Mexican Chickpea Soup

Make this delicious and spicy Mexican chickpea soup with chicken and avocado; it is warm and full of flavor.

What is caldo tlalpeno? A warm, spicy, comforting, and super delicious Mexican chickpea soup with chicken, served with creamy avocado slices and grated cheese. So good!

Sopa tlalpeno or caldo tlalpeno is a classic Mexican soup recipe originating in the Tlalpan region. It contains shredded meat, vegetables, chickpeas, or garbanzo beans and is garnished with avocado and grated cheese.

In theory, this Mexican chicken soup is not unlike any other chicken soup, yet it is so surprisingly different, with a different set of textures, colors, and flavors than the ones I find in my regular European-style chicken soups.

Try more hearty soups: Chicken and Potato Soup, Spanish Vegetable Soup, or Beef and Bean Soup.

Recipe ingredients

• Chicken: A whole smaller chicken or four chicken quarters.
• Chickpeas: Two cans of drained chickpeas.
• Vegetables: Carrots, celery, onion, garlic, one thin leek needed to make the stock, bell peppers, and chili for the soup.
• Spices: Whole cloves, allspice, bay leaves, and black peppercorns for the stock; cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and oregano for the chickpea soup.
• Topping: Cilantro or parsley, avocado, and grated cheese.

How to make Mexican chickpea soup?

Make the chicken stock

• Cook the whole chicken in a large pot with carrots, leeks, and onions. Add the spices and cover with cold water.
• Bring to a simmer and uncovered for about two hours.
• Remove the chicken and veggies from the stock. Keep the carrots, but discard the rest of the vegetables.
• Bring the stock back to a boil and let it boil gently for about 15-20 minutes; it will reduce slightly, and the flavor will be stronger.

Make the soup

• When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and the bones. Shred the meat into pieces. Slice the cooked carrots into smaller pieces.
• Heat the oil in another pot and gently saute the peppers and the onions for about 5 minutes or until softer. Add the chili and the spices and stir for another minute or so. Add the chicken stock and let simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the chickpeas, cooked carrots, and shredded chicken meat, and simmer for about 10 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Good to know!

Always use cold water when starting to make stock; this way, the soup will remain clear. Bring the water very slowly to a simmer, but don't let it come to a full boil. A couple of small bubbles here and there are OK but not more than that.

Recipe

Mexican Chickpea Soup

Caldo Tlalpenosoup - spicy Mexican chicken soup with avocado and chickpeas or garbanzo beans.

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 -8 servings

Calories: 511kcal

Author: Adina

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Ingredients 

Chicken stock:

• ▢ 1 chicken about 1,2 kg/ 2.5 lbs, Note 1
• ▢ 5 medium carrots divided
• ▢ 3-4 stalks celery
• ▢ 1 thin leek
• ▢ 1 onion
• ▢ 4 cloves
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ 5 all-spice corns
• ▢ 10 black peppercorns
• ▢ 12 cups water 3 liter or enough to cover the chicken and vegetables
• ▢ 2-3 chicken stock cubes optional and according to taste

Mexican chickpea soup:

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper
• ▢ 1 green bell pepper
• ▢ 1 red chili or more to taste, Note 2
• ▢ 1 onion
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper more to taste
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• ▢ 2 teaspoons dry oregano
• ▢ 2 cans chickpeas
• ▢ fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 avocado
• ▢ 3.5 oz cheese grated, 100 g, Note 3
• ▢ fresh chopped cilantro or parsley

Instructions

Chicken stock:

• Place the chicken in a large pot. Clean the vegetables and cut them into large pieces. Add to the pot. Add allspice, cloves, bay leaves, and peppercorns; cover everything with cold water.

  1 + 5 medium carrots + 3-4 stalks celery + 1 thin leek + 1 onion + 4 cloves + 2 bay leaves + 5 all-spice corns + 10 black peppercorns + 12 cups water
• Simmer: Bring to a light simmer, but don't let the water come to a full boil or the soup will not be as clear anymore. Simmer the stock lightly, uncovered, for two hours or until the chicken is very tender and cooked through.
• Remove the chicken and the vegetables from the stock. Keep the carrots, but discard the rest of the vegetables and the spices.
• Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve lined with a clean kitchen towel to remove the impurities.
• Reduce stock: Return the stock to the clean pot and place it back on the stove. Bring to a light boil and let cook, uncovered, for about 15-20 minutes, thus allowing it to reduce slightly and increase the flavor. Add salt to taste.
• If desired, you can add some organic chicken stock cubes at this point for a stronger flavor. This is optional, add chicken stock cubes and salt according to your taste.

  2-3 chicken stock cubes

Mexican chicken soup:

• Prepare vegetables: While the stock is reducing, prepare the fresh vegetables. Slice the bell peppers and the remaining onion into thin slices. Finely chop the chili. Slice the cooked carrots as well.

  1 red bell pepper + 1 green bell pepper + 1 red chili + 1 onion
• Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove its skin and bones. Shred the meat and set aside.
• Drain and rinse the chickpeas from the cans.

  2 cans chickpeas
• Cook vegetables: Heat the oil in another soup pan. Add the sliced peppers and onion and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the chopped chili, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, ground coriander, and oregano, and stir for another minute.

  2 tablespoons olive oil + ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper + 2 teaspoons ground cumin + 2 teaspoons ground coriander + 2 teaspoons dry oregano
• Add the stock to the pot, bring to a boil, and let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the drained chickpeas, cooked carrots, and chicken meat, and continue simmering the soup for another 10 minutes. Adjust the soup with salt and pepper.

  fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Toppings: Slice the avocado and grate the cheese. Sprinkle the soup with fresh cilantro (or parsley) and serve with avocado and cheese.

  1 avocado + 3.5 oz cheese/ 100 g + fresh chopped cilantro

Notes

1. Chicken: You can use four chicken quarters instead of a whole chicken.
2. Chili: Add it to taste, but keep in mind that the soup should be rather hot
3. Cheese: I used grated Emmentaler cheese, but you could use Cheddar or Mexican cheese

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 of the dish | Calories: 511kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 862mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 13g

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