Easy Brunswick Stew is a thick and hearty mix of pulled pork, chicken (or turkey), vegetables, seasonings, tomato sauce, and BBQ sauce. It has an ingredient list that is a little on the long side, but it’s really just a dump and heat recipe that doesn’t take long at all.
Traditional Brunswick Stew
Traditional southern home-cooked Brunswick Stew typically contains squirrel. That’s not happening in my kitchen. This Brunswick Stew is more like the type you’ll see at BBQ restaurants.
Pulled Pork Adds Smoky Flavor
It contains a combination of pulled pork and chicken. Turkey would also be good if you have leftover Thanksgiving turkey. I think it is the pulled pork that really makes the stew taste so good and I get mine at my favorite local bbq restaurant. If you like to smoke your own or you have leftover crock pot pulled pork, just use that.
Other Ingredients
Brunswick Stew almost always contains corn and lima beans, and sometimes potatoes. I left potatoes out because I wanted to keep this recipe as easy as quick as possible. If you have leftover potatoes, go ahead and throw them in. I’ve even seen Brunswick Stew recipes that have mashed potatoes mixed in. Then you could really use up your Thanksgiving leftovers.
I add quite a bit of BBQ sauce to my Brunswick Stew, but that’s my personal taste. Tone it back and maybe add more tomato sauce if you don’t want the flavor of BBQ sauce to be front and center. I had someone comment on my BBQ Spaghetti Casserole , “This tasted God awful. All I could taste was the BBQ sauce. Gross!” So be forewarned. I think BBQ sauce tastes really good.
I use a tomato based sauce that’s a little on the sweet side called Bone Suckin BBQ Sauce
which is North Carolina made. If you want your stew to have more tang, choose more of a vinegar based sauce.
Recipe Tips
I like Brunswick Stew to be extra thick. You can thin it some with extra chicken broth or tomato sauce.
Leftovers are great over a baked potato. 🙂
This recipe goes great with Jalapeno Beer Bread.
Like to cook in your crock pot? Try this Slow Cooker Brunswick Stew.
Easy Brunswick Stew
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion,, diced
- 1 clove garlic,, minced
- 1 1/2 cups frozen lima beans
- 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 3/4 cup BBQ Sauce
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
- 1/2 teaspoon tabasco sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey
- 1 pound pulled pork
Instructions
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook 5 minutes.
- Add lima beans and cook 2 minutes.
- Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, and chicken broth. Simmer 15 minutes.
- Add corn, seasonings and meats and simmer 5 more minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published Nov 18, 2014.
Disclosure: Spicy Southern Kitchen is an amazon.com affiliate.
Quick & easy & very tasty! I did add potatoes, simply because we like them. Makes a huge pot! Guess I will freeze the rest of it for anther day!
Lucy Sellers
Thomasville, GA
nice one, it will be great if u made some Filipino dishes. thanks
Amazing post really like it thanks for sharing
I love this recipe! Has anyone calculated WW points for it? I just started the blue plan and am trying to be good. 🙂
It should be great for ww because of it being basically protien and veggies
My wife cooks 4 or 5 thick porkchops and the same number of carrots, sliced, in chicken stock in a covered skillet. After an hour or so this goes in the crockpot with all the chicken and frozen veggies for 3 hrs. This makes the pork So Tender! Needs only salt and pepper.
So yummy reminds me of my childhood
Just tried this recipe. Delicious! Thank you!
we too always made ours in a huge black iron pot over an open fire … took us probably 6-8 hours to cook it in the iron pot constantly stirring with a boat paddle that was used only for making our stew .. lots of splitting firewood .. it all started with 30# of chicken ( legs and thighs ) , 20# of pulled pork, and 10# of beef roast all meat was cooked and cleaned and rough chopped before adding to the pot … then pretty much the same stuff you add .. when it needed liquid we used the broth from the cooked meats thin it down abit .. but no BBQ sauce but I do remember at least a 1 gal can of ketchup and may have been 2 .. it’s been a long time ..
This was my introduction to Brunswick Stew with my in-laws along with cooking a whole pig over night,drinkin whiskey..(couldnt keep up with that park.Loved it ever since and lookin forward to introducing my So Cal friends to this treat, Condo cook
I have a (probably stupid) question. Do you put the lima beans and corn in the pot frozen or do you cook them first? The frozen corn I’m not so worried about, but I’m wondering if the cooking time is long enough to cook the lima beans thoroughly.
The best! People think I have some secret recipe!
Question – is the pulled pork cooked when you start the stew or do you put a raw pork roast and cook it? Sorry – never made this and want to.
It’s cooked pulled pork. You can buy some from a restaurant if you have a bbq restaurant near you, you can make your own, or you can look for some either in the deli at your grocery store or in the refrigerated section they usually have some packaged pulled pork (It’s not the best but does pretty well in a recipe like this with lots of other ingredients.)