Authentic Spanish Ropa Vieja With Garbanzos

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This Spanish ropa vieja with garbanzos is an authentic dish straight from the Canary Islands. Different from its Cuban counterpart, it’s made with chickpeas and shredded meat for a classic taste of the Canaries.

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What Is Ropa Vieja Canarias

Ropa vieja is a traditional Spanish dish that is popular in the Canary Islands. The islands, located off the coast of Africa, have a cuisine entirely different from mainland Spain.

We spent a lot of time learning about Spain’s regional cuisine. We spent three years living in Northeastern Spain and traveled a few times to the Canary Islands. We learned how to make this ropa vieja recipe after our first trip to the Canary Islands. 

This dish is almost like a Spanish stew with meat, potatoes, peppers, and garbanzo beans, along with my “secret” ingredient. My secret ingredient is not included in most other ropa vieja recipes online. Instead, I “borrowed” this ingredient from a bar where we ate in Gran Canaria.

Read on to learn my secret.

Ropa Vieja’s History

The phrase Ropa Vieja translates to old clothes in English. Of course, there’s a story. Supposedly, there was an old man too poor to feed his family.

The man shredded his clothes and cooked them. During the process, he prayed, and they magically turned into meat and vegetables, which fed his family. Of course, this is only a legend. 

Although the dish is most associated with Cuba and Latin America, it’s history dates to the Middle Ages in the Canary Islands. Spanish colonists brought the dish to the Caribbean. There is also some evidence that the Spanish also introduced this dish to the Philippines. 

The Cuban version tends to have black beans rather than chickpeas. It might be served with rice or plantains. Although the Cubans claim ropa vieja as their national dish, its history truly lies in Spain.

Check out our other Spanish recipes with beans and chickpeas: 

Spanish Chorizo And Beans

Spanish Spinach And Chickpeas

Vegetarian Spanish White Bean Stew

Spanish Chorizo And Lentil Stew

How Long Does It Take To Cook An Authentic Ropa Vieja

In general, there is no such thing as an easy ropa vieja recipe – not if you want to make it authentic. This is not a quick and easy midweek meal. 

No, this is a Sunday meal. Something you cook for about an hour or more, probably while nursing a cooking beer or a glass of wine. There are a lot of steps, and some of them are a bit complicated. Or, they are at least different than how people normally cook. 

But, this is a pretty traditional version of this dish. It’s often slow cooked at restaurants that serve it in the Canary Islands. So it takes time. 

Cooking Tips For An Authentic Ropa Vieja

One of the main reasons why an authentic ropa vieja takes time is because it is made with shredded meat. The meat is poached, shredded, and then fried. 

In order to get the texture right, it’s best to almost poach the meat by cooking it slowly in water or chicken broth. Before poaching, I remove the meat from the fridge to get it to room temperature and salt the meat generously. 

Salting won’t make the meat salty. Instead it will help to tenderize the meat. The struggle here is cooking the meat in a way that it is still tender even after cooking, shredding, and frying. 

Shredding The Meat

After poaching the meat, shred it with two forks or with shredded meat claws. The claws are much easier and quicker and are great to use for slow-cooked pork, pulled pork, brisket, and other dishes. 

Frying The Meat

After the meat is shredded, it is fried in olive oil. This takes some time. The heat needs to be a little high so that the meat browns, but doesn’t burn. I use a dutch oven for this entire meal, so there is no need to use multiple pots. It does mean that the meat will start to stick on the bottom of the pot.

This step takes about 10-15 minutes and requires pretty consistent stirring and scrapping. In the end, though, the flavor makes it all worthwhile. 

Ingredients For This Recipe For Ropa Vieja With Garbanzos

The bulk of this dish comes from the meat used. The meat for this ropa vieja includes both chicken and beef. It’s possible to use just one type of meat. Traditionally, it’s probably more common to use beef in Cuba.

Use about a pound of chicken breasts. The beef can be shoulder or any fatty cut of beef. I like to cook the meat in chicken broth, but water or a mix of water and broth works too. I like using chicken broth because it helps to flavor the meat. 

