the smoke of the asado are its most beloved icons.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Ecuador
LlapingachosGolden potato patties with melting cheese centers, griddled and served with peanut sauce and pickled onions.
Bolón de VerdeA ball of mashed green plantain stuffed with cheese, pan-crisped golden, the filling coastal breakfast of Ecuador.
EncebolladoA brothy tuna-and-cassava soup topped with a tangle of pickled red onion, Ecuador's midday cure-all.
Browse all Ecuador recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Blender.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Ecuador meal
Colada MoradaDrink
Higos con QuesoDessert
EncebolladoLunch
Similar dishes from around the world
Moamba de Ginguba (Peanut Chicken Stew)Angola
Muamba de GalinhaAngola
Belizean Stew ChickenBelize
Poulet à la MoambeRepublic of the Congo
Pollo con Salsa de CacahueteEquatorial Guinea
Fijian Chicken CurryFiji
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Seco de Pollo (Chicken Stew)?
Chicken braised slowly in a sauce of tomato, onion, peppers, cilantro and beer until tender and glossy, served over rice.
Where does Seco de Pollo (Chicken Stew) come from?
Seco de Pollo (Chicken Stew) is a Ecuadorian dish from Pichincha (Andes), Ecuador.
Can Seco de Pollo (Chicken Stew) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Seco de Pollo (Chicken Stew) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Seco de Pollo (Chicken Stew) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Seco de Pollo (Chicken Stew) take to make?
About 80 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 60 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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