
Recipe: Gluten and dairy-free ají de gallina in the slow cooker
This is my first attempt to make a gluten and dairy-free version of the classic Peruvian dish ají de gallina (I posted a more traditional recipe here). Considering the original version contains bread, milk (evaporated!), and Parmesan cheese, this wasn’t an easy task.
I used pecan meal instead of bread, coconut cream instead of milk and celery salt to compensate for the lack of the Parmesan’s umaminess. The result was good, obviously not as good as to fool someone who has tried the real deal, but hopefully, I’ll get there eventually.

Gluten and dairy-free ají de gallina in the slow cooker
Ingredients
- 700 g chicken breast
- 1 1/4 cups chicken stock
- 1 red onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/4 tsp ají amarillo or any other yellow chili, to taste
- 1/4 cup pecan meal
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 3/4 tsp celery salt
- black pepper
To serve
- 1 boiled egg
- 4 black olives
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts and stock in slow cooker.
- Top chicken with onion, garlic, chili, celery salt, pepper, and pecan meal.
- Cook on low for 4 – 5 hours.
- Shred chicken with two forks, add the coconut cream, stir and cook for 20 more minutes with the lid off.
- Turn slow cooker off, mix in the chopped pecans, and adjust seasoning.
- Serve garnished with an olive and half a boiled egg.
Notes
The traditional way of eating this dish is with rice and boiled potatoes, we had it with cauliflower “rice”, spinach, baked baby carrots and grilled asparagus.
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One Comment
Christine (@cookingcrusade)
Mmm yum this looks delicious and flavorsome. I love being able to reinvent fave recipes to suit dietary needs – its defs a fun way to get creative in the kitchen!