Caldo Tlalpeño
Caldo Tlalpeño is a traditional Mexican soup made with chicken, chickpeas, green beans, carrots, and a flavorful broth with smoky chipotle.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
For the chicken and broth
- 2 pounds bone-in skinless chicken thighs
- 8 cups water
- ¼ white onion, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 bay leaves
For the soup
- 3 Roma tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced into half-moons
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ white onion, diced
- 2 cups chopped green beans (fresh or frozen)
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 4 epazote leaves
- 4 sprigs cilantro
For garnish
- Chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- Queso fresco
- Chopped cilantro
- Sliced avocados
Instructions
- Make the chicken and broth. Add the chicken thighs, water, onion, garlic, salt, and bay leaves to a large pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Transfer the chicken to a bowl to cool, discard the bay leaves, and transfer the cooked onions and garlic into a blender. Strain and reserve the remaining broth in a large bowl.
- Make the soup. In the blender with the cooked onions and garlic, add 1 cup of the reserved chicken broth, the tomatoes, salt, and chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. Blend until smooth.
- Heat the olive oil in the same large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften. Add the diced onion and cook for 5 more minutes until softened and translucent.
- Pour in the blended tomato mixture and cook for an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the tomato mixture cooks, shred the chicken thighs.
- Add the shredded chicken, green beans, chickpeas, remaining chicken broth, epazote leaves, and cilantro springs to the pot. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Cook for 8 minutes until the green beans are tender. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
- Serve immediately in bowls and garnish with a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, crumbled queso fresco, sliced avocados, and chopped cilantro.
Notes
- Adjust the spice level. If you don’t want a lot of spice, I recommend leaving out the chipotle as a garnish but not in the tomato mixture/broth. You can use half of a chipotle pepper if you’re sensitive to spice.
- Don't want t make your own chicken broth? Using and making your own chicken broth and shredded chicken adds tons of great flavor, but you can save time by using store-bought chicken broth and shredded chicken. Just note you may need to adjust the seasonings.
- Don't want to use bone-in chicken? I like to use bone-in cuts of chicken, like thighs or drumsticks, when making broth since it adds flavor, but feel free to use chicken breasts.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 279kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 1671mg | Potassium: 674mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 4052IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 3mg