StewsMedium

Chicken in Adobo

Name: Chicken in Adobo
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 30 ml Vegetable oil; 1 White onion; 3 Ancho chillies; 6 Guajillo chillies; 1 tsp Ground cumin; 4 Garlic clove; 1 kg Chicken thighs and drumsticks; 1 tsp Dried oregano; 1 to taste Salt; 3 Tomato; 30 ml Cider vinegar

4.0(1 rating)

60 min (20 prep + 40 cook) Medium 6 servings Nacional

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 10 Feb 2026 · Updated: 3 Jun 2026

Chicken pieces braised in a thick, richly spiced dried chilli sauce.

About this recipe

Pollo en adobo is a traditional Mexican stew where chicken pieces are slowly cooked in a thick, luscious sauce made from dried chillies, vinegar, spices and herbs. The Mexican adobo is a flavouring and preserving technique inherited from the colonial era, resulting in a deeply savoury, mildly spicy dish.

History & Origin

Adobo is a culinary technique that arrived in Mexico from Spain during the Conquest, but indigenous cooks transformed it by incorporating local dried chillies, creating something entirely new. Mexican adobo is radically different from its Spanish counterpart: it uses guajillo and ancho chillies as a base, along with spices such as cumin, oregano, and cloves. This preparation originally served to preserve meat in hot climates before the advent of refrigeration. Each region of Mexico has its own version of adobo, the most famous being the one made with chipotle chillies in adobo sauce.

Estimated cost

£9.46

Total cost

£1.58

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

480

Calories

25g

Protein

37g

Carbohydrates

22g

Fat

Fibre

815mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Desvena y quita the semillas de the chillies. Tuéstalos brevemente en un comal (griddle) seco y remójalos en water hot 15 minutes.
2
Blend the soaked chillies with the tomatoes, onion, garlic, vinegar, cumin and oregano. Strain the salsa.
3
Sazona the pieces de chicken with salt. Dóralas en a saucepan with oil for ambos lados (5 minutes). Retira y reserva.
4
En la same saucepan, vierte la salsa de adobo y cuisine over medium heat 10 minutes, moviendo ocasionalmente.
5
Return the chicken to the saucepan, making sure it is covered by the salsa. Cover and cook over low heat for 25-30 minutes.
💡 The adobo improves the next day; prepare it in advance if you can.
6
Serve with white rice and warm corn tortillas.

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Edmond Bojalil

Founder, Recetas Mexas

Mexican from Puebla, IT professional and foodie. Author of 1000+ authentic Mexican recipes adapted for home kitchens worldwide. Based in Madrid since 2018.