What is Bravas Sauce?
Bravas sauce, also known as salsa brava, is a popular Spanish sauce commonly used as a condiment for various dishes, especially in tapas cuisine. If you’ve spent any time in Spain, it’s likely you’ve come across the tasty bravas sauce.
It is often associated with the classic Spanish tapas dish “patatas bravas,” which consists of fried potato chunks served with bravas sauce on top. Bravas sauce is characterized by its vibrant reddish-orange color, which comes from tomatoes and smoked Spanish paprika. The sauce is known for its rich and slightly spicy flavor profile.
The main ingredients in bravas sauce typically include tomatoes or tomato paste, red bell peppers, olive oil, garlic, vinegar, and a combination of spices such as paprika, cayenne pepper, and chili flakes.
Bravas translates “fierce” in Spanish and offers an idea of the deep, spicy flavors that have made this sauce so popular.
How Spicy is Bravas Sauce?
Bravas sauce is intended to be mildly spicy. It will have just enough heat for you to notice, but not to overpower the other flavors in the recipe. Spice intensity can easily be adjusted to suit personal taste. Simply add or omit the desired amount of chili to suit. For a layered spiced flavor, add some cayenne pepper.
Which Chicken Cuts to Use in This Recipe
We opted for on-bone chicken pieces with the skin on. They are full of flavor and usually a pretty cheap (and easy) cut of chicken to source at your local supermarket or butcher. Chicken thighs or skinless chicken breasts would also work just fine, you’ll just need to adjust the cooking time to suit if the cuts of chicken are large. Whenever possible, use sustainably sourced free-range chicken.
More Spanish Chicken Recipes
Here at Spanish Radish HQ, we love a good Spanish chicken recipe, and this one has quickly become one of our favorites. Rich and spicy bravas sauce combined with some gently simmered veg and lightly browned chicken is a flavor combination of smoky and rich simmered ingredients that are deeply satisfying.
More Spanish Chicken recipes, with love from Spain!
- Garlic-Infused Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Mediterranean Boneless Chicken Thighs Simmered In Tomato Sofrito And Spicy Paprika
- Roast chicken thighs with red wine, tomato, and herbs
- Easy Spanish chicken thighs with chorizo and wine
- Spicy chicken and chorizo rice (filling, made in 1 hour)
- Baked Mediterranean Chicken Thighs (Easy One-pot, Low Fat)
- Pollo al Horno (Easy Oven-Baked Chicken with Sherry)
- One-Pan Spanish Chicken and Rice (Arroz con Pollo)
- Spicy Mediterranean Chicken Thighs
- Grilled Mediterranean Chicken Breasts
Cooking With Spanish Paprika
The three main types of Spanish paprika available are generally hot, smoked, and sweet. If you’re used to buying paprika in a supermarket and it’s just labeled ‘paprika’, it’s a safe bet that it’s your sweet variety.
- Hot paprika (Pimentón Picante)
- Smoked paprika (Pimentón de la Vera)
- Sweet paprika (Pimentón Dulce)
For this recipe, we make the Bravas sauce with smoked paprika, which gives this dish a delicious smoky flavor. The undisputed king of smoked paprika in Spain has to be Pimentón de la Vera (Spanish Smoked paprika from the La Vera region of Extremadura, western Spain.
Pimentón de la Vera works well in meat dishes (try this smoky sweet potato chorizo recipe), stews, rice dishes, and soups. It can also be sprinkled on meals for added color and flavor. Once you taste it, it becomes quite addictive. We also love it in vegan and vegetarian dishes because of the bold smoky taste (this is our favorite example – Chickpea stew / Potaje de garbanzos).
The best thing about paprika, as well as its incredible taste, is that it’s ridiculously healthy. Win-win!
FAQs And Cooking Tips
How long does chicken take to cook in the oven?
Around 25-30 minutes at 400°F(200°C). According to the USDA guidelines for cooked chicken, chicken should reach a minimum internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) for safe consumption. Always check your chicken is properly cooked before serving.
Best chicken pieces to use for this Spanish chicken recipe?
We used skin-on whole chicken legs. They are dark meat and have a lot of flavor. The chicken skin also crisps nicely when browned in a pan and then baked in the oven.
What is the origin of bravas sauce?
The bravas sauce originates from Madrid, Spain.
Is Bravas sauce spicy?
Yes, Bravas sauce is intended to be mildly spicy, and the intensity of spiciness can easily be adjusted to suit individual tastes by adding more or less chili.
How long does bravas sauce take to make?
Bravas sauce is very easy to make and only requires around 10 minutes to prepare and cook.
What can I use as a substitute for smoked paprika in the bravas sauce?
Substitute smoked paprika with regular paprika, the flavor will be slightly different and will be less smoky.
Nutrition Facts
| Servings: 4 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 538 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 41.9g | 54% |
| Saturated Fat 7.9g | 40% |
| Cholesterol 95mg | 32% |
| Sodium 501mg | 22% |
| Total Carbohydrate 19.8g | 7% |
| Dietary Fiber 5.2g | 19% |
| Total Sugars 5.3g | |
| Protein 25.4g | |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% |
| Calcium 99mg | 8% |
| Iron 4mg | 23% |
| Potassium 440mg | 9% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
