Patatas Riojana

Why You’ll Love This Patatas Riojana Recipe

Hearty and flavorful patatas Riojana is the perfect dish to serve when you want to make tapas – a collection of Spanish small plates – or you could easily turn it into dinner! A chicken broth-based sauce wraps around tender bites of potatoes and spicy chunks of chorizo sausage, with a smoky-hot spice called pimenton (a sort of Spanish paprika) to add even more interest.

This simple stew is incredibly simple to make yet delivers so much flavor and texture in every bite. The balance of mellow potatoes against the spicy sausage makes this more than your ordinary stew. Here’s why you’ll love this recipe for patatas a la Riojana:

• Quick. Patatas Riojana comes together in less than half an hour, so you can have a quick appetizer or meal on the table fast.
• Hearty. When you add potatoes to a soup or stew it instantly makes it more filling. This is a dish that will stick with you long after you clear the table.
• Make it dinner. You can serve patatas a la Riojana as an appetizer, or ladle it into bigger bowls and call it dinner! I’ve included some serving accompaniments lower down if you wish to round this out into a main dish rather than keep it as an appetizer.

Recipe Ingredients

Here’s an overview of the ingredients you’ll need to make this patatas Riojana recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.

• Olive Oil: I use extra virgin olive oil in my cooking.
• Onion: You can use a yellow or red onion.
• Garlic: Feel free to add more garlic if you like a lot of garlicky flavor!
• Chorizo: Use Spanish chorizo for authentic flavor or use another similar spicy sausage.
• Salt
• Pimenton: Spanish paprika is known as pimenton. You’ll need sweet and hot pimenton for this recipe. Substitute regular and hot paprika (or chili powder for the hot) if you cannot find pimenton.
• Bay Leaf: For an earthy undertone.
• Potatoes: I use Idaho (russet) potatoes. 
• Chicken Stock: Use low-sodium or regular broth, or substitute vegetable broth.

Tips for Success

I love how straightforward this recipe is. Here are a few tips and variation suggestions to try if needed:

• Add bell peppers. Traditional preparations of patatas Riojana often include bell peppers. You can add them to this dish: Use one bell pepper of your choice, discard the seeds and chop it up, then cook it along with the onion in Step 2 of the recipe.
• Use different potatoes. I add Russet potatoes to this stew but you can try other potatoes! Red potatoes would be a nice substitute. Make sure to use the same amount by weight as is shown in the recipe if you swap in a different potato.
• Try a different kind of sausage. Spanish chorizo is the classic choice for patatas Riojana but you can substitute any type of chorizo if needed. You could also try adding another type of sausage, such as a less spicy sausage if you wish.
• Make it vegetarian. You can easily make this into a vegetarian version of patatas a la Riojana by substituting your favorite plant-based sausage for the chorizo, and using vegetable broth for the chicken broth.