Caldo de Pollo, a cherished traditional Mexican chicken soup, captures the essence of home-cooked comfort in a bowl. It's a symphony of chicken, rice, cilantro, and assorted vegetables, all swimming in a delicious tomato broth.
I love Mexican food, and if you are like me, here is the place where you can find some fun recipes to try, like Authentic Mexican Fajitas, Papas con Chorizo, Easy Mexican Rice, or Tinga de Pollo, just to mention a few.
I'm a devoted soup lover myself, and scarcely a week goes by in my home without a steaming pot of soup bubbling away on the stove, ready to be relished at lunch or dinner.
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What is Caldo De Pollo
Caldo de pollo is a Mexican-style chicken soup made with different parts of chicken and vegetables. It is nutritious, delicious, and comforting.
Caldo means soup, while pollo means chicken.
Every Mexican household has its own version of Caldo de Pollo. However, any 'sopa de pollo' recipe has chicken, lots of different vegetables, and a little rice or pasta.
The soup is served perhaps with a slice or two of avocado and fresh cilantro(coriander), and there are always wedges of lime on the side.
Why do I love this recipe
Comforting: This classic Mexican chicken caldo is one of our favorites and is in heavy rotation from November to April. It has some incredibly devoted fans.
Simple Ingredients: The soup uses basic kitchen staples like chicken, rice, cilantro, and vegetables, making it an authentic and easy-to-prepare comfort meal.
Warm and Cozy: Whether you're feeling under the weather or just need some warmth, this soup has a way of making you feel safe, happy, and cozy from the inside out. There's something magical about a warm bowl of chicken soup on a cold day.
Healing Properties: There's an old saying that a good chicken soup can heal anything, from a bad cold to a broken heart. And I truly believe there's a lot of truth in that.
Boosts Immunity: Even the medical field recognizes that chicken soup can do wonders for your immune system and overall well-being.
Kid-Friendly: This Caldo de Pollo recipe is something that kids can enjoy, too, making it a wonderful choice for family meals. It serves well as both a main dish for dinner and a light lunch.
Authenticity: Above all, this is an authentic Mexican caldo de pollo recipe, letting you enjoy a true taste of Mexican cuisine right in your own kitchen.
What chicken parts work for this soup
I used chicken drumsticks and bone-in chicken thighs for this soup, but any chicken part is good. Go for the wings, the back of the bird, or the legs.
I do not recommend skinless, boneless chicken breasts, as the meat will not infuse the broth with many flavors, but go for it if this is all you have.
Traditionally, the best "Caldo de pollo" is made with whole chicken pieces that are not deboned. Sometimes, an entire chicken is used to make a good homemade chicken soup for the whole family.
I like meat with bones and skin on it. They bring so much flavor to the dish! If you have to use ordinary chicken, buy extra back and giblets to strengthen the flavor.
Ingredients for chicken soup Mexican style
For specific amounts, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the article.
Vegetables: good soups always make use of vegetables. This recipe will need carrots, onions, potatoes, green celery, fresh tomatoes, and garlic.
All these items are easy to store in your kitchen in a cool place. They are also perfect to make lots of soups and stews in the winter.
You can add more vegetables if you want. Cabbage, zucchini, and Mexican chayote are generally the traditional vegetables added to the caldo de pollo.
Tip:
You need a potato that holds well in the soup and doesn't fall apart during cooking. Waxy potatoes are a good option. Yukon gold or red potatoes work well too.
Cilantro: This is a truly popular herb in Mexican cuisine.
Some people have a love-hate relationship with it, so I will say this: if you want an authentic taste of this Mexican soup, use it. If you absolutely hate it, use parsley. I am not going to watch you.
Pantry items:
Tomato sauce: I used canned tomato sauce. You can also use tomato paste instead of sauce(You will need about 1-2 tablespoons of paste).
Olive oil (or vegetable oil): use what you have
Rice: I used long-grain white rice. Brown rice is good as well.
Water: you do not need store-bought chicken stock for this recipe. You will flavor the soup with vegetables and meat and make your own chicken stock.
You will see how easy it is to make a flavorful broth that is so much better than anything from the store.
Lime: brings an extra layer of flavor to the soup. Cut it into wedges and squeeze some juice over it.
Avocado: Slice and add it on top of the soup as a garnish. Yum!
Corn tortillas: warm corn tortillas are the way to go for an authentic taste of this Caldo de pollo recipe.
Why is this soup different
This Caldo de pollo/chicken soup is made with rice and tomatoes cooked separately from the broth. This is what sets this soup apart from other Caldo de pollo recipes.
Cooking the rice, tomatoes, and onions together, separate from the broth, adds tremendous flavor to the soup, so I encourage you to follow the recipe as I wrote it.
In Mexico, chicken soup or Caldo de pollo is served simply or with different toppings added at the time of serving, like lime wedges, slices of avocado, jalapenos, or sliced radishes.
