Mexican Chicken Adobo (Adobo de Pollo) Recipe
Mexican Chicken Adobo (Adobo de Pollo) is a richly flavored traditional Mexican dish featuring tender bone-in chicken legs and thighs simmered in a smoky, tangy sauce made with dried chiles, tomatoes, garlic, and a blend of aromatic spices. This hearty stew is perfect served with rice, tortillas, or avocado slices for a complete and satisfying meal.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings
- Category: Stew
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 4 bone-in chicken legs
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs, skinless or skin-on as preferred
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Sauce
- 1 small brown or yellow onion, sliced
- 4 Roma tomatoes, quartered
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 dried guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 1 dried ancho chile or dried chipotle chile, stems and seeds removed
- 2 dried pasilla or New Mexico chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sea salt or Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
To Serve (Optional)
- White rice
- Spanish rice
- Corn or flour tortillas
- Avocado slices
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken: Season the bone-in chicken legs and thighs with salt and ground black pepper to your taste. This helps to enhance the natural flavor of the meat.
- Sear the chicken: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and brown them on all sides until golden. This step locks in juices and adds depth to the flavor. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Prepare chile sauce base: In the same pan, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the sliced onion until translucent. Add the quartered Roma tomatoes and chopped garlic, cooking until softened.
- Toast and rehydrate dried chiles: Lightly toast guajillo, ancho or chipotle, and pasilla or New Mexico chiles in a dry pan to release aroma, then soak them in hot water until softened, about 10-15 minutes.
- Blend sauce: In a blender, combine the softened chiles with the sautéed onions, tomatoes, garlic, and some of the chile soaking water to create a smooth sauce. Add chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, sea salt or Kosher salt, ground cumin, dried oregano, dried coriander, ground cloves, and bay leaves. Blend again briefly to mix spices evenly.
- Cook chicken in adobo sauce: Return the seared chicken pieces to the pan and pour the blended adobo sauce over them. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on low heat for 35-45 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and cooked through, stirring occasionally.
- Adjust seasoning and garnish: Taste the sauce and adjust salt if needed. Remove bay leaves. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over the adobo before serving.
- Serve: Serve the Mexican Chicken Adobo hot with white rice, Spanish rice, warm corn or flour tortillas, and avocado slices as desired.
Notes
- Remove seeds and stems from dried chiles to avoid bitterness and control heat.
- To deepen flavor, toast chiles lightly before blending.
- You can substitute chicken broth with vegetable broth for a different nuance or to lighten the dish.
- For a smoky flavor, ancho or chipotle chiles are excellent options.
- Using bone-in chicken adds richness and tenderness to the dish.
- Adjust spiciness by varying the type and quantity of dried chiles used.
- Leftovers taste even better the next day after flavors meld.