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:
Kaymell Williams says
This was do delicious. Made it two days in a row…lol. The only thing I added was a lil sugar at the end. The canned tomatoes i used was a lil too acidic. The sugar balanced everything out. This will be a staple in my home
ImmaculateBites says
Glad it worked out well. Thanks for the tip!
Calista Zeeman says
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this fantastic blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to new updates and will talk about this blog with my Facebook group. Talk soon!
Imma Adamu says
Thank you for your appreciation and support, Calista! Happy cooking!
Treda says
I have had this is the past but it was spicy. What spice do I add to this to make it taste authentic spicy?
ImmaculateBites says
You can include ginger, more herbs like parsley, celery and basil.
Crystal says
Use a habanero pepper as you are adding in fresh tomatoes. That’s what my parents do and now me!❤️
Yana says
I just tried this tonight and it was delicious! Next time, I want to try potatoes along with the carrots. I can also see olives or okra working well in this dish.
Thank you for the great recipe!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Yana! Those additions will be delicious!! Thank you for the feedback!
Kyle says
Just made this recipe and it turned out very well! Will be adding to the dinner lineup. Looking forward to trying some of the other recipes on this site.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Kyle. So thrilled this turned out well for you. Can’t wait for you to try the other recipes. Do let me how it goes!
Alexis says
My husband is Cameroonian and has been begging me to make African food for a long time, but I always thought it would be too difficult and time-consuming. I tried this recipe and it was a huge hit with both him and our kids! Now I’m going to be trying out many more recipes from your blog. Thank you for making African food less intimidating for me to cook! My husband thanks you too.
imma africanbites says
So happy to have you around, Alexis. Looking forward for you to try my other recipes here on the blog. Enjoy!
Desiree says
4/11/2020
During the Coronavirus needed a new recipe for Chicken and I found this one. Very similar to
Creole cooking, just different spices. My husband loved and I will make it again.
Desiree says
4/11/2020
During the Coronavirus needed a new recipe for Chicken and I found this one. Very similar to
Creole cooking, just different spices.
ChiCityMatt says
Hi,
I don’t really cook much, so I’m a little confused about steps 3 and 4. If I’m using the fresh tomato/onion/garlic blend from step 3, do I still use everything in step 4 (Pour tomato sauce, curry powder, smoked paprika, thyme, bay leaf, garlic, and bouillon powder and add 2 cups of water)? Mine turned out a little soupy, although still very good.
Also, I noticed that the instructions said to add the tomato blend to the pot of chicken, but the video shows the sauce being prepared without the chicken and then the chicken being added back. Again, I very seldom cook, but this stay home order is forcing me to step it up. Sorry if my questions seem a little elementary lol
Thanks!
ImmaculateBites says
Hello,
Sorry about the confusion. This chicken stew can be cooked different ways . The essential thing is to slowly cook down your tomato sauce, so it’s not too watery . You leave the chicken in the pot or take it out and add afterward. It all works out just fine- Make sure your chicken is fully cooked and tomato sauce has been reduced.
Let me know if you have any more questions .
Georgie says
So basically the chicken will finish cooking in the stew, considering we’re only browning it in the beginning? Right?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes. It would, cooking times will vary depending on chicken used.
Terry says
Can I make this with other meats
ImmaculateBites says
Yes you can.
angie says
should we use chopped or grated tomato?
ImmaculateBites says
Both work. Grated or puree is preferable .
Lindam says
cant wait to try this stew! I noticed in the photo you had something green in the blender with the tomatoes. But I didn’t see it in the recipe. Is it parsley? Or did I miss something. We grow tomatoes and then pp them in the freezer so we have sweet home-growns all year to cook with. Thanks
ImmaculateBites says
Yes it’s parsley. You can equally add thyme , celery and basil. I switch it up all the time and it works out just fine.
Feel free to experiment with it.
joanne fleming says
I do something very similar, a chicken stew I had in Eritrea but I use berbere, a fiery spice mix I bought in Asmara. Is that similar to what you call Creole seasoning?
Thanks, keep up the good work!
imma africanbites says
Hi, Joane. It’s different from berbere. You can check my homemade here >>> https://www.africanbites.com/creole-seasoning/
Lynda Beckman says
loved this I didn’t have maggi or bouillion granules the 1st time and it was still fantastic. Made it again with the maggi yummy. I didn’t change anything perfect the way it is.
Janece Harper says
I love your recipes and just cooked the Brown Stew Chicken recently and it was delicious. I know a wonderful lady named Ntoh that is from Cameroon also. She is a beautiful spirit. Keep making your fabulous recipes and I will continue coming to look for them to cook.
Sky says
Thanks for sharing. West African Tomato stew is one of my favorites. It can also be added to blackeye peas for stewed blackeye peas. Some people I know top moi moi with the stew.
ImmaculateBites says
That’s a great tip. Thanks for sharing .