This Mexican Chicken Soup is a one pot dinner that goes from cutting board to bowls in about 45 minutes. Tender chicken, carrots, celery and corn simmer in a broth seasoned with cumin, garlic and diced tomatoes with green chilies — no fancy ingredients, no long simmer, and no second pan to wash. It’s the kind of soup that feeds a crowd for a couple dollars a bowl and still tastes like you fussed over it.
As a busy mom of 8, this Mexican Chicken Soup (Caldo de Pollo) is one of my family’s favorite soup recipe. The rich broth, tender chicken, and colorful vegetables simmered with cumin, garlic, and diced tomatoes make it both comforting and full of flavor.
You may even like to this Green Chile Chicken Soup, Chicken Fajita Soup, Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe or this Mexican Shredded Chicken.
Why we love this soup
- One pot, 45 minutes. Everything cooks in the same pot, so cleanup is one pot and a cutting board.
- Cheap ingredients you already buy. Chicken breasts, a can of tomatoes with green chilies, frozen corn and pantry spices — no specialty trip.
- It stretches. Add a cup of rice or a can of black beans and the same pot feeds two more people.
- Freezes beautifully. Make a double batch and put half in the freezer for a night you have nothing planned.
- Everyone can build their own bowl. Set out toppings and let picky eaters skip the jalapeño and pile on the cheese.
Ingredients
- Boneless Chicken Breasts – Dice the chicken about the same size. You can also use boneless chicken thighs.
- Chicken Broth – See Chicken broth substitutes
- Onion – Dice into small pieces. You can also freeze chopped onions.
- Celery and Carrots – Dice the veggies ahead of time to save time. You may even like to add in dice potatoes or zucchini
- Frozen Corn – You can also use canned corn
- Olive Oil – Use oil of your choice
- Minced Garlic
- Ground Coriander – This is what makes the broth taste like more than taco seasoning. If you don’t have it, leave it out and add an extra ½ tsp of cumin.
- Salt and Pepper – Start with the amounts in the recipe card, then taste at the end. Low sodium broth will need more salt than regular.
- Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies – You can also use a can of Rotel
- Jalape̱o Pepper РSeeded and Diced
- Cumin
- Fresh Cilantro – You can omit if you prefer
- Topping – Sour Cream, lime juice, hot sauce, Shredded Cheese or Tortilla Strips
What you need: A 5-quart or larger soup pot or Dutch oven, a cutting board and a sharp knife. That’s it — no blender, no second pan. A meat thermometer is handy for checking the chicken but isn’t required.
How to Make Mexican Chicken Soup
Step 1 – Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7–10 minutes.
Step 2 – Stir in the minced garlic and cook just until you can smell it, about 30 seconds. Push the vegetables to one side, add the diced chicken and sprinkle on the cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 4–6 minutes total, until the chicken is lightly browned on the outside. It does not need to be cooked through — it finishes in the broth.
Step 3 – Add the broth, undrained tomatoes with green chilies, jalapeño and frozen corn. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the chicken reaches 165°F.
How to tell it’s done: The carrots should give easily when you press one against the side of the pot, and a piece of chicken cut in half should be white all the way through with no pink. The broth stays thin and brothy — this is not a thick or creamy soup. If you like it thicker, see the tips below.
Step 4 – Turn off the heat and stir in the fresh cilantro. Taste and add salt if it needs it — this is the step most people skip and it makes the biggest difference. Ladle into bowls, squeeze a lime wedge over the top, and finish with sour cream and tortilla strips.
Prep it earlier in the day
All the knife work can be done up to 2 days ahead. Dice the onion, celery and carrots, store them together in one container in the fridge, and dice the chicken into a second container. At dinner time everything goes straight from fridge to pot and the recipe drops to about 30 minutes of hands-off cooking. If you’re chopping ahead anyway, double the vegetables and freeze half in a zip-top bag for the next batch.
Make It in the Crockpot
This soup works in the slow cooker with one small change — the vegetables get sautéed first so the broth doesn’t taste raw.
