Recipes

Sopa De Pollo Salvadoreña

October 8, 2025 / 0 Comments

Chicken Soup Salvadorean Style

Growing up this soup was one of my favorites!

When my mom made a pot of this, the whole house would smell absolutely delicious.

If you’ve never had Salvadoran chicken soup, I really hope you can eventually taste this beauty.

The flavor is rich, bursting with warmth and a slight smokiness from the special preparation of the chicken.

On a cold or hot day alike, a bowl of this is sure to nourish you and help you feel like you were hugged from inside.

My spouse decided to make it for us on a cold and lovely October weekend.

It’s safe to say, it kicks canned chicken noodle soup’s buns.

If you make a large pot, it can also freeze very well and be served up as you need.

Without further ado, on to the recipe! (Which is written in absolute detail so folks can follow with ease)

Sopa De Pollo Salvadoreña

Ingredients:

  • A little over 2 lbs boneless chicken
  • 1 large onion  
  • 5 cloves of garlic mashed in a molcajete (or with the back of a knife)
  • 1/2 head of celery 
  • 4 carrots 
  • 1/2 large head of cabbage (chopped medium to thin)
  • 2 large calabacitas or zucchini
  • 1 chayote 
  • 4-5 yellow or white thin skinned potatoes 
  • 2 ears of corn cut in to rounds (about 6 rounds per corn)
  • Knorr chicken bouillon
  • Oregano (a large pinch)
  • Laurel leaves (2-3)
  • For sauce: worcestershire sauce, mustard, paprika, California chili powder

For toppings:

  • Queso fresco
  • Chopped cilantro
  • Lime / lime juice

Optional:

You can serve this soup with corn tortillas, tostadas or rice.

Recipe steps:

  1. Chop all veggies. Separate in to two piles. Pile 1: to sauté first :onions, garlic, 2 carrots, celery. Pile 2: All other veg to be used without sautéing first later. 
  2. Sauté 1st pile of veggies with a swirl of oil. Sauté until garlic is fragrant and onions are translucent.
  3. Rinse the chicken and pat dry.
  4. Move chicken on to the pot with the vegetables that were sautéed.
  5. Pour 1 L of water and add 1 TBSP of knorr chicken bouillon. 
  6. Add oregano and laurel leaves. 
  7. Cook chicken until done (about 25 min). 
  8. Remove chicken with tongs and put aside on to a cutting board.
  9. Add in from 2nd pile of veggies: potatoes, carrots, and corn. 
  10. Add in about 1.5 L more of water + 1 more TBSP knorr chicken bouillon.
  11. Let cook for 10 more minutes.
  12. Add in the rest of veg from 2nd pile: chayote, calabacitas and cabbage.
  13. In a small bowl mix mustard (enough to cover the chicken like 1/2 a cup or less was used), Worcestershire sauce (1 tbsp), paprika (1 tsp), California chili powder (1 tsp) mix together well.
  14. Shred the chicken, put the sauce on top of the chicken and rub it in. 
  15. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the saucy chicken until it is golden brown.
  16. Add the chicken back in to the soup.
  17. Cover and simmer on medium heat until veggies are tender. 
  18. Garnish with chopped cilantro and queso fresco to taste. 

I hope you end up loving this soup as much as we do!