Spanish Chicken With Tomato Sofrito Sauce

By
Lisa & Tony Sierra
Lisa & Tony Sierra
Lisa and Tony Sierra are freelance writers and Spanish food experts who lead culinary tours of the country.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 07/13/22
Tested by
Danielle Centoni
Danielle Centoni
Tested by Danielle Centoni

Danielle is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and editor based in Portland, Oregon.

Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 37 mins
Total: 52 mins
Servings: 4 servings

This Spanish-style recipe for chicken with tomato sofrito sauce is a go-to meal when you want something simple, fast, and delicious. It's a one-pan, skillet dinner, making this a quick cleanup after dinner, too.

First, you'll make the sauce with canned crushed tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers. Next, boneless, skinless chicken breast is pan-fried with Spanish olive oil. Finally, you get to combine all of the parts together for a quick and easy Spanish main course.

Serve the chicken and sofrito with Spanish-style homemade french fries or rice on the side.

Spanish chicken with rice

The Spruce Eats
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

For the Sofrito:

  • 1 medium yellow onion

  • 1 red bell pepper, or green bell pepper, seeded

  • 3 cloves garlic

  • 10 white mushrooms, wiped with a damp cloth

  • 1/3 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil, divided

  • 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or fresh tomatoes, washed and pulsed in a food processor

  • 2 bay leaves

For the Chicken:

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

  • Salt, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Steps to Make It

Make the Sofrito

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Chop the onion and bell pepper and reserve. Mince the garlic and reserve. Trim the stems from the mushrooms, slice the caps, and reserve.

    Ingredients for Spanish chicken recipe gathered

    The Spruce Eats

  2. Pour half of the olive oil into a large frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and mushrooms and sauté over medium heat, stirring often until the onion becomes translucent—about 7 minutes.

    Sauté mushroom, onion, and bell pepper

    The Spruce Eats

  3. Add the crushed tomatoes and their juices and bay leaves and stir. Simmer on medium to medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often. If sauce becomes too thick or begins to stick, pour in a few tablespoons of water.

    Add crushed tomatoes and juices, stir

    The Spruce Eats

Cook the Chicken

  1. While the tomato sauce mixture is cooking, pour the remaining half of the olive oil into a large frying pan and heat over a medium flame.

  2. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and season on both sides with salt and pepper.

  3. Pan-fry the chicken in the hot oil, turning over twice (for about 10 minutes total cooking time). The chicken should be well browned on both sides but might not be completely cooked in the center, which is no cause for concern because it will finish cooking when added to the sauce.

    Browned chicken

    The Spruce Eats

  4. After pan-frying the chicken, remove the pan from the heat. Remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board, and cut them into 1/2-inch-thick slices, and return to the pan with tomato sauce. Stir to coat chicken breasts in tomato sauce.

    Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

    Spanish Chicken

    The Spruce Eats

  5. Serve with rice or potatoes to sop up the delicious sauce. Alternatively, make Spanish french fries as the perfect side dish.

    Spanish chicken with rice

    The Spruce Eats

Tips

  • Leftovers are never a problem because the sofrito sauce mellows and tastes even better the next day.
  • Test the chicken for doneness with an instant-read thermometer. Chicken is done at 165 F.

How to Store and Freeze

  • Put any leftover Spanish chicken in an airtight container and place it in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to three days.
  • This dish can also be frozen for up to three months in a freezer-safe airtight container. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

What's the difference between Spanish sofrito and Italian soffritto?

Both Spanish and Italian styles serve as the foundation for many dishes and are very similar with a few differences:

  • The first Spanish sofrito was simply a confit of onions and/or leeks with bacon or salt pork added if they were available. Eventually, other vegetables were added to the mix. Today's Spanish sofrito includes tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, paprika, and olive oil.
  • Traditional Italian soffritto uses onion, carrot, celery, and sometimes garlic and peppers. The vegetables are chopped very fine and cooked slowly in olive oil.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
535 Calories
25g Fat
22g Carbs
58g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 535
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g 32%
Saturated Fat 4g 22%
Cholesterol 145mg 48%
Sodium 643mg 28%
Total Carbohydrate 22g 8%
Dietary Fiber 5g 19%
Total Sugars 12g
Protein 58g
Vitamin C 70mg 351%
Calcium 111mg 9%
Iron 5mg 30%
Potassium 1240mg 26%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)