Pepián de pollo

Name: Pepián de pollo
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 125 min
Yield: 6 plates
Cuisine: Guatemalan
Ingredients: 1.2 kg Chicken, bone-in pieces, skin on; 1.5 l Water; 500 g Tomato, whole; 250 g Tomatillo, husked, rinsed; 60 g Pumpkin seeds, raw, hulled; 40 g Sesame seed; 3 piece Dried chilli, 2 guaque or guajillo, 1 pasa or ancho; stemmed and seeded; 1 piece Corn tortilla, toasted dark on the comal; 1 medium Onion, halved, skin on; 4 clove Garlic, unpeeled; 1 stick Cinnamon; 2 piece Cloves; 400 g Potato, peeled, large chunks; 150 g Green beans, trimmed; 300 g Squash, or chayote; peeled, chunks; 20 g Coriander, stalks in the pot, leaves to finish; 2 tbsp Neutral oil; 2 tsp Salt

Guatemala's brick-red chicken stew, thickened with toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds, charred tomato and a burnt tortilla.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 35 min
Cook: 1 hr 30 min
Rest: None
Total: 2 hr 5 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Mild
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

About

Pepián is Guatemala's thick, dark-red chicken stew and the national dish by most reckonings. The body comes from seeds, not flour: pumpkin seeds and sesame toasted until they pop, ground with charred tomato, tomatillo, dried chillies and a piece of tortilla toasted almost black. Chicken poaches first, and that broth becomes the stew, with potato, green beans and chunks of squash standing in for güisquil. The grinding used to be the work. A blender does it in two minutes; frying the paste until it darkens is what you cannot skip.

What you'll need

18 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 18 ready

6 servings

Ingredients

Servings

Chicken, bone-in pieces, skin on1.2 kg
Water1½ l
Tomato, whole500 g
Tomatillo, husked, rinsed250 g
Pumpkin seeds, raw, hulled60 g
Sesame seed40 g
Dried chilli, 2 guaque or guajillo, 1 pasa or ancho; stemmed and seeded3
Corn tortilla, toasted dark on the comal1
Onion, halved, skin on1 medium
Garlic, unpeeled4 clove
Cinnamon1 stick
Cloves2
Potato, peeled, large chunks400 g
Green beans, trimmed150 g
Squash, or chayote; peeled, chunks300 g
Coriander, stalks in the pot, leaves to finish20 g
Neutral oil30 ml
Salt9.9 ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Put the chicken in a stockpot with the water, half the onion, two garlic cloves, coriander stalks and salt. Bring to a simmer and skim. Cook 25 minutes, then add potato and squash for 15 minutes more and the green beans for the last 5.
45 min
Step 2
Meanwhile heat a dry comal or heavy pan. Toast the pumpkin seeds until they swell and pop, then the sesame until golden, moving them constantly. Tip into a bowl.
6 min
Watch: Sesame goes from toasted to bitter in about twenty seconds.
Step 3
On the same comal char the tomatoes, tomatillos, the other onion half and the remaining garlic until blistered and blackened in patches. Press the chillies flat on the heat for a few seconds a side, then soak them in a ladle of hot broth. Toast the tortilla until dark brown and stiff.
15 min
Step 4
Peel the garlic. Blend seeds, charred vegetables, soaked chillies with their liquid, tortilla, cinnamon and cloves with about 500 ml of broth until completely smooth. Pass through a sieve if it feels gritty.
5 min
Step 5
Heat the oil in a wide pan and fry the paste, stirring, until it darkens a shade and pulls away from the pan, about 10 minutes. It will spit.
10 min
Tip: This frying is where the colour and the depth come from. Do not rush it.
Step 6
Stir the fried paste back into the pot with the chicken and vegetables. Simmer 15 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Taste for salt. Serve with rice, tortillas and coriander leaves.
15 min

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 663 kcal
Protein: 74.6 g
Carbs: 39.4 g
Fat: 22.6 g
Saturated fat: 4.3 g
Fibre: 9.2 g
Sugar: 8.3 g
Sodium: 1332 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Sesame

Gluten-free
Dairy-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.

Substitutions

Fresh tomatillos → Tinned tomatillos, drained
Skip the charring step for them and add straight to the blender.
Squash → Chayote (güisquil)
This is the traditional vegetable; use it whenever a Latin grocer has it.

Tips

The sauce should be the colour of an old brick, not orange. If it is pale, your tortilla and chillies were not dark enough.
Pepián thickens as it cools. Loosen leftovers with a splash of water before reheating.
Some families add a spoon of ground achiote for colour. It is not wrong; it is just not necessary if you charred properly.

History & culture

Pepián is Sunday and fiesta food across the highlands and the capital. It appears at baptisms, patron-saint days and in comedores at lunch, always with white rice and a stack of hot tortillas. Antigua and Chimaltenango both claim the best version. Beef and pork pepián exist; chicken is the one most families cook.

Pepián is a Kaqchikel Maya seed-and-chilli sauce that absorbed Spanish chicken, cinnamon and cloves after the conquest. The toasted-tortilla thickener is older than wheat in these kitchens. Guatemala declared pepián part of its intangible cultural heritage in 2007, alongside jocón and kak'ik.

Traditional — Güisquil (chayote) is the usual vegetable; squash stands in where chayote is hard to find. Guaque and pasa chillies are the Guatemalan pair; guajillo and ancho are the closest supermarket match.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Pepián de pollo take?

2 hr 5 min all in — 35 min prep, 1 hr 30 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 6 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

Mild.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Sesame. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Gluten-free, Dairy-free.

7 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Stockpot, Comal or dry skillet, Blender, Frying pan.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 2 tsp.

What can I use instead?

Fresh tomatillos → Tinned tomatillos, drained. Skip the charring step for them and add straight to the blender. Squash → Chayote (güisquil). This is the traditional vegetable; use it whenever a Latin grocer has it.

What should I watch for?

Sesame goes from toasted to bitter in about twenty seconds.

Any tips from this recipe?

The sauce should be the colour of an old brick, not orange. If it is pale, your tortilla and chillies were not dark enough. Pepián thickens as it cools. Loosen leftovers with a splash of water before reheating. Some families add a spoon of ground achiote for colour. It is not wrong; it is just not necessary if you charred properly.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.