African Chicken Stew – a stew like no other. It’s easy, aromatic and flavorful with a thick rich tomato-based sauce. Great weeknight meal. Pair it with warm rice and plantains and you’ll have your new favorite chicken dinner!
Stews have always been a part of the cuisine in Africa specifically in West African countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and my home country Cameroon. They are also popular in some East African Countries like Kenya. There are all kinds of stews – beef, oxtail, and fish and, of course, these deeply-flavored chicken stew.
I have encountered many variations of stews through the years and I love them all, to be honest. But what makes it African-style is that it starts with browning the chicken that gives the stew extra flavor. You may choose to omit this part to cut down on the use of oil.
How to Make Chicken Stew the African-style?
Tomato-based dishes are a big thing in most African countries. We just love that acidic and sweetness flavor profile you get in a tomato-based stew.
Now after browning the chicken, this stew is followed by slowly simmering tomatoes and onions. You can use canned tomatoes, fresh or puree tomatoes.
I like to use Roma tomatoes when I can. They are less acidic and reduces the cooking time but I often use canned tomato sauce. In my opinion, a good African stew is one that has a noticeable tomato presence without the sharp taste. A few added spices like curry, thyme, paprika, and onions helps in this process. Yielding an intensely flavorful yet balanced sauce.
While some stews may take a long time to cook, the actual preparation is simple and straight forward with AMAZING results. Trust me, you’ll want seconds and thirds of this.
How Long Can You Keep Chicken Stew in the Fridge?
This type of stew usually is good for 1-2 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Just simply reheat it through on the stovetop when serving.
What to Serve with Chicken Stew?
Stews were once considered a MUST have for Christmas tables in Cameroon. – A festive meal. Each home, cooking up their own variation, for friends and family to savor. It pairs well with white rice or any starchy side (plantains, yams,). Below are just few of our favorite dishes to pair with this scrumptious dinner.
More Stew Recipes to Explore
- Slow Cooker Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken
- Brunswick Stew
- Hot Pot Potatoes (African Stewed Potatoes)
- Maafe (Peanut Stew)
- Jamaican Oxtail Stew
- Fish Stew
How to Make Chicken Stew (African Style)
Season chicken with, salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning. Set aside.
In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat, until hot, and then add the chicken and sauté stirring, frequently, any browned bits off the bottom of the pot, until chicken is brown.
If using fresh tomatoes, blend tomatoes, onions, garlic, and onions. Pour the tomatoes blend in the pot of chicken, bring to a boil and let it simmer until tender (depending on the chicken) about 20- 30 minutes, frequently stirring the saucepan to prevent burns. If using tomato sauce; add the onion, sauté until tender, about 4-5- minutes. Pour tomato sauce, curry powder, smoked paprika, thyme, bay leaf, garlic, and bouillon powder. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Add about 2 cups of water to the pan.
Add carrots, green onions, parsley. Cook for another 5 minutes. Adjust the thickness of soup with water or stock. Season with salt according to preference. Remove bay leaf. Serve over warm rice.
Watch How To Make It
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This post was first published in September 2013 and has been updated with new photos, write up and a video.
Chicken Stew (African-Style)
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Ingredients
- 3-3½ pound (1.5kg) chicken, cut in pieces
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 teaspoons (4-8g) Creole seasoning
- ¼-½ cup (62-125g) oil (canola, olive, or vegetable oil)
- 5-6 Roma tomatoes (or 2 cups tomato sauce)
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon (8g) garlic, minced (3-4 cloves)
- 1½ teaspoon (1.5g) dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon (7g) smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon (0.5g) curry powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon Maggi or bouillon (chicken-flavored)
- 2 cups (475ml) water
- 2 green onion, chopped (whites and green parts)
- 3 tablespoon (12g) parsley
- 1-2 cups (130-250g) carrot, sliced
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat until hot, and then add the chicken and sauté, stirring frequently and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot until the chicken is brown.
- If using fresh tomatoes, blend tomatoes, onions, and garlic.
- If using tomato sauce, saute the onion and garlic until tender (4-5 minutes).
- Pour the tomato blend (or sauce, onion, and garlic) into the pot of chicken, add the thyme, smoked paprika, curry powder, bay leaf, and bouillon, bring to a boil, and let it simmer until tender (depending on the chicken), 20-30 minutes, frequently stirring to prevent the stew from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.
- Add carrots, green onions, and parsley. Cook for five more minutes. Adjust the thickness of the stew with water or stock.
