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Put leftover chicken to work in this easy Mexican Chicken Soup recipe. It comes together fast, and it’s good for whatever ails you, even if it’s just a case of the Monday blues.
Similar to Chicken Tortilla Soup and Caldo de Pollo (Chicken Soup), this is among the most common Mexican soup recipes. But in the USA, it feels like a classic “put your leftover Rotisserie Chicken to work” recipe. Remove the skin and bones, shred the meat, and you’re halfway to dinner. But it’s so easy to make, you’ll wish you had made it sooner!
I like this recipe because it’s light and full of fresh flavors but also very satisfying for the whole family. It’s an easy recipe to double, too. If you don’t have enough shredded chicken for double chicken, you can always stretch it with something else. Pile in black beans or extra veggies like corn, potatoes, or zucchini. Leftover cooked rice, especially Mexican rice, is a nice touch too.
And don’t forget the toppings! Sour cream, cheese, sliced avocado, more cilantro, fresh lime juice, hot sauce, a sprinkle of chili powder, sliced fresh chiles, tortilla strips, it’s all good. And honestly, I love a handful of crisp shredded lettuce on top, too.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Chicken: If you don’t have any leftover chicken on hand, learn how to poach chicken breasts (it’ll be ready by the time you need to add the chicken to the soup).
- Cilantro: If you’re not a fan of cilantro, just leave this out entirely. Maybe sub a pinch of Mexican oregano.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, tomatoes and juice, jalapeño, cumin, and coriander.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Stir in chicken and cilantro (if using). Season to taste (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper). Serve, offering, cheese, sour cream, avocado, and tortilla chips or your favorite toppings.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 6 hearty servings of about 1 ½ cups of soup per person.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Cool and freeze leftover soup in freezer-safe containers for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Mexican vegetable soup: Follow the recipe as written but leave out the chicken and add way more veggies! Zucchini, cubed potatoes, and corn are a good place to start. Want to make it like they do in Mexico? Add your corn still on the cob! Cut each cob into 3 or 4 chunks and add them to the pot. Or you can buy them in the freezer that size sometimes, too.
- Albondigas soup (meatball soup): Add turkey meatballs to the soup instead of shredded chicken, it’s absolutely delicious!
- Taco Soup: Made with ground beef, canned veggies, and taco seasoning, this Tex-Mex favorite is another delicious, hearty meal option.
Frequently Asked Questions
This Mexican beef soup is made with a bone-in beef shank.
This classic soup is made with chunks of pork or chicken, hominy (dried corn), chiles, and spices. Sometimes, you add a green salsa made with tomatillos and poblano peppers on top.
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Mexican Chicken Soup
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion peeled and chopped (about 2 cups)
- 3 carrots peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3 ribs celery chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes undrained
- 1 jalapeño pepper stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3 cups cooked chicken diced or shredded (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro optional (see note 2)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For serving:
- shredded cheddar cheese
- sour cream
- avocado peeled, pitted, and diced
- tortilla chips
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, jalapeño, cumin, and coriander.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Stir in chicken and cilantro (if using). Season to taste (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper). Serve, offering, cheese, sour cream, avocado, and tortilla chips or your favorite toppings.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Chicken: If you don’t have any leftover chicken on hand, learn how to poach chicken breasts (it’ll be ready by the time you need to add the chicken to the soup).
- Cilantro: If you’re not a fan of cilantro, just leave this out entirely.
- Yield: This recipe makes 6 hearty servings of about 1 ½ cups of soup per person.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Amazing recipe!
Added one can black beans.
Added some ground taco meat (I didn’t have enough chicken and was trying to get rid of leftovers).
Used shredded cheddar and plain yogurt as toppings. It was good!
Thank you, Sarah! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! – Meggan
I just fixed this and ate three bowls! It’s excellent. I added avocado but it was good by itself. The only changes I made were: I added red potatoes and substituted basil for coriander because I didn’t have it. And I did not add cilantro (which was optional) and I added 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper. I think the biggest compliment was when my husband, who does not care for chicken soups, said it was really good. I will definitely be fixing this again and often. I love that it is healthy, too!
I’m so glad you loved it, MaryAnn! Thank you! – Meggan
I maðe a huge pot of veggie soup they we got sick of eating. Changed it up by combining this recipe. Chicken , rice, celentro, cumin, fresh avacodo, lime. and of course torn up tortillas. We usually order this from our local restaurant restaurant. 15 dollars a bowl. This was tons better.
