How to Make Caldo de Pollo

Caldo de Pollo, in English, chicken soup, is a clean, healthy, and flavorful soup made from a nourishing chicken broth, chicken thighs, and lots of vegetables depending on your taste and honestly what you have available. It’s an easy and hearty soup that you can eat year-round to satisfy your appetite and heal your body.

When I first started learning how to cook Mexican food, Caldo de Pollo and Caldo de Res were always my go to recipes. Most of the time I cook them when I am beginning to feel a little under the weather and can nurture myself back to health with good broth, vegetables, and sometimes herbs.

I posted a picture of a bowl of Caldo de Pollo a month or so ago when I either had COVID again or a sinus infection. Many of you asked for the recipe so here you go. Let’s make some Caldo de Pollo, mis amigos.

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To make Caldo de Pollo, you’ll need the following ingredients

Oh, if you don’t have all of the vegetables or would like to eliminate them you can. I honestly make Caldo de Pollo different every time. For this recipe, I diced my tomatoes and added avocado instead of the traditional recipe here! But, I want you all to start with this recipe and adjust as you like.

6 bone in chicken thighs (skin removed)

2 tomatoes

1/2 onion

4 garlic cloves (peeled)

3 bay leaves

12 cups of water

2 potatoes, cut in quarters

1 whole carrot, sliced

1 Mexican squash, sliced

1 serrano pepper

oregano

mint

cilantro

2 tablespoonsful of Sabor de Pollo Seasoning (Kroger or International Grocery)

DIRECTIONS

1. Clean and rinse the chicken and remove the skin.

2. In a large soup pot, add bone-in chicken thighs, garlic, onion, bay leaves, Sabor de Pollo seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a low simmer and continue cooking for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the meat is tender.

3. After the chicken has cooked for 20 minutes remove the chicken from the broth and place it in a bowl to cool.

4. Add tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, serrano pepper, oregano, and mint to the broth.

5. Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer and continue cooking for 20-30 minutes until all the vegetables are tender and cooked through.

6. Let simmer then add the Mexican squash. Cover.

7. Allow the squash to cook for about 5 minutes.

8. While the vegetables are cooking, remove the bones from the chicken and discard them. Shred or cut the chicken into smaller pieces.

9. If you'd like, cook tortillas or serve with rice.

Serve soup in large bowls. I like to make sure that each bowl gets a little bit of everything. Top each bowl with a little cilantro to garnish and a lime wedge.

VAMOS A COMER!