Do you want it spicy? Add some hot sauce to it. Salsa Valentina is traditional and really tasty.
However, the base of the soup is made simply, without adding spices.
How to make caldo de pollo
Step 1. Cook the chicken.
Place chicken, salt, black pepper, if you like, and garlic cloves in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add cups of water to the pot to cover the ingredients and bring them to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium and allow everything to simmer for about 15 minutes.
Note: If you would like to add bay leaves chicken bouillon cube, you can do it. I usually don't cook with bouillon cubes. That's why you will not find this ingredient in any of my recipes.
Skim the foam that forms on top of the soup using a spoon.
Step 2. Cook the rice.
While the chicken is simmering, in a separate pan, heat the oil and cook the rice until the color is golden brown, without burning.
On a cutting board, chop the onions and add them to the rice. Cook them until translucent, stirring once in a while.
Chop the fresh tomatoes and add them to the rice. Cook everything together for a few minutes.
Step 3. Add the rice mixture to the soup.
This mixture goes into the soup pot next to the chicken.
The combination brings another layer of flavor to the soup, making it delicious.
Step 4. Add the vegetables to the soup.
Add carrots, celery, and potatoes to the soup and allow them to come to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high. Let the soup simmer until vegetables cook through, about 20-30 minutes.
At this point, your chicken should be cooked enough.
You can leave the cooked chicken pieces in the pot as they are, or you can remove them from the soup and shred the meat for easier serving.
Step 5. Add tomato sauce.
Add tomato sauce and a little bit of cilantro during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Check again for salt.
Step 6. Serve.
Ladle soup into bowls, including chicken for each serving, and serve with lime wedges and warm corn tortillas.
If you prefer, you can remove the bones from the chicken, shred the meat or cut it into bite-sized pieces and return it to the soup.
Tip: When you serve it, add some sliced avocado and radishes to the serving bowl, squeeze some lime juice over it, and serve it with warm corn tortillas. Your meal will be perfect.
How to store this Caldo De Pollo (Chicken Soup Mexican Style) Recipe
In the refrigerator: This homemade caldo should be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also store it in airtight containers. Warm it up on the stove or microwave.
Are you interested in more Mexican recipes? Try some of these 15 authentic Mexican recipes.
Learn how to make this recipe of Caldo de Pollo in an Instant Pot or a pressure cooker. You can also adapt the recipe to make it in a slow cooker. Slow cooker caldo de pollo might be a great idea if you don't own an Instant Pot.
Enjoy!
More recipes to love
📖 Recipe
Caldo De Pollo (Chicken Soup Mexican Style)Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- 8 chicken thighs or drumsticks
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup white long grain rice
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 tomatoes chopped Roma tomatoes
- 2 carrots sliced
- 3 potatoes quartered
- 1 green celery chopped
- ⅓ cup tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1 Lime sliced wedges for serving
- Corn tortillas for serving
- optional 1 avocado sliced
Instructions
Cook the chicken.
- Place the water, chicken, salt, pepper, and garlic cloves in a large pot. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. While the broth is simmering, skim the foam that forms on top of the water.
Cook the rice separately.
- In a separate skillet, heat the oil on medium heat, add rice, and cook, occasionally stirring, until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn it.
- Add chopped onion and continue cooking until onion is translucent, for about 2 minutes.
- Add chopped tomato and cook for another 3 minutes.
Add the rice mixture to the pot with the chicken.
- Stir in the carrots, celery, and potatoes to the soup and let come to a boil. Reduce heat. Allow it to simmer until vegetables cook through, about 20-30 minutes.
- Add tomato sauce, cilantro during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Check again for salt.
Serve.
- Ladle soup into bowls including a piece of chicken for each serving, and serve with lime wedges and warm corn tortillas.
- Optional: Add slices of avocado to your soup.
Elisabeth says
I thought this soup was very bland and I had to add a lot of spices and jalapeños
The Bossy Kitchen says
Interesting..Sorry to hear that! This is a recipe that is very popular on the blog and a lot of people made it. What kind of spices you added to the soup, if you don't mind sharing?
Phoenix Aldana says
Don't worry bout what those people say. Traditional indigenous food is very simple. They also don't understand that paprika is not a traditionally used ingredient. I think they were seeking something Tex-Mex or Americanized, with added spice mixes such as those we commonly see marketed as 'taco seasoning'. Also, I don't think they understand that traditional soups are simple foods especially used to feed babies, children, elderly, and sick people. Meaning not a lot of spices or flavorings added.
People also don't seem to have understood where you said that different toppings are added after it is served, according to the consumer's palate. Want spicy? Add it to your bowl. Want spice mixes? Add it to your bowl.
