Easy Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe [Sopa de Pollo] - Visit Southern Spain (2024)

In this article, we present the famous “Sopa de pollo española“, known in English as Spanish chicken soup.

Here you will know its history, its recipe, and the different versions that you can try.

It’s just perfect when looking for a heartwarming Spanish soup recipe.

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Background of the dish

This Andalusian food has been present in the southern region of Spain since the Middle Ages, and today it is one of the traditional soups of this country.

Originally this chicken soup was made using a whole chicken, in order to give it a high caloric content and to maintain body heat during the cold days of the Andalusian winter.

I particularly enjoyed eating this dish when visiting Granada in the winter. It’s one of the best things to eat in Granada and you need to heat up from the cold.

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Things You’ll Need

To make this recipe for Spanish chicken soup, the only equipment you need is a large pot! The ingredients are also straightforward to find.

There are a lot of changes you can make to the recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 carrots
• 2 garlic cloves (or garlic powder)
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 celery stalks
• 2 chicken backs (skin on and bone-in)
• 6 cups (1.5L) water
• ½ onion
• Salt to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon oregano

How to make Spanish Chicken Soup – Step by Step Guide

1. To start with this Spanish chicken soup recipe the first thing you need to do is grab all the vegetables, clean them, then peel and chop them.
2. In a large pot pour the olive oil and heat it at medium heat, once that you hear the sizzling add garlic and the rest of the vegetables. Sauté for 2 minutes at medium heat and stir constantly.
3. In the pot, add the chicken backs and let them brown on the outside for 3 minutes. Then add water and bay leaves. Cook for 60 minutes to an hour and a half until the chicken separates easily from the bone. You can skip this step by buying chicken stock and using roasted chicken.
4. Remove the chicken from the pot, separate the meat from the bone. Put the pieces of chicken meat back into the soup. After that add oregano and give it a good mix
5. For the last step bring the soup to a boil and serve it while hot.

Substitution of ingredients

This is the best chicken soup recipe of all time, but luckily there are a lot of changes you can make to suit your personal preferences.

The easiest change is related to vegetables, you can use other recipes for Spanish chicken soup and add vegetables such as corn, potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, etc.

One question that may come to your head is can you make chicken soup with frozen chicken? The answer is yes! If you thaw the chicken, you can cut it into cubes and use it to make the broth.

You can also buy chicken broth and use roasted chicken, this way you will have a delicious chicken soup with roasted chicken.

You can also make a Sopa de pollo con fideos, known as Spanish chicken noodle soup or try the gluten-free chicken noodle soup if you’re on a diet.

The best homemade Spanish chicken soup recipe is similar to this, the only difference is that in the last step you add the noodles and cook them inside the soup.

If you like this recipe, do not hesitate to try other Spanish soup recipes such as Spanish bean soup recipe or Spanish garlic soup recipe.

Tips on Serving

The ideal is to eat at lunch since this soup provides the necessary energy to carry out the activities of the whole day.

But for example, if you find yourself looking for something to eat in Granada, you will find that it is served throughout the day, as the main course or as a starter.

Being a chicken soup, it goes very well with grated cheese, so feel free to add as much cheese as you like. You can also cut cubes of mozzarella cheese and put them inside the soup so they melt and serve to give a delicious surprise.

Besides that, you can cut any type of bread into small to medium size pieces, toast them with olive oil, and then serve them alongside the soup.

If you love Spanish chicken dishes, have a look at our Spanish Chicken Soup With Rice or the Puerto Rican chicken soup.

How to store Spanish Chicken Soup

Fortunately, there are different variants for storing chicken soup. For example, you can let the soup cool, put it in a container with a lid, and freeze it for up to 6 months!

To defrost it, you must remove the container with the soup one day before eating it and leave it in the refrigerator.

Besides that, you can keep it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days and simply heat it for a couple of minutes when you are ready to eat it.

Other Spanish soups you’ll love:

• Creamy Spanish Tomato Soup
• Spanish Rice Soup
• Spanish White Bean Soup
• Spanish Vegetable Soup
• Spanish Chicken Noodle Soup
• Spanish Beef Soup

Recipe Card: Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe