Ajiaco (Bogotá Chicken and Three-Potato Soup)
Chicken breast, three kinds of potato and the herb guascas simmered in stock until the starchy potatoes fall apart and thicken the soup, with chunks of corn on the cob, served with shredded chicken, capers, thinned sour cream, avocado and a fresh onion and cilantro ají.
Ajiaco is Bogotá's soup: chicken, three kinds of potatoes and guascas, a small native herb, Galinsoga parviflora, that Wikipedia notes is considered a weed in the United States, where it's called gallant soldier; it can be finished with capers, avocado, corn on the cob or cream. The name is shared with very different dishes: Cuba's ajiaco is a hearty stew of meats and root vegetables, and Peru's is potatoes with garlic, dried chiles and herbs.
Pablo Medina Uribe, writing for Anthony Bourdain's Explore Parts Unknown, says the Bogotá version is mild, unlike the spicy ajiacos of Chile, Peru and Cuba, that it likely descends from a Chibcha soup of potato, ají and corn to which the Spanish added meat and plantains, and that families still argue over whether cream, capers or rice belong in it. This recipe is J. Kenji López-Alt's from Serious Eats, a favorite of his wife's family: starchy russets and papas criollas melt into the broth while waxy potatoes keep their shape.
Why it works the kitchen science
Three potatoes, three jobs
The starchy russets and papas criollas break down and thicken the broth to a creamy body, while the waxy Red Bliss potatoes hold their shape and give the soup something to bite.
Mashing in the pot
Whisking the softened potatoes against the side of the pot releases their starch all at once, so the soup thickens without any flour or cream cooked into it.
Step by step
- Step 1
Put the stock, chicken breast, onion, bay leaves, all three potatoes and the guascas in a large Dutch oven, adding water if needed to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to a simmer and cook until the thickest part of the breast reads 165°F, about 10 minutes. Move the breast to a plate to cool.
- Step 2
Keep simmering the potatoes until the russets and papas criollas are completely tender and falling apart, about 45 minutes more, adding water as needed.
- Step 3
Fish out the onion and bay leaves. Mash the potatoes against the side of the pot with a whisk and stir hard; the soup should be thick, with some big chunks of potato left.
- Step 4
Add the corn and cook, stirring now and then, until the corn is cooked and the soup is as thick as heavy cream, about 15 minutes.
- Step 5
Meanwhile, make the ají: put the onion, cilantro and chile in a small bowl, add water just to cover and salt it generously. Pull the chicken off the bone, discard the skin and bones and shred the meat.
- Step 6
Season the soup with salt and pepper. Serve right away, passing the chicken, capers, sour cream, ají and avocado so everyone builds their own bowl.
Ajiaco (Bogotá Chicken and Three-Potato Soup)
Serves 6 · about 3 1/2 quarts · 1 hr 40 min total
Soup
- 2 quarts homemade chicken stock or low-sodium broth
- 1 whole bone-in, skin-on chicken breast, split (12 to 16 oz)
- 1 large onion, halved
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into rough 1-inch chunks
- 2 lb papas criollas, peeled (or small Yukon Golds, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks)
- 1 lb Red Bliss potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch slices
- 1/4 cup dried guascas (or 2 more bay leaves plus 2 tbsp chopped parsley)
- 2 ears corn, shucked and each broken into 3 pieces
- Kosher salt and black pepper
Ají
- 1 small onion, finely diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1 serrano or 1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced
At the table
- 1/2 cup sour cream thinned with 1 tbsp milk
- 1/2 cup capers, rinsed, drained and roughly chopped
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced into wedges
Method
- Put the stock, chicken breast, onion, bay leaves, all three potatoes and the guascas in a large Dutch oven, adding water if needed to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to a simmer and cook until the thickest part of the breast reads 165°F, about 10 minutes. Move the breast to a plate to cool.
- Keep simmering the potatoes until the russets and papas criollas are completely tender and falling apart, about 45 minutes more, adding water as needed.
- Fish out the onion and bay leaves. Mash the potatoes against the side of the pot with a whisk and stir hard; the soup should be thick, with some big chunks of potato left.
- Add the corn and cook, stirring now and then, until the corn is cooked and the soup is as thick as heavy cream, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the ají: put the onion, cilantro and chile in a small bowl, add water just to cover and salt it generously. Pull the chicken off the bone, discard the skin and bones and shred the meat.
- Season the soup with salt and pepper. Serve right away, passing the chicken, capers, sour cream, ají and avocado so everyone builds their own bowl.
Adapted from J. Kenji López-Alt, "Ajiaco (Colombian Chicken and Potato Soup)", Serious Eats (September 2010; updated June 11, 2026), serves 4 to 6. We follow it as written: 2 quarts stock, a split bone-in breast, a halved onion, 2 bay leaves, 2 lb russets, 2 lb papas criollas, 1 lb Red Bliss potatoes and 1/4 cup dried guascas brought to a boil; the breast pulled after about 10 minutes; the potatoes simmered about 45 minutes more and mashed against the pot; 2 ears of corn for about 15 minutes; an ají of onion, cilantro and chile covered with water; capers, sour cream and avocado at the table. We use 6 servings, and the 165°F check on the breast is ours. Serious Eats. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Kenji says papas criollas are sometimes sold frozen in Latin markets; small Yukon Golds or yellow fingerlings are the substitute.
- He prefers the light-green, watery Fuerte avocado to Hass for the side.
- Medina Uribe's family version uses 3 lb of chicken breast and a branch of guascas, with avocado slices and cream and capers on the side.
- The soup thickens as it stands; thin leftovers with broth and reheat to a rolling boil (USDA FSIS).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Cream, capers and rice belong in ajiaco. Disputed: Explore Parts Unknown says families still argue about all three; Kenji serves cream and capers at the table.
- Ajiaco has to be made with guascas. Disputed: Wikipedia and both recipes treat guascas as essential; Kenji's note allows bay leaves and parsley when it can't be found.
- Ajiaco comes from the Chibcha. Disputed: Explore Parts Unknown says it "likely" descends from a Chibcha soup; Wikipedia says only that scholars have debated its origin.
- Ajiaco is spicy. Documented as false for Bogotá: Explore Parts Unknown calls the Bogotá version mild; the heat comes from the ají on the side.
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