So glad you loved it, Kristen! – Meggan
Made this out of thr blue with the stuff I had in fridge. It was WONDERFUL!!! I DOUBLED THE RECIPE ANDFROZE WELL. THANX FOR SARING
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you! -Meggan
10/10!!!! We top ours with a dollop of Greek yogurt (sour cream works too) and it’s our FAVORITE soup!! We make an extra chicken breast and have some corn tortilla tacos on the side. Once a week meal in our house during the chilly months… Tastes just like our favorite Mexican restaurant chicken soup!
So glad you and your family enjoy it, Kaitlyn! Thanks for writing, take care! – Meggan
Hola!!!! I have made this several times and always double it because hubby and I love it!!!! Great recipe!
Thank you, Antoinette! I’m glad you both love it! – Meggan
This is a great recipe, but I made some substitutions. First of all, I am allergic to carrots, so I replaced them with water chestnuts as a good crunchy alternative.
Second, I hatee onions so I used sliced bamboo shoots since they are typically served in strips similar to onions. Don’t judge me, this is just what I had around the house. I couldn’t find crushed
tomatoes at the store so I figured a can of sliced beets would make the same texture as undrained canned tomato. It came out odd, but to be fair I made a lot of bold choices, so a high rating for the original recipe! Let me know if anyone tries this
Interesting substitutions, Lyndsay! Thank you for taking the time to share. – Meggan
This was delicious! I made it for Sunday morning breakfast 🙂
I’m glad you loved it! Take care! – Meggan
Delicious! I added a can o black bean soup & 3/4 can of fire roasted tomatoes. Otherwise I found the soup a bit bland.
Tried this recipe for the first time…Was excellent!!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Elizabeth! – Meggan
Thank you for the recipe. But did not taste Mexican at all. Just plain chicken soup.
Hi Jane, your welcome. Is it possible you missed some of the componenets like the ground coriander and cumin, fresh jalapeño, and fresh cilantro? Otherwise, I’m not sure why it tasted like regular chicken soup. Sorry about that, hope your next batch is better! – Meggan
I made this recipe as directed and it was delicious. None of the ingredients overpowered one another. It’s a winner. It took longer to gather the ingredients than to actually make the soup.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Patty! – Meggan
This recipe was awesome!
Glad you enjoyed it, Thadd! – Meggan
EXCELLENT!!! Soo full of flavor! Thank you!
I changed up 2 things.
I had several pkgs of cleaned chicken wings in the freezer sooooo…. instead of simmering the base for 20 min (and then adding cooked chicken in the end), I just put raw chicken wings in and upped the simmer time to 30 min.
I also served it with a splash of Crema Mexicana.
Hi Felicia! Honestly your way would have the better flavor by a mile, so good for you for cleaning out the freezer and having a better soup in the end! That’s before even adding the cream which would put the whole thing right over the top. YOU’RE HIRED, just kidding but you have a knack for cooking obviously! Have a great week and thank you so much for trying the recipe (and improving it to be honest) and leaving a comment! Take care – Meggan
MEGGAN HILL – Thanks for your kind response. I forgot to mention a third thing I changed up. Didn’t see a way to edit my first response.
I “bloomed” the Cumin/Coriander spices a little by stirring them into the carrots/onions/celery in step #1.
I’m alllll for using store bought rotisserie chicken in a pinch. I’m retired now so I have more time to tinker on recipes. I’ve made this soup twice already and we have inhaled it. Next adventure is to toss it all into my slow cooker and see where the flavor lands after 6 hrs on low. I’m the kid (now an old woman) who still likes to play with her food.
As soon as it warms up a bit, I’ll try smoking the wings for about 30 min, and then adding them. I’ll invite you over… LOL!!
2/26/24 Made this for lunch today. Easy and a Great taste. This is my favorite soup at my favorite restaurant. So happy I tried this soup same great taste as the restaurant. Thank you for sharing….. I put small shell noodles with my soup, because the restaurant does the same. Thanks again 🙂 🙂
Hi Lisa, I’m so glad you loved the soup! It’s not the fanciest/most difficult thing out there, but I sure do love it. It tastes so good for such simple ingredients. I love that you used baby shell noodles, that sounds perfect. 🙂 Little conchas no doubt! Thank you for leaving a comment and I hope you have a fantastic week. Take care. -Meggan
Whole family loved it ❤️ I added some squash just cuz we had some
Yum! Sounds like a wonderful addition! Thanks for your kind words! -Meggan
I made this and it was delicious!! I made it with canned chicken and it was so fast and easy!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Tammy! Take care! – Meggan
Quick..easy..delicious! Great way to revamp some leftovers .