I think majority of European Americans (and other non-indigenous americans) have this misconception that southwestern US(or south of the US border) indigenous foods are always spicy (as in hot) and always very spiced (seasoned)... usually to imitate these notions, over spicing or over seasoning is often done.
I loved your soup. It reminded me of my grandma's.
The Bossy Kitchen says
You are so awesome, thank you for your kind and thoughtful comment.
Michelle says
All homemade soup tastes sort of bland right after it's made. Soup is always better if left to sit overnight in the fridge. I seriously don't believe it has anything to do with nationality or whether someone is "indigenous" or not. It's more about not understanding how soup works. Most soup in restaurants are made ahead of time and have lots of time to simmer before serving, and that's why some people expect it to taste more flavorful. They expect it to taste like restaurant soup.
Lizz Tsosie says
I agree with it being bland. This is not how I’ve had Caldo De Pollo. I mean no disrespect but it seems like the recipe is missing seasoning. I can’t imagine anyone making this soup and not adding any seasoning otherwise NONE of those ingredients make a tasty Caldo De Pollo. Only a super bland one. I found other websites that don’t have any seasoning either, and again ...I mean no disrespect but I wonder if they are all just copying off each other and the first person forgot to add the season song. I can’t even think of what I used but Paprika is definitely supposed to be in here. Literally going to make it today again and actually save what spices I used to make it taste like real Caldo De Pollo
The Bossy Kitchen says
Lizz, Thank you for your comment, but with all due respect, traditional caldo de pollo doesn't have paprika in it. If you want to add it, go ahead and make this recipe your own, but again, this is not traditional. I can understand that the soup might be bland if for example you use chicken breast instead of other parts of the chicken. The flavor comes from the bones, the skin and in general from the quality of meat.
Just remember that it is not supposed to have much punch because it is the type of soup you would serve when someone has a cold or a sensitive stomach. If you would like more flavor, feel free to add more spices to make it to your family's liking. Everyone's tastes are different. This soup has an abundance of vegetables besides meat, plus the garlic and the cilantro that bring a lot of flavor. Lime juice added to the bowl when you serve it should also add flavor.
Sorry you did not like it. I personally take pride in my work and I do not copy recipes from other sites. I test recipes, I work on them and make them multiple times before I put them on my site. I also do a lot of research before. However, I am not surprised that you did not find seasoning in other recipes on other websites. The traditional Mexican soups are not complicated, especially caldo de pollo. The ingredients are basic, most of them carry onions, carrots, potatoes, good meat, garlic, epazote, sometimes Mexican oregano, cilantro, lime juice and that's about it. There is definitely a misconception in the US about what traditional Mexican food should be.
However, feel free to use the recipe and add whatever ingredients you like(as you seem to do already). Nothing wrong with that. Thank you for your visit!
Elisabeth says
Thanks! I didn’t realize it is for an upset tummy! I love spicy food!
Christine says
This soup is delicious and so reminds me of what my grandma used to make!
I can’t believe some people think it’s bland! It’s perfect!! Just the traditional caldo I was looking for!"
Taylor says
@Lizz Tsosie,
We lived in Mexico for three years. Normally they add the bouillon chicken cubes by Knorr in their soups. This adds the “seasoning” or flavor a lot of people refer to.
I thought this version of the soup was good! 🙂
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debbie says
I LOVE your caldo recipe, it's the real deal, just like my mom's, her sisters', my cousins' and my grandpa's. I'm not sure what taste your readers expect but this is as authentic as it can be. We've never used a recipe for Caldo de Pollo. I don't think our family has ever had one. Today I followed your recipe exactly, served it to my mom and family. She loved it, I loved it, we all loved it and now we have a recipe! As I remember my grandpa used legs and thighs from the butcher, my mom used the whole chicken. Today I used chicken leg & thighs, perfect! I think quality chicken is important too. I have only recently found your blog and Mexican recipes. Thank you, Gabrielle, I look forward to trying more of your recipes. My husband and I have traveled quite a bit and love ethnic foods but too often only americanized recipes are available and authentic is difficult to find.
The Bossy Kitchen says
Hi Debbie,
Thank you so much for your comment. I do a lot of research for these recipes before I put them on the website. I also traveled and love ethnic foods. You are so right, quality chicken is a big thing if you want to make a good soup. I am so happy you enjoyed the recipe and thank you so much for visiting and taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it.
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Cynthia Meineke says
I made caldo for the first time tonight using your recipe. I did use a combination of chicken broth and water and all chicken legs. I found your recipe easy to follow and for my first time, I think it came out well. My mother makes hers without a recipe and she complimented my soup so I look forward to making it again. Thank you for helping me try something new.
The Bossy Kitchen says
Hi Cynthia, I am so happy to hear you liked the recipe and especially for taking the time to come back and write a review. This recipe is really a good one and quite easy to follow. Thank you again for visiting. I hope this recipe inspired you to come back and try some other recipes as well.
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