- Sauté the onion, celery and carrots in the olive oil for 5 minutes, then add the garlic for 30 seconds. Scrape it all into the crockpot. (In a rush, you can skip this and add everything at once — the flavor is milder but it still works.)
- Add the chicken, broth, undrained tomatoes with green chilies, jalapeño, corn, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.
- Cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or HIGH for 3 hours.
- Stir in fresh cilantro.
- Taste for salt, then serve with lime wedges and your toppings.
Feeding picky eaters?
Ladle their bowl before you add the cilantro and let them build it themselves — cheese and a few tortilla strips on top, and most kids are in. If someone objects to the vegetables, dice the carrots and celery small enough that they disappear into the broth rather than trying to hide them.
Mexican Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Boneless Chicken Breasts Diced
- 6 cups Chicken Broth
- ½ Onion Diced
- 2 Stalks Celery Diced
- 2 Carrots Peeled and Diced
- 1 cup Frozen Corn
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tsp Minced Garlic
- 1 can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles 14.5 oz.
- 1 Jalapeño Pepper Seeded and Diced
- 2 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Ground Coriander
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 2 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro Chopped
- 1 cup Sour Cream for Topping
- Tortilla Strips For Topping
- 1 lime, cut into wedges for serving
See how we calculate recipe costs.
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the diced onion, celery, and carrots. Cook for 7–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Add the diced chicken. Season with the cumin, coriander, salt, and black pepper. Cook for 4–6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is lightly browned.
- Pour in the chicken broth. Add the undrained diced tomatoes with green chilies, jalapeño, and frozen corn.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Stir in the chopped cilantro.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top with sour cream and tortilla strips.
- Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
Serving Recommendations
If you have no time at all: a bag of tortilla chips and a lime cut into wedges on the table is genuinely enough. The chips do the work of the tortillas and the lime does the work of a garnish.
To make it a full dinner without another recipe: stir a cup of cooked rice straight into each bowl, or open a can of black beans (drained and rinsed) and add it to the pot in the last five minutes. Either one turns 6 servings into 8.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. We think it taste even better the next day.
Yes, this soup freezes great! Place the soup in individual freezer containers for up to 3 months. Freeze without the tortilla strips as they will become soggy when thawing.
Thaw in the fridge overnight when ready to reheat.
Warm gently on stovetop over medium heat. You can also reheat in the microwave. Add extra broth if needed.
Is this soup spicy?
This soup is mild as written. The heat comes from one seeded jalapeño and the green chilies in the canned tomatoes, and by the time it simmers 20 minutes it’s a gentle warmth rather than a burn. For kids who are sensitive to heat, leave the jalapeño out entirely and use plain diced tomatoes — you won’t lose much flavor. To go the other way, leave the jalapeño seeds in or add a diced serrano pepper.
Yes, and it’s the fastest way to make this. Use about 3 cups of shredded rotisserie or leftover cooked chicken. Skip the browning step, sauté the vegetables and garlic as written, then add the broth and stir the cooked chicken in for the last 5 minutes so it warms through without falling apart.
 Yes — see the slow cooker directions in the post.
Nine times out of ten it needs salt and acid, not more spices. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt at a time until the vegetables taste like themselves, then squeeze in a lime wedge.
Yes. The soup is better on day two — the cumin and coriander settle into the broth overnight. Make it a day ahead, refrigerate, and reheat gently on the stove. Wait to add the cilantro and toppings until you serve.
Turn the Leftovers Into a Second Dinner
Leftover soup on night two doesn’t have to be soup again:
- Burrito bowls. Strain most of the broth off, spoon the chicken and vegetables over rice, and top with cheese and sour cream. Save the strained broth to cook the rice in. This is my family’s favorite leftover dinner!
- Loaded nachos. Drain a bowl of the solids well, spread over tortilla chips with shredded cheese, and broil until melted.
- Soft tacos. Drain, warm in a skillet for a couple minutes to cook off the extra liquid, and spoon into tortillas with a squeeze of lime.
More Easy Mexican Soup Recipes
If you make this Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe, please leave us a comment or a star review. We love hearing from you!
This soup is so easy to throw together and so dang delicious! It’s soup season and my husband and our kids have been asking for this regularly.
-Faith