How to Make Chicken Afritada

This easy Chicken Afritada recipe uses all fresh ingredients like tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, bell peppers, and peas and only takes 35 minutes to make! It's a one-pot meal so how's that for easy cleaning too! It's a perfect and quick weeknight meal.

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What is Chicken Afritada

The word "afritada" is a Spanish word that means to fry. While it has a Spanish root word, Chicken Afritada is a popular Filipino chicken dish. Typically, this recipe would call for frying or searing the chicken as the first step in making this dish. However, in my attempt to make this recipe healthier, I made some variations as you will see in the recipe notes.

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• Garlic
• Onion
• Tomatoes
• Chicken Breast
• Fish Sauce
• Chicken Broth
• Dried Bayleaf
• Peppercorns
• Petite Gold and Red Potatoes
• Carrot
• Red and Green Bell Pepper
• Peas

*Please see the recipe card for exact quantities.

How to Cook the Best Afritada

• STEP 1: Sauté garlic and onions with olive oil, until lightly golden in color in hot skillet over medium heat.
• STEP 2: Add and sauté tomatoes for a minute or two.
• STEP 3: Browning the meat is optional. Add chicken and cook until opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
• STEP 4: Flavoring process. Add the fish sauce, chicken broth, bay leaf, and black peppercorns.
• STEP 5: Cook the root vegetables. Add the potatoes and carrots.
• STEP 6: Finishing touches. Add bell peppers and peas and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Serve while warm. Enjoy!

Substitutions

This Afritada recipe can be made using other types of meat, like pork or fish. The dish in and of itself is made flavorful by adding fresh vegetables. The sweetness you get from the tomatoes, peas, and carrots, will surely add a punch of flavor. Then we take it up a notch by adding potatoes to make this a hearty, one-pot meal. It's optional to serve this with steamed rice. I mean, what are you going to do with all that flavorful sauce?!

There are many ways in how you can make Chicken Afritada, like frying the meat before adding the rest of the afritada ingredients, using canned tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes, or adding fresh plantains to give this dish a more tropical flavor.

Equipment Needed

This Afritada Chicken is a one-pot meal! Sauté, simmer, and can be served using the same cooking pot. This is one of the reasons why I LOVE my Le Creuset Skillet. 

FAQ About Chicken Afritada

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📖 Recipe Card

Chicken Afritada

A simple to make one-pot meal that is tasty, delicious, and ready to serve in 35 minutes using fresh ingredients like tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, red and bell peppers, and peas.

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Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Course: Chicken

Cuisine: Philippine

Keyword: chicken afritada, chicken afritada with no tomato sauce, healthy chicken afritada, healthy chicken recipe, philippine chicken afritada

Servings: 6

Calories: 204kcal

Author: Jocelyn Wilhelm

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• ▢ 2 Garlic cloves crushed
• ▢ 1 Medium Onion quartered
• ▢ 2 to 3 Medium-sized ripe Tomatoes quartered
• ▢ 2 pounds Chicken Breast boneless and cut into bite-sized
• ▢ 2 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
• ▢ 1 cup Chicken Broth
• ▢ 1 Dried Bayleaf
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Peppercorns
• ▢ 10 Petite Gold and Red Potatoes sliced in half or left whole
• ▢ 1 Carrot peeled and cut ½" diagonally
• ▢ ½ each of Red and Green Bell Pepper cut into strips
• ▢ ½ cup of Peas fresh or frozen

Instructions

• In a skillet, over medium-high heat, add olive oil. When heated through, add and sauté garlic until lightly golden in color.  
• Add onions and sauté until soft and translucent for about 2 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and sauté for a minute.
• Add the chicken and cook until opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Optional to browning the meat slightly. 
• Add the fish sauce and chicken broth, while scraping the bottom of the pan lightly. The caramelization from the meat and veggies add to the flavor as well. Add bay leaf and black peppercorns. Cover, lower the heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
• Add the potatoes and carrots and cook for 5 more minutes, while keeping the dish covered in the skillet.
• Uncover and then add bell peppers and peas and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Serve while warm. Enjoy!

Notes

• Meat - Chicken thighs (with bone or boneless) would work great for this recipe. Feeling adventurous, use a whole chicken cut-up so everyone can have their pick of either dark or white meat. Other than chicken, this Chicken Afritada recipe is also great to cook using pork, beef, or seafood. Do keep note that if you want something to cook in under 30 minutes, use a cut of meat that doesn't need tenderizing.
• Tomatoes - I always make this dish using vine-ripened tomatoes either from the garden or store-bought. The flavor truly is magical when using nothing but fresh ingredients. So with that said, pick fresh ingredients like potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and peas. Disclaimer: I used frozen organic peas in this recipe to keep my cooking time at 30 minutes. 
• Petite Gold or Red Potatoes - I love using this especially when I'm in a hurry because you don't need to peel, or dice and although the bag says that it's pre-washed, I still like to give the potatoes a quick rinse. If you prefer you can use other types of potatoes. My favorite is the Yukon Gold. Did you know that potatoes with darker-colored skin (like Yukon Gold potatoes) are healthier and better for you? Well, now you do!
• Fish Sauce - Did you know it's Gluten-Free? Be sure to read the label to make sure there's no wheat in it. (See KEY Ingredients Note above.)
• Any chicken broth will work for this dish, however, I prefer my own homemade chicken stock.

Nutrition

Calories: 204kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 797mg | Potassium: 649mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1747IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg

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*This recipe has been modified, to make it more user-friendly.

Jocelyn Wilhelm

Hello and welcome, friend! I'm Jocelyn, the recipe developer, food photographer + stylist here at JOZmahal. As a Food & Nutrition major, I keep healthy and nutritious ingredients at the core of my recipe creations. I love to cook delicious and healthy meals for my family and friends. And I am so grateful that you are here as I hope to inspire and empower you to make all these delicious and healthy foods at home for your family and friends as well. Every recipe you will find here is quick and simple to make using fresh and natural ingredients that you can easily find at your local grocery store if not online. Read more about me here...

PS: If you try any of my recipes please use the tag #JOZmahalrecipes and you may be featured in my upcoming posts! ~ cook with love, my friend!