Sopa de Pollo Mexicano – Caldo de Pollo
Caldo de Pollo is a Mexican chicken soup that is enhanced with fresh toppings of cilantro, jalapeño and radish. This warm and comforting soup feels like all you need during this wintery and cold season – well, maybe some Mexican hot chocolate too. I’ll be cozied up all winter eating caldo de pollo con arroz sitting by the wood stove.
I love this soup because it is everything that is great and iconic with chicken noodle soup, but adds Mexican elements that bring freshness, earthiness and a spicy bite. The fresh sliced jalapeños can bring a little spicy heat and a crispness that is enjoyable with the soft veggies, chicken and rice. The balance is – *chefs kiss*.
The components to this caldo de pollo recipe are a gorgeously flavored broth made from cooking a whole chicken in an instant pot pressure cooker, fall apart tender chicken, roasted caramelized vegetables, rice and the fresh toppings mentioned above. The differences between classic chicken soup and this Mexican chicken soup are subtle, but definitely noticeable. The biggest difference is the fresh elements that are placed on top that I mentioned above – fresh cut cilantro, sliced raw jalapeño, sliced radish and sometimes avocado or green onion. The more subtle notes of the soup include pressure cooking the chicken with lime peels and Mexican oregano. The lime peels and oregano infuse flavor in to the broth, giving it a unique and delicious flavor.
Caldo de pollo en instant pot: I love cooking chicken soups in the instant pot because it absolutely crushes the chicken – in a good way! The structural integrity of the chicken is destroyed and the chicken falls apart effortlessly. The chicken couldn’t be anymore “fall off the bone” – cartilage and bone is disintegrated into an epically thick, flavorful and gelatinous broth that is filled with minerals and nutrients. When it cools, it will look almost jelly like. I scrap out every last bit and allow that to be the base of my Caldo de pollo recipe with rice. This soup translates to “chicken broth” and its all about a glorious deep, rich and thick-gelatinous broth. That is why I go with pressure cooker method for this and use my instant pot because it produces the best chicken broth. So if you’re looking for an Instant pot caldo de pollo recipe this one is the perfect recipe for you.
Making this caldo de pollo recipe Mexicano for the blog today is the first time I have had it and it blew any of my other chicken soup recipes out of the water. I won’t be going back to any other version of chicken soup – its caldo de pollo for me all the way!
Ingredientes Para Caldo de Pollo Mexicano:
- Whole chicken (or thighs, breast, bone-in is best)
- Rice
- Bouillon (Better Than Bouillon, vegetable flavor)
- Carrots
- Celery
- Chayote or zucchini (or both)
- Onion
- Garlic
- Bay leaves
- Mexican oregano (or regular)
- Lime
- Cilantro
- Jalapeños
- Radish
- Optional: crushed red pepper flakes
Ingredient notes and quantities:
- 1 whole chicken (3-4 pounder) or equivalent lbs of chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 cup white long grain rice
- 2 Tbsp of vegetable flavor bouillon from Better Than Bouillon brand
- 5 medium carrots
- 5 large celery sticks
- 2 chayote or zucchini, or 1 of each
- 1 medium white onion
- 6 large garlic cloves
- 6 bay leaves (3 for rice and 3 for chicken)
- 1 Tbsp Mexican oregano (or regular)
- 2 lime (Just using the eel)
- Water: 2 cups for rice, 4-5 cups for cooking chicken, 6-7 cups to rarefy the soup at the finish.
- Toppings: fresh chopped cilantro, sliced raw jalapeños and thinly sliced radishes.
- Optional- sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes spice level to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sauté the onions and garlic in your soup pot with a tablespoon of olive oil and set aside.
- Chop all the vegetables to bite size pieces, trying to keep the size of all the vegetables consistent in size, so that they all cook at the same rate.
- Place the chopped vegetables on a baking or sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Toss the vegetables to coat.
- Put the veggies in the oven and cook for 30-25 minutes or until tender and looking slightly caramelized.
