Belize Stew Chicken is a traditional way of making chicken that can be done very simply or can be dressed up with different spices or additional vegetables.
You guessed it! Stewed Chicken with no recado is just like Stewed Chicken with recado… without the recado! Curious what recado actually is? See our guide to Belizean recado for the full story.
Making Belize Stew Chicken Recipe:
This is a simple, savory recipe. There are many ways to vary the recipe depending on what you have available. We enjoy adding potatoes, chayote and/or other vegetables to the pot. Please share any additions you make to your stewed chicken in our comments section below!
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 – 1.5 hours
Serves: 6-8
Belize Stew Chicken Ingredients
- Cut up a whole chicken or bone-in chicken thighs
- Diced Onion
- Garlic
- Chicken Stock or Maggi Pollo
- Spices of your choosing
- Salt and pepper to taste (depending on how much is in your stock)
- 2 to 4 potatoes or chayote
Belize Stew Chicken Recipe
- Wash your chicken with water and lime, trim off any excess fat.
- Heat a small amount of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot.
- Pat chicken dry and rub with salt, pepper, and any additional seasoning.
- Brown chicken until golden brown on each side.
- Add onions and garlic to the pot and saute.
- Pour chicken stock in or water with Maggi Pollo. Water should almost cover the chicken but remember this is a stew, not a soup.
- Turn down the heat to allow for a gentle simmer. A rough boil will make your chicken tough.
- Simmer for an hour to an hour and a half.
We enjoy this stew with a few peeled potatoes chopped into roughly two-inch chunks. The longer the potatoes cook they will thicken the stew. In my opinion, Belizean stew chicken is better the next day. If you have the time cook this ahead of your dinner and allow to sit in the stew. Gently reheat and enjoy all the flavors when they have had time to soak into the chicken.
Shop This Recipe
Cast Iron Skillet
Lodge’s cast iron skillet holds heat evenly through the long browning step that gives Belizean stew chicken its deep color before the stock goes in.
Heavy Stock Pot
A heavy-bottomed pot holds the hour-plus simmer without scorching the bottom – the recipe specifically calls for one to keep the heat gentle and even.
Instant-Read Thermometer
Bone-in chicken thighs in a covered stew can look done before they clear 165F – an instant-read thermometer is the only way to know without cutting in.
About Chica Post
Chica Post is Belizean by marriage and love. She has traveled across Belize — Corozal, Orange Walk, Dangriga, Stann Creek, and everywhere except Toledo — and has been to Mexico many times. She is raising two bilingual boys and keeping Belizean food alive in an American kitchen. She co-authored many of the original recipes on this site and took the photographs. She writes for the Belize News Post.
