Nigerian chicken stew is a delightful West African stew made with chicken thighs and simmered in a savory sauce made with tomatoes and peppers. It is so versatile and can be eaten with many different dishes!
Just like my beef stew recipe, this chicken stew is bold and spicy and pairs very well with various dishes. In Nigeria, it is quite common to have a pot of beef or chicken stew in your fridge at any point in time.
It makes meal prep a breeze and you can easily whip up a complete nutritious lunch or dinner in no time.
And if you need more variety, try this super delicious Nigerian turkey stew and Goat stew!
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This African stew is quite spicy, but there are ways to cut down on the heat. But if you love spicy foods, this chicken stew will be right up your alley!
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Ingredients Used
- Chicken thighs: You can use chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks, and the cooking process will be the same. Dark meat is preferred because it holds its shape well in the stew. If you use chicken breast, it might break apart in the stew.
- Vegetables: Roma tomatoes, red bell pepper, habanero pepper, onion. These vegetables form the base of the red spicy sauce.
- Spices: Bouillon powder, thyme, black pepper, curry powder, salt.
- Other ingredients: Olive oil and chicken stock/broth.
How To Make This Recipe
Rub the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and leave them in a bowl. Cut the onions into two and chop one part into small pieces.
- Heat olive oil in a pan and add the chicken one at a time. I like to use a wide skillet for this so I can do everything at the same time. Brown the chicken on each side for about 10 minutes each. When the chicken is done, take it out and leave it in a bowl.
- Blend the tomatoes, red bell pepper, habanero pepper, and the other half of the onion together. If possible do this without adding water, or adding just a little, so the flavors are more potent. Add the chopped onions to the olive oil and sauté till translucent.
- Pour in the blended tomato and pepper mix and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add in the chicken thighs, chicken stock (broth), bouillon, curry, and thyme, and bring to a boil. Taste for salt and add more if you need to. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is done.
Can I use an air fryer to brown the chicken?
Yes, you can! I do this quite often and I actually prefer air-fried chicken thighs. The chicken ends up really crispy and there is less monitoring, compared to if you have to brown it over oil.
Preheat your air fryer to 390F and brown it for about 10 minutes on each side, flipping with a tong. The chicken should be spread out on a layer and should not be stacked. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you might have to do it in batches.
Storing and Reheating
This chicken stew keeps very well in the fridge for up to a week, and you can freeze it for up to 3 months. To defrost, refrigerate in the fridge overnight before warming on the stove.
What can I eat this recipe with?
African chicken stew is so versatile and goes great with so many dishes, like rice, spaghetti, or plantains. Being on a low carb diet, I love to eat mine with cauliflower rice or shirataki noodles.
Tips and variations
- I used chicken thighs for this stew, but you can use chicken drumsticks or mix and match both parts.
- When browning the chicken, do it in batches if you need to, but don't overcrowd the pan.
- If you add water when blending the tomatoes and peppers, pour the mix into a pot and let the excess water evaporate.
- The stew is quite spicy, even with just one habanero pepper. If it's too spicy for you, use half a habanero pepper or use cayenne pepper instead.
Check out these other delicious recipes!
📖 Recipe
Nigerian Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thighs
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 habanero pepper use ½ if you don't want it too spicy
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 cup chicken stock (broth)
- 1 onion
- 1 teaspoon bouillon powder
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- extra salt and black pepper for the chicken rub
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry the chicken.
- Rub the chicken thighs with salt and black pepper, and leave them in a bowl.
- Heat olive oil in a pan.
- Brown the chicken on each side (about 10 minutes each).
- Cut the onion into two and chop one part into small pieces.
- When the chicken is done, take it out and set it aside.
- Blend the tomatoes, red bell pepper, habanero pepper, and the other half of the onion.
- Sauté the chopped onion in the oil till translucent.
- Pour the blended tomato and pepper mix and boil for 5 minutes.
- Add chicken, stock, bouillon, curry, and thyme.
- Taste for salt and add more if necessary.
- Cook for 20 minutes or until chicken is done.
Notes
- I used chicken thighs for this stew, but you can use chicken drumsticks or mix and match both parts.
- When browning the chicken, do it in batches if you need to, but don't overcrowd the pan.
- You can brown your chicken in the air fryer. Preheat to 390F and brown for 10 minutes on each side.
- If you add water when blending the tomatoes and peppers, pour the mix into a pot and let the excess water evaporate.
- The stew is quite spicy, even with just one habanero pepper. If it's too spicy for you, use half a habanero pepper or use cayenne pepper instead.
- For an infusion of flavor, try making this turkey stew with fire-roasted tomatoes!
Hi Tayo! My husband is from Lagos Nigeria and we’ve been married for 8 months now. I’ve tried to make several stew recipes and they were awful and my husband didn’t have a problem telling me lol. I decided to give this recipe a try and he loved it! I doubled the seasonings and added 4 more habaneros because we like our food really spicy and it was amazing(he says if he’s not sweating while eating a spicy dish, it’s not spicy enough lol) . After the chicken was gone, I still had stew leftover so I fried some beef chunks and let it simmer in the stew and he can not stop talking about it lol. Definitely making this again.
Hi Toya, I'm glad you and your husband loved the chicken stew! And I grew up eating super spicy dishes and it was normal to sweat when eating it 🙂
My husband and I always ignore "blend x" steps. We just toss in the veggies and eat stuff rustico. Doesn't seem to hurt anything.
Delicious! Made a few small changes, we like our food hot and spicy so i used 3 scotch bonnets, fresh thyme from my garden instead of dried and a maggi cube in place of the bouillon powder. I cooked the chicken in the air fryer and poured all the juices into the pan after frying the onion. Yum. The taste reminded me of the staff food some Ghanaian chefs I worked with used to make. I will be trying more of your recipes x
I also like spicy foods and use a lot of pepper when making this stew for dinner 🙂 I'm glad you enjoyed it, Oly!
Thank you for blessing me and my family members with this wonderful recipe!
You're so welcome, Kelsey!