- Cooking the chicken: both instant pot and regular dutch oven instructions: For the chicken caldo instant pot version- put the chicken in the instant pot with 4 cups of water, 3 bay leaves, Mexican oregano and the peels of 2 limes. If you are cooking a whole chicken- set pressure to high and set for 1 hour. If you are using just chicken thighs or breast- set pressure to high and cook for 20 minutes. If you are using a regular oven for the cooking method cook a whole chicken for 2.5-3 hours on 325 degrees F or cook the thighs for 40 minutes.
- When the chicken is done cooking, pick the meat off. Discard the bones, cartilage and skin, chop or shred the meat to bite size pieces and place it aside.
- Cook the rice in a rice maker, stove top or instant pot. I used my instant pot after the chicken was cooked and processed. I used 2.5 cups of cooked rice in the soup which translated to 1 cups of uncooked rice and 2 cups of water in the instant pot. Add 3 bay leaves, 1 tsp salt to the instant pot rice.
- Add the roasted vegetables, shredded chicken, any liquid from the instant pot (or roasting pan from cooking the chicken), bouillon and the cooked rice to a large soup pot and add 5-7 cups of water.
- Adjust seasoning with bouillon, sea salt or pepper to taste.
- Serve with fresh toppings: chopped cilantro, sliced raw jalapeños, thinly sliced radish. Optional- crushed red pepper, avocado or green onion.
- I like to add a drumstick right on top as a part of the presentation and to garnish it with a really delicious part of the chicken . The best caldo de pollo pictures I have seen are right here so if you’re trying to make this look fancy and appetizing – I recommend adding a drumstick to the top for a garnish.
Authentic Caldo de Pollo Recipe
Notes:
- Caldo de pollo spice additions are limited to salt and pepper for a traditional caldo de pollo and maybe a little crushed red pepper if you want to bring in some heat, but the authentic Mexican chicken soup does not have typical spices that one might find in another Mexican soup, for example tortilla soup.
- -If you are looking for a caldo de pollo recipe with cabbage, simply add your favorite green cabbage variety to the other roasted caramelized vegetables. How to cut cabbage for caldo de pollo : slice thick strips avoiding the center core and then cut the strips into 1 inch by 1 inch squares or thinly shred into strips.
- Caldo de pollo with chicken breast only – you can cook just breasts in the instant pot the same way(15 minutes only) but you won’t get a rich and flavorful broth because that is coming from the bones and cartilage breaking down. You will have to rely on more bouillon to create a better flavor in the broth.
- Additions to make maggi Caldo de pollo – add cheese, sour cream, green onion or bacon crumbled on top.
- Use an instant pot to speed up the cooking process and get an absolutely killer broth that is thick, flavorful and filled with all the minerals and collagen from the bones and cartilage. Also, caldo de pollo pressure cooker version works just as well as the instant pot.
- I recommend using a whole chicken for this chicken soup because you get the variety of meat and because so much flavor comes from the breaking down of the cartilage and bones and it makes for a really rich and nutritious broth. However you can use the thighs or breast for this recipe if you prefer.
- Make these out of this world homemade two ingredient tortillas to enjoy sopa de tortilla y pollo.
- In this recipe, I use zucchini in replacement of chayote (a variety of Mexican squash). Chayote is delicious and I love it but I can’t always get it in my area. You can use just chayote, just zucchini or use them both.
This homemade caldo de pollo recipe is the best chicken soup I have ever made. I don’t know how I could ever make chicken soup again and not make this version because it is truly so much better. The fresh cilantro and jalapeños seem like they can never not be on the top of a chicken soup again. Next time you go to search for sopa de pollo cerca de mi – remember the this quick and easy recipe so you can make a bunch for you and your whole family. This soup can be frozen for many months if packaged and sealed properly and thawed for later use.
This is a great recipe to try if you’re a fan of warm comforting soups or stews, tender fall apart chicken and Mexican herbs. If you do try this caldo de pollo recipe please rate it or comment below and if you made any alterations and want to let me in on your ideas on this recipe, I would love to hear about it! If you would like to share or pin on Pinterest I am always thankful. Check out my food journey on Pinterest at Molé in the Wall.
