Colombian Ajiaco, the Bogotá chicken and potato soup

The trouble with making ajiaco outside Colombia isn’t the method. It’s two ingredients you probably can’t buy. This is the chicken and potato soup of Bogotá (ajiaco, ah-YAH-ko), a thick, creamy bowl built on three kinds of potato, shredded chicken, and an herb called guascas, finished at the table with cream, avocado, and capers. The cooking is gentle and forgiving. The real work is knowing what guascas are, what to use when you can’t find them, and which potato actually thickens the pot — the part most English recipes get wrong.

How do you make ajiaco? Simmer chicken with onion and garlic for the broth, then shred it. In that broth, cook three potatoes and corn — the starchy one first because it thickens, the creole one last. Add the guascas, and serve with cream, avocado, and capers. About 110 minutes for 6 servings.

What ajiaco is, and where it’s from

Ajiaco is the signature soup of Bogotá and the surrounding Andean highlands, with roots that predate the Spanish; the Muisca people were cooking versions of it on the savanna long before. At about 380 calories a bowl, it’s a full meal: chicken for protein, three potatoes for body and starch, corn for sweetness. Colombians call it ajiaco santafereño, after Santa Fe de Bogotá. It’s the dish people from the capital defend most fiercely as their own.

What makes it ajiaco and not just chicken soup is the guascas — and that’s where anyone cooking it abroad runs into the first wall.

What guascas are and how to substitute them

Guascas (Galinsoga parviflora) are an aromatic herb with a faintly tangy, oregano-adjacent flavor that grows across the Andes. In Colombia it’s practically a garden weed; outside the country it’s the hardest part of the recipe to find. Look in Latin or Colombian groceries — usually dried or frozen — or order it online, where dried guascas are easy to get.

If you genuinely can’t find them, the closest substitute is a mix of chopped cilantro and parsley, with an optional pinch of oregano. It won’t taste the same, and it’s worth being honest: you’ll have a good soup, but not a true ajiaco. There is no exact replacement for the herb. If you do find dried guascas, soak them 20 minutes in hot water and pick out the woody stems, which are unpleasant in the bowl.

The three potatoes, and which one thickens

This is the technical point most recipes get wrong, including ones that rank well. Ajiaco uses three potatoes, each doing a different job, and the names matter less than the textures — which is good news abroad, where you’ll be substituting anyway.

The starchy one (papa pastusa; use russet). This is the one that releases the most starch, breaks down as it cooks, and thickens the broth. It is the source of the creaminess — not the firm potato, as many recipes claim.

The waxy one (papa sabanera; use red or white waxy). Firm and pale, it holds its shape and stays in pieces, giving the soup something to chew.

The creole one (papa criolla; use frozen criolla or baby Yukon gold). Small and yellow, slightly sweet, it gives the soup its yellow color and breaks down partly at the end. It goes in last, because added early it dissolves completely.

So the order matters: starchy and waxy first for 25 minutes, creole in the last 15. And the trick every Colombian abroad learns: if you can’t get creole potato, scoop out a cup of cooked potato, blend it with a little broth, and stir it back in. It thickens just the same.

Mistakes that ruin ajiaco

Skipping the guascas. The gravest mistake and the most common one abroad. Without guascas it isn’t ajiaco. If you truly can’t get them, at least add plenty of cilantro, knowing it’s a different dish.

Using one kind of potato. Each does a job. Without the starchy one the broth is thin; without the waxy one there are no pieces; without the creole one it loses color and sweetness. With only one variety, blend part of it to get the body back.

Adding all the potatoes at once. The creole breaks down in 15 minutes. Add it at the start and it disappears entirely, taking its texture and color with it.

Not straining the broth. Unstrained, it carries threads of onion and cilantro that hurt the texture. Strain after cooking the chicken, before the potatoes go in.

Too many guascas. It’s a strong herb. Too much dominates the bowl and turns the broth bitter. One handful for 6 servings is enough.

Variations and make-ahead

With hen instead of chicken. The most traditional version, a longer simmer, up to 90 minutes for the hen, but a deeper broth.

Vegetarian. No chicken, with portobello mushrooms for similar body and a good vegetable stock. The cream keeps it vegetarian; skip it or use a plant cream for vegan.

Make-ahead and freezing. Ajiaco freezes for up to 3 months, but freeze it without the cream and avocado, which don’t hold up. It thickens in the fridge as the potato keeps releasing starch, so loosen it with water or broth when you reheat. This is the version that makes a big Sunday pot worth it.

What to serve it with

The classic plate is white rice and avocado, with the cream and capers served on the side so each person adds their own. In Bogotá the cream and avocado aren’t optional; they’re part of the dish. At about 380 calories a bowl, ajiaco belongs to the same table of big Colombian one-pot meals as sancocho de gallina, the mondongo tripe soup, and a plate of Colombian chicken rice — and for a fuller spread it follows a platter of bandeja paisa. It’s the soup people from the capital build a long highland lunch around.

Frequently asked questions

What are guascas and what can I use instead? An Andean herb (Galinsoga parviflora) with a tangy flavor, the ingredient that defines ajiaco. Outside Colombia, find it dried in Latin groceries or online. Without it, a mix of cilantro and parsley is the closest, but the result isn’t a true ajiaco.

Can I make ajiaco without guascas? Technically yes, but you get chicken and potato soup, not ajiaco. The guascas are the defining ingredient — worth tracking down before you give up on them.

Which potato thickens ajiaco? The starchy one (russet works well abroad), which releases the most starch and breaks down as it cooks. The waxy one stays firm in pieces, and the creole one adds color and dissolves at the end. No starchy potato? Blend a cup of cooked potato with broth to thicken.

How long does ajiaco keep in the fridge? Up to 4 days, sealed. It thickens over time as the potato releases more starch, so add a little water or broth when reheating.

Can you freeze ajiaco? Yes, up to 3 months. Freeze it without the cream and avocado. Thaw and warm gently, adjusting the consistency with water.

What’s the difference between Bogotá ajiaco and Cuban ajiaco? Completely different dishes. The Cuban one is a stew of several meats and tropical root vegetables. The Bogotá one is a thick potato, chicken, and guascas soup, closer to a creamy bowl.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 400 ml, not counting cream or avocado):

• Calories: 380 kcal
• Protein: 28 g
• Carbohydrate: 42 g
• Fat: 8 g (2 g saturated)
• Fiber: 4 g
• Sugar: 4 g
• Sodium: 420 mg

It’s a complete meal — protein from the chicken, carbohydrate from the three potatoes, vitamin C and potassium from the creole. The cream and avocado add fat and calories at the table, so the total depends on how much each person adds.

When I came from Venezuela, ajiaco was one of the first Colombian dishes I learned, and the hardest, because back home there was no such thing as guascas or creole potato, and it took me a few tries to understand that the starchy potato, not the others, was what gave the broth its body. The first time it came out right, that creamy yellow broth with the shredded chicken on top, I understood why people from Bogotá guard it as theirs. — Josnaisis.