Quick Brunswick Stew – a classic southern dish that is ready in 20 minutes! Pulled pork, chicken, lima beans, corn, chicken broth, BBQ sauce, tomato sauce – throw everything in the pot, bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes. SO delicious! We made this two weeks in a row. We couldn’t get enough of it! YUM!
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This Quick Brunswick Stew is on repeat at our house. I’ve made this stew twice in the last month. We absolutely love it. It is super simple to make and tastes great! This recipe is a great way to use up any leftover pork BBQ and cooked chicken. The best thing about this recipe is that it can be ready in about 20 minutes. Whip up some cornbread and you have comfort food at its best!
What is Brunswick Stew?
Brunswick stew is a tomato-based stew made with vegetables, chicken, and pork. The exact origin of the stew is disputed. Brunswick County in Virginia and the city of Brunswick, Georgia both claim it was developed there.
How to Make Brunswick Stew
This stew is super easy to make and tastes great! In a large pot or Dutch oven, stir together diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, pulled pork, chopped cooked chicken, corn, lima beans or butter beans, cayenne pepper, and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until warm.
Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- Our favorite store-bought barbecue sauces are Sweet Baby Rays, Stubbs, G.Hughes, and Williamson Brothers.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade BBQ Sauce made with ketchup, water, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, Kosher salt, black pepper, and cumin: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-bbq-sauce/
- You can use homemade or store-bought pulled pork from your favorite BBQ joint for this recipe.
- Can I use all pork instead of chicken? Sure! Brunswick Stew was originally made with game meat like squirrel, rabbit, and/or possum. You can use any protein that you enjoy – ground pork, ground beef, or stew meat would work great.
- I suggest using a low-sodium chicken broth.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Chicken Stock: https://www.plainchicken.com/slow-cooker-chicken-broth/
- Feel free to sauté some fresh onion and garlic in the pot before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- I use baby lima beans and corn kernels in the soup. You can use any vegetables that you enjoy. I see a lot of recipes that add diced potatoes.
- Can I make Brunswick Stew in the crockpot? Yes! Just dump all the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it cook until warm.
- If making this in the slow cooker, you can substitute 2 raw chicken breasts for the cooked chicken. Shred the chicken before serving the stew.
- Can I make Brunswick Stew in the Instant Pot? Yes! I haven’t tried this in the Instant Pot, but it should work just fine. I suggest a 5-minute cook time on High Pressure.
- Can Brunswick Stew be frozen? Yes! You can freeze the soup for a quick meal later. Thaw and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
What to Serve with Brunswick Stew
This stew is great leftover as well. We ate it for dinner and lunch for a couple of days. It is equally delicious leftover. This is a hearty soup. You don’t need a lot of side dishes to go with it. We usually top the soup with some hot sauce and serve it with a salad and some cornbread or rolls. Add this to your menu ASAP!
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Quick Brunswick Stew
Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
- 1½ cups BBQ Sauce
- 2 to 3 cups chicken broth
- 1½ cups frozen corn
- 1½ cups frozen lima beans
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 12 -oz chopped cooked chicken (½ rotisserie chicken – or 2 chicken breasts)
- 1 -lb pulled pork
Instructions:
- Add all ingredients to a Dutch oven or large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Notes:
- My favorite BBQ sauces are G. Hughes, Sweet Baby Rays, Stubbs, and Williamson Brothers.
- Make sure you enjoy the BBQ sauce that you use in this Brunswick stew. It really adds a lot of flavors, so you want to make sure you like it.
- Just for reference, I used a bottle of Williamson Bros BBQ Sauce (it is the best). You can get it here–> http://amzn.to/2xpto7I
- I bought some pulled pork and BBQ sauce from my favorite BBQ joint for this recipe.
- I also make this with Kirkland Pulled Pork from Costco and it is AMAZING! It might be better than your BBQ joint!
- I used half of a rotisserie chicken in this recipe. If you don’t have a rotisserie chicken, you will need 2 to 3 cups of chopped cooked chicken.
- To make this in the slow cooker, dump all the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it cook until warm.
- If making this in the slow cooker, you can substitute 2 chicken breasts for the cooked chicken. Shred the chicken before serving the stew.
- I haven’t tried this in the Instant Pot, but it should work just fine. Since everything is already cooked and you are just heating the stew up, I suggest a 5 minute cook time on High Pressure.
- You can freeze the soup for a quick meal later. Thaw and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
- One note on reheating the stew. You might have to add a little chicken broth to the leftovers. The broth kind of gets absorbed by the veggies and meat as it sits in the fridge.
Steph
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We absolutely love this. I’ve been looking for a quick and simple Brunswick stew recipe and I found it. We have cornbread and a big ole glass of sweet tea with it. I’ve made this several times and nothing is left. Thank you.
This has become my go-to recipe for Brunswick Stew. My husband loves Brunswick Stew but hates pieces of tomatoes so I use my immersion or regular blender for the tomatoes before adding them. I’ve played around a bit with the BBQ sauce and have found we prefer about 3/4 cup. The last time, I purchased a pound of chicken & a pound of pulled pork from our favorite BBQ joint. This time I’m using the Costco pulled pork and my own instapot pulled chicken. No matter what combo I’ve used for the meat, this recipe works!
SO glad you are enjoying it. It is definitely one of my all-time favorites!
I recommend V8 juice if you want to add liquid. It is a vegetable base that deepens the flavors.
I have no doubt that if you like a little bite to the stew, you can use a bloody Mary mix like Mr/Mrs T or Zing Zang, in stead of the V8 vegetable juice( a great choice also). No alcohol in the bloody Mary mixes, it’s just a pre-mix.
Quick, easy and delicious! I’ve never had Brunswick Stew before today. We liked it very much. I had to make a few changes due to what I had on hand. I used spicy V8 instead of tomato sauce… Green beans instead of Lima beans… Mixed veggies instead of corn. Also, I used all chicken… no pork, and added diced onion. It turned out great. I was looking for a bbq type soup and this hit the spot! I have a new soup on my menu now. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
You really should try the real recipe, no substitutes. It is AWESOME!!! I promise!!!
Sooo good!! I didn’t have pulled bbq but I made a pork tenderloin and shredded it instead!
Absolutely delicious. I am now trying to figure out the calorie and carb count per serving.🙂Thank you for this. I love quick and easy cooking, especially when it tastes this good.
Did you ever figure it 🙂
We grew up eating Brunswick Stew in the Carolinas. This recipe is a family favorite!!!!! It’s so easy and delicious. Try the recipe, you won’t regret it!!!!
SO glad you enjoyed it. It is an all-time favorite at our house!
This New Brunswick Stew is delicious! I was not real sure about it because I’ve never had it before, but so glad I tried it. Everybody that has tried it absolutely loves it! I should have known it would be good coming from Plain Chicken!
SO glad you enjoyed it, Karen! It is one of our favorites.
This was great…and I agree about Williamson bro’s sauce!
This is one of those recipes you don't think sounds (or looks) too good, but, oh mama, it is delicious. Thanks.
I made this yesterday and it is delicious! Before starting, I added a little oil and fried a medium chopped onion then did everything else as recipe calls. I used 3 cups of chicken broth and also added a can of diced potatoes. Won't be sorry in trying this recipe as with many of Plain Chicken's other recipes. Love your site. Thanks!!!
I made this for supper, and used onions instead of corn (allergy). It was quick, easy, and really good – ad it made a lot – y neighbor liked it too ! Thank you !