- Season with salt according to preference. Remove bay leaf.
- Serve over warm rice.
Tips & Notes:
- You can throw in other vegetables, like potatoes or sweet potatoes, into this dish towards the last 15-20 minutes of cooking.
- You may use bone-in chicken breast for this dish. Or a rotisserie chicken, provided you add the chicken towards the last 15 minutes of cooking.
- For a little kick, you may add a bit of cayenne pepper.
- When using a crockpot, brown the chicken first, then add onions and tomato blend. Saute for about 5 minutes and finish it off in the crock pot for 3-4 hours on high.
- I used canola oil for this recipe, and I would not recommend palm oil for this one.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition Information:
Akilah says
Cooked this for dinner this evening. |It was slammin’!
ImmaculateBites says
That is Awesome! So glad loved it! 🙂
Sammy says
I cooked this and had it for dinner and for lunch the next day. Goodness, this stew is heavenly! Now I’m regretting offering my roommate some of the chicken leftovers haha. Thank you once again! You are turning me into a chef
Trish says
This is really good. I added a bit more spice and some hot paprika, I’m from New Orleans, we like things spicy. I also thickened it a bit with cornflour. I used plum tomatoes from my garden with bit of tomato paste.
Delicious.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for taking time to share your additions with us.
Francisca chy says
I love the recipe
bena says
nice though the oil looks much
ImmaculateBites says
Cut back on the oil, as needed.
Monica Ramos says
I don’t usually rate stuff but this was that amazing! Absolutely loved the recipe and it is not difficult at all.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks . Glad you enjoyed it.
Hazel says
I love your website and I have tried many of your dishes with great results but lately I have been trying to leave out procesed ingredients including the bouillon cubes. Is there a good natural substitute? Will the dish be as tasty if I just leave out the cube?
Daniela says
Am definitely making this tonight. Thanks Imma love you
Tanya Bell says
I was so nervous cooking for my African friend a African dinner. Long story short he loved it. He said it was delicious. Thank you… I did add plantains to the stew..
Dierdre Gay says
Can this be cooked in a crockpot?
ImmaculateBites says
It sure can. However, you might have some slight difference in taste.
Dierdre says
I used a crockpot. I still browned the chicken first. I cut down the amount of water but maybe not enough so next time I will add a thickener at the end. My mom thought dark meat would do better than the breast meat I used but I had no leftovers from my friends. My last question would be can you add other vegetables?
ImmaculateBites says
.Yes you can. Throw in vegetables towards the the last 1-2 hours of cooking .
Leah says
How long did you cook it for in your crockpot?
Daizhon Turner says
When would I put potatoes in?
ImmaculateBites says
Towards the last 15-20 minutes of cooking .
Joy Ashley Leath says
Can I use potatoes in this while it cooks?
imma africanbites says
Yes, you may.
Inquiring mind says
Would this work adding berbere spice? I want a doro wat type of stew.
ImmaculateBites says
It would work just fine.
Makéda says
Alaafia! I want to say thank you for sharing. I enjoyed this. I used chicken breast, I added just a 1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch in the end and spiked with a pinch of cayenne pepper. This is easy and tasty.
imma africanbites says
I’m so glad you liked it. 🙂
Eric says
Hello! I’m doing a tour around the world in my kitchen (in alphabetical order) with my mom who also loves to cook. We’ve been having a blast and this dish looks incredible, I can’t wait to try it! One quick question, do you use a more standard paprika or smoked paprika? You list just “paprika” twice but then said to put in the “smoked paprika” along with the other spices. There would certainly be a difference using one or the other. Thank you!
imma africanbites says
Any of the two would actually work fine. Enjoy!
StephAnie says
Green onions as in scallions?
imma africanbites says
Yes. Green onions or scallions.
Suzy says
I made this recipe and it was delicious. Browned chicken in frying pan, used fresh tomatoes and followed the recipe. Put the brown chicken and ingredients in my instantpot. Wonderful.
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
Stephanie says
Hi do you only add water when it says so?
imma africanbites says
Hi Stephanie. Updated the recipe box. Add about 2 cups of water and adjust the thickness of the soup using water or stock.
Su says
This was fantastic and warming on a cold winter night in Australia! thank you!
imma africanbites says
It definitely is perfect for cold days. Glad you like it, Su! Hope to visit Australia one day. =)
Kelly says
Could I use sweet potato instead of carrots?
imma africanbites says
Yes, you sure can.