Spicy Chicken and Tomatillo Soup Recipe

 

Spicy Chicken and Tomatillo Soup is a Mexican-style recipe that I created because I had too many tomatillos in my garden. Spicy Chicken and Tomatillo Soup is a wonderful soup made with rich homemade chicken stock that can be spiced up or tamed down depending on your individual taste.  The color of this soup is so colorful!

I figured there had to be something else to make with them other than a salsa verde, and I was right.  Just in case you do not know, salsa verde is to Mexican cuisine what tomato sauce is to Italian food.  Tomatillos are green tomato-like vegetables with paper-thin husks.  They are available at Latin American markets and some supermarkets.

You can use a packaged chicken stock, but before you do, try making your own homemade chicken stock.  Homemade stock takes a little planning but you can make it ahead of time and keep it frozen for when you need it.  Homemade stock will really add a savory dimension to this soup and you can control the amount of sodium for better health options.  Try this wonderful soup for your family dinner.

 

 

Spicy Chicken and tomatillo

 

Spicy Chicken and Tomatillo Soup Recipe:
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Southwest
Keyword: Spicy Chicken and Tomatillo Soup Recipe
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 whole chicken breasts, boneless and skinless*
  • 1 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and quartered**
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
  • 1 Russet potato, peeled and quartered
  • 1 teaspoon oregano, dried
  • 1 to 2 fresh jalapeno chile peppers, stems and seeds removed (or according to your taste)
  • 4 cups chicken stock or broth***
  • 3 cups water
  • Coarse salt and coarsely-ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons cilantro leaves, fresh, chopped
Instructions
  1. Prepare Tomatillos:  Remove the husks before using, the husks are inedible.  Tomatillos are very easy to cook with because they do not need to be peeled or seeded.  Their texture is firm when raw, but soften when cooked.  Rinse before using as the tomatillo is covered by a sticky substance.  Do not peel the green skin.

  2. In a large soup pot (or cast-iron Dutch oven) over medium heat, add chicken, onion, garlic, tomatillos, potato, oregano, chile pepper, chicken stock, and water; cover and bring just to a boil.  Reduce head to low and simmer 20 to 30 minutes until chicken is tender and the meat falls from the bone.  Remove chicken from the pot to a bowl or plate and set aside to cool (when cool, take meat from the bones and shred into pieces).  Refrigerate cooked chicken until ready to use.

  3. Remove the soup pot from the heat and let the vegetables and broth cool slightly.

  4. Working in batches, puree the vegetable and broth in a blender or food processor.

  5. When ready to serve, reheat the vegetable soup puree over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until hot.  Adjust seasoning if necessary.

  6. To serve, place a small pile of the shredded chicken into each soup bowl.  Ladle the pureed soup around the pile of chicken in each bowl.  Top each bowl of soup with sour cream and cilantro. Enjoy!

    Bowl of Chicken Meat
Recipe Notes

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as food agencies in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, advises against washing poultry. Rinsing chicken will not remove or kill much bacteria, and the splashing of water around the sink can spread the bacteria found in raw chicken. Cooking poultry to 165 degrees Fahrenheit effectively destroys the most common culprits behind food-borne illness.

** Remove dry paper-like skins from tomatillos.

** Check out Chicken Stock - Basic Chicken Stock to learn how easy it is to make your own homemade chicken stock.

 

Comments and Reviews

2 Responses to “Spicy Chicken and Tomatillo Soup Recipe”

  1. Michael Lioyd snyder

    I’ve,never worked with tomatillos before. Do they taste anything like michael?

    Reply
    • Linda Stradley

      Tomatillos have a tart, fruity, and slightly herbal flavor. They are most often used in salsas and sauces, although they can also be eaten raw. The raw tomatillo is probably closest to a raw green tomato in taste, although it is much more sweet and fruity. Please check out my website on Cooking with Tomatillos.

      Reply

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