Caldo de Pollo + Sopa a la Mexicana (Mexican-Style Chicken Soup)

This Mexican-Style Chicken Soup begins with Caldo de Pollo, a light homemade chicken broth flavored with herbs and aromatics. 

After you make the broth, you use it to make a light and nutritious chicken soup that includes more chicken, vegetables, and fresh tomatoes that have been run through a sieve to flavor the broth. 

Finally, you serve the soup with garnishes, including cilantro, avocado, and pickled jalapeños. 

Of course, if you don't have time to make your own broth, feel free to use store bought chicken broth to make this delicious and nutritious soup. 

To make the broth:

You will need about 3 pounds of chicken pieces. You can buy a whole chicken and cut it up yourself, or use an assortment of chicken parts from your grocery store. 

In addition, you will need carrots, onion, celery, leeks, garlic, peppercorns, parsley, dried marjoram, dried thyme, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. 

Unlike bone broth or other super rich broths, you do not need to cook the chicken parts to death. This method results in chicken meat that you can cut up or shred and use in salads, soups, and casseroles. 

To Make the Sopa a la Mexicana:

You will need 2 quarts of the chicken stock, along with about 6 skinless chicken thighs, zucchini, carrots, celery, and peas. 

To enhance the broth, you add the pulp from fresh tomatoes, run through a sieve. You can use a China cap mesh strainer. If you don't have one, you can push the tomatoes through any mesh strainer, although it will be much easier if you peel the tomatoes first. 

I used the OXO Food Mill. You can mill the tomatoes through it without peeling the tomatoes, and the seeds and skins remain behind. It's pretty magical. 

My favorite grocery store tomatoes these days are Campari. Other than cherry and grape tomatoes, they are the most flavorful tomatoes, outside of the tomatoes from farmer's markets. 

This soup rocks! It's light, delicious, and probably pretty much Mexican penicillin. It's not particularly spicy, and represents the kind of soup you might find in Mexico City. 

I've actually been making this recipe for Mexican chicken soup forever. I've adapted it from a recipe from a mom of one of my friends from college. She was originally from Mexico, and knew about my interest in Mexican culture and the language (I actually taught high school Spanish back in the day). 

If you need a side dish, I recommend a side of arroz rojo. 

If you love chicken soup, be sure to check out the rest of the Soup Saturday Swappers recipes! 

• Caldo de Pollo + Sopa a la Mexicana by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Chicken Noodle Soup by Sneha’s Recipe
• Chicken Poblano Chowder from Palatable Pastime
• Ground Chicken Noodle Soup by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Italian Chicken Stew from Making Miracles
• Chicken & Stars Soup with Peas & Fresh Dill from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

Caldo de Pollo + Sopa a la Mexicana (Mexican-Style Chicken Soup)

Yield: 10 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 2 HourTotal time: 3 Hour

This Mexican-Style Chicken Soup begins with Caldo de Pollo, a light homemade chicken broth flavored with herbs and aromatics.

Ingredients

For the Broth

• 3 pounds chicken pieces
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 brown or yellow onion, halved
• 3 celery stalks, leaves included, cut into large chunks
• 2 leeks, dark green parts removed, white and light green parts halved lengthwise, washed and chopped.
• 1 garlic clove
• 6 black peppercorns
• 6 Italian parsley sprigs
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt
• 3 1/2 quarts water

For the Sopa a la Mexicana

• 6 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
• 2 quarts chicken broth
• 2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
• 4 thin carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 6 medium tomatoes, sieved (see notes in post)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 avocado, diced, for garnish
• Handful of chopped cilantro for garnish
• Pickled jalapeños, for garnish

Instructions

To Make the Broth

1. Place all of the broth ingredients into a 6 to 8 quart stock pot and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam from the top and discard.
2. Lower the heat to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, for 50 minutes.
3. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a bowl.
4. Continue to cook the mixture until it is reduced to 2 quarts. Strain the broth into a bowl and chill.
5. Shred the chicken and set aside for future use.

To Make the Soup

1. Cook the chicken thighs in the chicken broth with the zucchini, carrots, and peas for 10 minutes on low heat.
2. Add the sieved tomatoes and cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Remove the chicken thighs, remove the bones, and cut the thighs into 4 pieces each. Place them back into the soup.
4. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serves so that each bowl has a few slices of chicken, carrots, zucchini, and some peas.
6. Garnish with diced avocado, cilantro, and pickled jalapeño.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

526.68

Fat (grams)

27.00 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

7.29 g

Carbs (grams)

13.53 g

Fiber (grams)

4.66 g

Net carbs

8.87

Sugar (grams)

4.91 g

Protein (grams)

58.06 g

Sodium (milligrams)

1738.64 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

262.60 g

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2022/01/caldo-de-pollo-sopa-la-mexicana-mexican.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

Chicken

Soup

Mexican

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