Seasoning And Spices

The seasoning for the dish comes from onion, garlic, and red pepper. Green or yellow peppers work too, but I like the red for the color and the slight sweetness. 

Spanish food is not spicy, but spices are used to add layers of flavor. In this case, use both ground cumin and ground paprika. Cumin adds an earthy, almost nutty flavor. I tend to use sweet paprika, but smoked paprika also works well.

Then, add a few bay leaves and cloves. Both of these ingredients add a depth of flavor to any soup or stew. 

Don’t hesitate to add salt and pepper to taste. Adding salt won’t make the dish salty, but will help to bring all of the ingredients and flavors together. 

Other Ingredients

In addition to a can of chickpeas, the other bulk ingredient in the dish is a potato. One large potato is sufficient. It should be peeled and then diced into bite-sized pieces. They should be small enough that they don’t take too long to cook but large enough that they don’t disintegrate.

Ropa vieja is often called a Spanish stew. You can make it relatively dry or with a bit of liquid, your choice. I like to have just enough juice to be able to use a bit of bread to sop up the juice.

The liquid in the stew comes from dry white wine and tomato sauce, which also adds some needed acidity. (Check out this recipe for homemade tomato puree to learn to make your own.). You can also add a cup or so of the reserved liquid from poaching the meat or some extra broth if you want it to be a little more soupy. 

Here comes my secret ingredient: red wine vinegar. This is not an ingredient found in many Spanish ropa vieja recipes. I add it at the end to add a little acidic bite. I learned this from a bar in Gran Canaria and fell in love with the nice added flavor to the stew. Now you know my secret.

How To Make Ropa Vieja With Garbanzos

Preparing The Ropa Vieja Meat

Using a large dutch oven or stockpot, cover the chicken and beef in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer until the meat is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Remove the meat but reserve some of the liquid. The easiest way to do this is to take a large liquid measuring cup to remove some of the liquid and place it to the side. Discard anything over two or three cups.

Shred the meat with two forks or with shredded meat claws. It should be pretty easy to shred the chicken. The beef might be a little more tough to shred. If so, just cut it into thin strips.

Warm olive oil in the dutch oven and add the shredded meat. You are essentially frying the shredded meats so be generous with the olive oil. This takes some patience.

Cook it over pretty high heat, but the meat and olive oil will start to brown and stick to the bottom. Use a wooden spoon to keep scraping up the bits from the bottom, which will add flavor to the ultimate dish.  Cook until the meat starts to brown and crisp. Remove to the side. 

Cooking The Potatoes And Seasonings

In the same pan, add about a tablespoon of the reserved liquid or chicken broth to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits of meat left in the pan. Then add a tablespoon more of olive oil and the onion, garlic, and red pepper. Saute until soft and tender, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the potatoes, cloves, bay leaves, paprika, cumin, and black pepper. Coat the potatoes in the spices and cook for about 5-7 minutes. The potatoes will continue to cook, but allowing them this 5 minutes or so will give them a head start to ensure they are cooked through.

Stir the mixture often and continue to scrape the bits from the bottom of the pan. After, add the white wine and use the wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Simmer until the vegetables are soft and you can no longer smell the wine, about 15 minutes.  

Adding The Garbanzo Beans And My “Secret” Ingredient

Add the tomato sauce, chickpeas, vinegar, and shredded meat. If you want a little more liquid add a cup of the reserved liquid or chicken broth.

Stir well and cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the chickpeas are warmed through. Serve on its own or with crusty bread.

Modifications And Variations

If you don’t eat beef or are trying to cut back this can easily be turned into a ropa vieja chicken recipe. The beef is actually pretty hard to get right. Making this dish with just chicken does make it a bit easier. 

It’s also possible to do a beef and chicken ropa vieja recipe with chunks of meat instead of shredded. We’ve eaten it both ways while traveling in the Canary Islands. As much as the shredded meat is harder to prepare, it’s oh so good.

Reheating Ropa Vieja

This dish is easily reheated in a pan or a skillet. I like to add about a cup of chicken broth to add some liquid and a tablespoon of vinegar to add some freshness.

FAQs – The Best Ropa Vieja Recipe 

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