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.