Cuban recipe

Slow Cooker Cuban Chicken Fricassee

Name: Slow Cooker Cuban Chicken Fricassee
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 390 min
Total time: 410 min
Ingredients: 1.6 kg (3½ lb) bone-in, skinless chicken drumsticks and thighs, in 6–8 medium pieces, completely thawed; 2 tablespoons olive oil (30 ml); 1 medium onion, about 180 g (6 oz), chopped; 1 medium green bell pepper, about 150 g (5 oz), seeded and chopped; 4 garlic cloves, chopped; ½ cup dry white wine (120 ml); 400 g (14 oz) canned crushed tomatoes, with no added sugar; 1 cup low-salt chicken broth (240 ml); 2 tablespoons sour orange juice (30 ml), or 1 tablespoon orange juice and 1 tablespoon lime juice; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 2 bay leaves; 1 teaspoon fine salt (6 g), or less if the broth is salty; adjust at the end; ½ teaspoon ground black pepper; 600 g (1⅓ lb) potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces about 2.5 cm (1 inch); ½ cup pitted green olives, drained, about 80 g (3 oz)

Cuban chicken fricassee made in a slow cooker with sofrito, tomato, olives and tender potatoes. Includes LOW and HIGH cooking times and a sauce reduced at the end.

CiberCubaNovember 15, 2026

AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Preparation20 min
Cooking6 h 30 min
Total time6 h 50 min
Servings6 servings
DifficultyEasy

Cuban chicken fricassee adapts to the slow cooker while retaining its sofrito, tomato, olives and citrus tang. Drumsticks and thighs are well suited to long cooking and add flavor to the sauce. In this version, the potatoes are cooked separately at the end and added once tender, rather than relying on them to soften in the tomato sauce.

Method

Prepare the sofrito

Keep the chicken refrigerated until you begin. Check that it is completely thawed, trim off excess fat and pat dry with paper towel. Season with the salt and pepper. Chop the onion, bell pepper and garlic.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion and bell pepper for about 7 minutes, stirring, until softened. Add the garlic, cumin and oregano, and cook for 1 minute without letting the garlic burn.
Pour in the wine and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the broth and sour orange juice; stir and heat for 2 more minutes.

Slow-cook the chicken

Place the chicken and bay leaves in the slow cooker. Spread the hot sofrito over and around the pieces. Check that the fill level is appropriate for your appliance, normally between half and two-thirds full, and put on the lid. Immediately turn it on to LOW or HIGH; do not use WARM for cooking.
Cook for approximately 6–7 hours on LOW or 4–5 hours on HIGH, keeping the lid closed as much as possible. Start checking at the lower end of the time range. The chicken should be tender and reach at least 74 °C (165 °F) in the thickest part of the pieces, without the probe touching the bone. If it is not ready, cover and continue cooking.

Add the potatoes and finish the sauce

During the last 25–30 minutes of the expected chicken cooking time, peel and cut the potatoes. Place them in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for about 12–18 minutes, until a knife goes in easily without the potatoes falling apart. Drain.
When the chicken is cooked, carefully transfer it to a serving dish and cover. Transfer the sauce from the slow cooker to a large saucepan, remove the bay leaves and add the olives. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring, until it reaches a sauce consistency. If it is already thick enough, reduce this time.
Add the cooked potatoes and chicken to the sauce. Cook everything together over low heat for about 5 minutes, gently moving the saucepan so as not to break up the potatoes. Taste and adjust the salt. Serve hot, with white rice if desired.

Tips and variations

The recipe times are about 20 minutes of prep and 6 hours and 30 minutes of cooking, including the skillet stages: approximately 6 hours and 50 minutes total, with about 50 minutes of active work. Slow cooking may take 6–7 hours on LOW or 4–5 hours on HIGH, depending on the appliance, the size of the pieces and their starting temperature; temperature and texture checks determine when it is done. On HIGH, the approximate total time is 4 hours and 50 minutes to 5 hours and 50 minutes.

Use a slow cooker of approximately 5 liters (5–6 qt), in which this quantity fills between half and two-thirds of its capacity; follow the manufacturer's instructions for filling and liquid. The WARM setting is for keeping food warm, not for cooking raw chicken. The chicken must be completely thawed before you begin.

The potatoes are cooked separately because the acidic tomato environment can make it difficult for them to soften evenly. Do not add much more broth at the start: the slow cooker loses little moisture and the chicken will release juices. The final reduction concentrates the sauce without unnecessarily extending the chicken's cooking time.

Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours. Eat within 3–4 days and reheat until the center reaches 74 °C (165 °F) on the stovetop, in the oven or in the microwave.

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Slow Cooker Cuban Chicken Fricassee

Ingredients

Chicken and sofrito

Seasonings and finishing