So happy you enjoyed it, Leslie! Thanks for taking the time to write! – Meggan
great simple recipe! Thanks
You’re welcome, B! Take care! – Meggan
I really wasn’t expecting much. I didn’t think it would taste like the authentic Mexican restaurant we go to, but I think it was just as good. I added 1 can of Rotella besides the 14 oz. of diced tomatoes and it was delicious.
Really delicious. Exactly what I was looking for on a cold night. The only change I made-I used petite diced tomatoes instead of crushed tomatoes because of color. I wanted a distinct red color in addition to the green and orange.
So glad you loved it, Kristie! Take care! – Meggan
Perfect recipe!! All 8 of my kids loved it! Thank you!
Hi Jen, thank you so much for your comment! I’m so glad they loved it! – Meggan
I made this almost entirely by the recipe. I added two jalapenos one was sauteed with the vegetables and the second was added with the tomatoes. I added a 1/2 cup of black beans and lime at the end with cilantro. Incredible soup served with fresh avocado and optional cheese and sour cream! Great recipe!
Yum! Sounds delicious! – Meggan
Incredible! I was looking for the soup that I once had at an authentic Mexican restaurant. This one is better! I, like someone else mentioned, added lime and it took it over the top. Thank you so much.
You’re welcome, Cassie! So glad you loved it! – Meggan
Excellent! I have been looking for a recipe like this for a while; so glad I found this one. Easy, warm, and healthy! I added a cup of corn but otherwise no changes to the recipe. Thank you!
Sounds delicious, Elizabeth! You’re so welcome! Take care! – Meggan
I made this almost exactly as written (the only thing I did differently was to cook the carrots a few minutes to soften before adding the celery and onions) and it was amazing!! I will be making this again and again!
I’m so happy you love it, Cindy! Take care!
This soup is delicious!!!! I followed the recipe and added black chili beans and some lime juice. I only had dried cilantro. Served it over tostada chips topped with cheddar, avocado and sour cream. My husband and his brother had several bowls, and kept saying how great the soup is. Thank you for this recipe!!!
Hi Alice, sounds absolutely delicious! You’re welcome! – Meggan
Great taste! The spices are so complementary to each other. One of our favorites!!!
This was so simple and so delicious!
Thanks Carla! – Meggan
Awesome
Thank you! – Meggan
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have never tried this kind of soup before since mexican/american food is a bit less popular here in Europe . The soup is really excellent and will definitely be part of my regular receipes!
Need recipe
Delicious recipe! I do have a problem when stalks of celery are written down. It should be ribs, not stalks, for the celery. Ribs are the individual, stalks are the whole. As a home economics teacher this will throw off my students.
Great recipe! The flavors are amazing and well thought out. Thanks!
I 100% agree with you on that. I think it was a year ago that someone posed the question, did I mean the whole stalk or an individual rib, and that was the first time I realized I was wrong about how I was listing it. We’ve been trying to find all the instances of “stalks” on the site so we could fix them. Thank you for finding this one! -Meggan
Wow, you’re a snob! Who cares which term is used for celery? eat the soup and shut up!
Good to know. Nothing snobby about being precise.
Great recipe. I added green chiles, Bay leaf, more garlic, slightly more tomatoes, less carrots. Used left over homemade rotisserie chicken. Homemade tortilla strips and added thinly sliced scallions and radishes to the cilantro, cheese, sour cream garnishes. Served it with steamed rice. Delicious!
Saving this recipe forever! I loved it and will probably eat it all by myself, I topped with A little sour cream, avocado, more cilantro and jalapeños and made tortilla chips Perfect! I did make a smaller serving then the recipe called for and made my chicken stock added some mushrooms but cut them extremely small (just trying to get them out of the fridge) thank you for this recipe!
Made as directed except only had fire roasted tomatoes on hand a little less jalepeno a little more garlic for my wifes taste. It was awesome I will be making again. I used rotisserie chicken leftovers to make the broth and the left over chicken meat from the most recent purchase I may never have stock in freezer as I think it will be made directly into this recipe
Seriously so good… will become a staple in our home for sure!!! I could have eaten the entire pot myself! I added some fresh lime juice with the cilantro as a topping… Perfect!
I made this last night, and it was amazing! The only thing I changed was add more cumin (we love cumin!), 1 tbsp of Mexican oregano and the juice of 2 limes. The flavors today are even better (I had it for lunch) – simple, easy and delicious!