Artificial Food Coloring Free Paleo Mexican Chicken Soup (Caldo de Pollo)

Total time1 hr 25 min

Prep time20 min

Cook time1 hr 5 min

Artificial Food Coloring Free Paleo Mexican Chicken Soup (Caldo de Pollo)

This deeply comforting Mexican chicken soup is built entirely from whole, real ingredients — bone-in chicken, garden vegetables, and a handful of aromatic spices that do all the heavy lifting. Every drop of color in that golden broth comes from slow-simmered onion, garlic, cumin, and carrots, not from a dye bottle. That matters more than it might seem, because packaged soups and seasoning blends are notorious for sneaking in synthetic colorings that have no business being in a bowl of caldo. Here, you control every single ingredient from start to finish. The technique is straightforward: build a fragrant base, layer in the vegetables at the right time so nothing turns to mush, then shred the chicken back into that rich, naturally tinted broth. Chayote squash, zucchini, and carrots give the soup body and a gorgeous rustic look without any artificial help. A squeeze of lime and a few crisp radish slices on top finish it off in the most satisfying way.

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Ingredients

6 servings

3 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (thighs, drumsticks, or a mix)
10 cups water
1 medium white onion, quartered
6 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
1 tsp ground cumin
3 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch rounds
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch half-moons
1 chayote squash, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1-inch cubes
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2 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
2 dried bay leaves
1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, halved (seeds removed for mild heat)

For serving

lime wedges, for serving (optional)
sliced radishes, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1
Place the chicken pieces in a large 6–8 qt pot and cover with 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then use a ladle or spoon to skim off any gray foam that rises to the surface, about 3–4 minutes.
2
Add the quartered onion, smashed garlic, bay leaves, serrano pepper, cumin, 2 tsp kosher salt, and 1 tsp black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially, and simmer for 30 minutes.

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