Puerto Rican Chicken Soup Recipe – Asopao de Pollo

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Puerto Rican chicken soup recipe aka asopao de pollo. 

This Puerto Rican chicken soup recipe has all the ingredients to make the perfect comfort food. Whether you are in the mood for soup on a cold day or just in the mood for something delicious and packed with flavor, this Spanish chicken soup makes for an easy healthy dinner any night of the week. 

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Puerto Rican Soup Versions

Before getting into the list of ingredients for this puerto rican chicken soup recipe I want to mention that this soup goes by a few different names. This soup is also commonly referred to as:

• Spanish chicken noodle soup
• sopa de pollo con fideos
• sopa de fideo
• Puerto Rican sopa de pollo
• Puerto Rican chicken stew 
• sopa de pollo boricua
• and of course, asopao de pollo

Puerto Rican Chicken Soup Ingredients

In addition to the different names for this soup, there are also different versions of this puerto rican chicken noodle soup recipe. If you want to tweak it to your own liking, that’s perfectly fine. But according to my mother, this recipe has already been tweaked to perfection so as they say – if it’s not broken don’t fix it. Here is what you will need to make this comforting dish:

• 10 cups of water (or 1/2 water, 1/2 chicken stock)
• 2 large boneless chicken breast (appx 1 lb)
• 1 small ham steak, cubed
• 2 small or 1 large chorizo sausage, sliced into 1/2″ rounds
• 1/2 tomato, chopped
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 12 stuffed green olives (with pimentos)
• 3/4 lb potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3/4 lb pumpkin, or butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1-2 ears of corn, cut into 2″ pieces
• 1/4 lb vermicelli pasta, angel hair pasta, or fideo (measured dry)
• 8 fresh cilantro leaves
• 3 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce

How to Make Puerto Rican Chicken Soup

First, put the boneless skinless chicken breast into a large pot with a few cups of water or chicken broth. Heat over medium heat until the chicken is fully cooked.

Then set the chicken pieces aside to cool. Once cooled place the cooked pieces of chicken on a cutting board and shred the chicken. Do not throw away the water/broth!

Peel, cut, cube, mince, slice and chop the rest of the soup ingredients as directed above. All of the soup ingredients are now prepared and ready.

Use the water/broth that you cooked the chicken in, plus the rest of the water and/or broth, and fill a Dutch oven or large pot. Your liquid should total approximately 10 cups. Put the shredded chicken back into the pot. 

Add the cubed ham steak and the sliced chorizo. 

Next, add the chopped tomato and bell pepper.

Add the onion, garlic, and olives.

Then add the cilantro leaves. Stir to combine. Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat then lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. 

After 20 minutes, add the tomato sauce to the pot. 

Next, add the potatoes, pumpkin (or squash), corn, and salt. Stir to combine. Cover the pot again, and continue to simmer for an hour. The cooking time is essential for delicious flavor. 

After an hour, add the last ingredient: the vermicelli pasta. You do have options with the pasta. Vermicelli and Fideo are both very thin angel hair kinds of pasta. Vermicelli is rice-based, making it gluten-free, and fideo is wheat based making it not gluten-free. The one you choose is up to your own personal preferences. 

Add the pasta, stir, cover, and simmer for another 20 minutes.

Puerto Rican Asopao de Pollo Recipe

Serve your delicious Puerto Rican Chicken soup (asopao de pollo) and enjoy. This hearty soup is great for cold weather days, or to comfort you when you have a sore throat. Of course, you really don’t need any particular reason to make this recipe. This soup tastes even better the next day. And it’s also a great way to use up leftover chicken if you have it. 

Make a big batch and have enough for a few days, or meal prep. This Puerto Rican recipe also freezes well so that none goes to waste. 

Love Puerto Rican food? Make sure to check out our Puerto Rican Rice recipe!

FAQs and recipe Variations

• Can I use other chicken besides chicken breast? Yes, you can use a whole chicken, a rotisserie chicken works well. You can also use chicken legs or bone-in chicken thighs. The legs and thighs tend to have a bit more flavor due to fat content, while the breast is a leaner piece of meat. The breast also allows for easy shredding. 
• What can I serve with this Puerto Rican stew? Many enjoy this traditional recipe as the main course, while others like to add a side of white rice. Some eat it with a side of tortilla chips. You can actually serve this version of chicken noodle soup in a homemade bread bowl.  
• Is this soup gluten-free? As mentioned above, if you use gluten-free pasta, like vermicelli then yes. If you use Fideo then no. 

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