BHA & BHT Free Paleo Mexican Chicken Soup (Caldo de Pollo)

Total time1 hr 25 min

Prep time20 min

Cook time1 hr 5 min

BHA & BHT Free Paleo Mexican Chicken Soup (Caldo de Pollo)

This deeply comforting Mexican chicken soup is built entirely from whole, unprocessed ingredients — bone-in chicken, garden vegetables, and a handful of aromatics that do all the heavy lifting. That matters because BHA and BHT are synthetic preservatives that sneak into packaged broths, seasoning blends, and processed meats, making a from-scratch approach like this one the cleanest path to a bowl you can fully trust. The broth develops its rich, golden depth the old-fashioned way: a long, slow simmer with smashed garlic, white onion, cumin, bay leaves, and a halved serrano pepper that adds gentle warmth without overwhelming heat. Carrots, celery, chayote, and zucchini go in at staggered intervals so every vegetable hits the bowl perfectly tender rather than mushy. Once the chicken is fall-off-the-bone soft, it gets shredded and stirred back into the broth along with a generous handful of fresh cilantro that brightens the whole pot. A squeeze of lime and a few crisp radish slices at the table add that classic caldo de pollo finish. It's the kind of soul-warming soup that tastes like it took all day, even when every single ingredient is clean, simple, and right there on your counter.

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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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