Thanks for checking out this consome de pollo english version blog post.
If you liked this one you may love some of my other favorite recipes such as barbacoa tacos, homemade tortillas, cranberry bread pudding, Mexican hot chocolate.
I hope you do try this sopa de pollo Mexicano recipe and throughly enjoy it as much as we have!
Related Recipes:
- Sopa de pollo ecuatoriano
- Sopa de fideo
- Chicken tortilla soup
- Caldo de pollo instant pot
- Caldo con sabor de pollo
- Sopa maggi de pollo
- Knorr caldo de pollo recipes
- Knorr caldo de pollo
- Knorr suiza de poll
Caldo de Pollo Recipe
Equipment
- Pressure cooker or oven
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (3-4 pounder) or equivalent lbs of chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 cup white long grain rice
- 2 Tbsp of vegetable flavor bouillon from Better Than Bouillon brand
- 5 medium carrots
- 5 large celery sticks
- 2 chayote or zucchini, or 1 of each
- 1 medium white onion
- 6 large garlic cloves
- 6 bay leaves (3 for rice and 3 for chicken)
- 1 Tbsp Mexican oregano (or regular)
- 2 lime (Just using the peel)
- Water: 2 cups for rice, 4-5 cups for cooking chicken, 6-7 cups to rarefy the soup at the finish.
- Toppings: fresh chopped cilantro, sliced raw jalapeños and thinly sliced radishes.
- Optional- sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes spice level to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sauté the onions and garlic in your soup pot with a tablespoon of olive oil and set aside.
- Chop all the vegetables to bite size pieces, trying to keep the size of all the vegetables consistent in size, so that they all cook at the same rate.
- Place the chopped vegetables on a baking or sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Toss the vegetables to coat.
- Put the veggies in the oven and cook for 30-25 minutes or until tender and looking slightly caramelized.
- Cooking the chicken: both instant pot and regular dutch oven instructions: For the chicken caldo instant pot version- put the chicken in the instant pot with 4 cups of water, 3 bay leaves, Mexican oregano and the peels of 2 limes. If you are cooking a whole chicken- set pressure to high and set for 1 hour. If you are using just chicken thighs or breast- set pressure to high and cook for 20 minutes. If you are using a regular oven for the cooking method cook a whole chicken for 2.5-3 hours on 325 degrees F or cook the thighs for 40 minutes.
- When the chicken is done cooking, pick the meat off. Discard the bones, cartilage and skin, chop or shred the meat to bite size pieces and place it aside.
- Cook the rice in a rice maker, stove top or instant pot. I used my instant pot after the chicken was cooked and processed. I used 2.5 cups of cooked rice in the soup which translated to 1 cups of uncooked rice and 2 cups of water in the instant pot. Add 3 bay leaves, 1 tsp salt to the instant pot rice.
- Add the roasted vegetables, shredded chicken, any liquid from the instant pot (or roasting pan from cooking the chicken), bouillon and the cooked rice to a large soup pot and add 5-7 cups of water.
- Adjust seasoning with bouillon, sea salt or pepper to taste.
- Serve with fresh toppings: chopped cilantro, sliced raw jalapeños, thinly sliced radish. Optional- crushed red pepper, avocado or green onion.
- I like to add a drumstick right on top as a part of the presentation and to garnish it with a really delicious part of the chicken . The best caldo de pollo pictures I have seen are right here so if you’re trying to make this look fancy and appetizing – I recommend adding a drumstick to the top for a garnish.
Notes
- I recommend using a whole chicken for this chicken soup because you get the variety of meat and because so much flavor comes from the breaking down of the cartilage and bones and it makes for a really rich and nutritious broth. However you can use the thighs or breast for this recipe if you prefer.
- Make these out of this world homemade two ingredient tortillas to enjoy sopa de tortilla y pollo.
- In this recipe, I use zucchini in replacement of chayote (a variety of Mexican squash). Chayote is delicious and I love it but I can’t always get it in my area. You can use just chayote, just zucchini or use them both.
Receta para Caldo de pollo mexicano
