This Aguadito De Pollo (Peruvian Chicken Soup) recipe is easy to make, and full of the best fresh and delicious flavors, including lots and lots of cilantro!
Hey hey! It’s new soup day!
Well, this one is at least a new favorite of mine. Have you ever tried aguadito before? It’s basically the Peruvian version of chicken and rice soup, and it is muy delicioso. The base of the soup is the basic chicken, rice and veggies that we all know and love. But the Peruvian version adds an extra fresh and fun kick by having you puree a ton of cilantro, chile peppers, onions, garlic and lime juice in a blender. Then just before serving, you stir in the cilantro mixture in with the chicken and rice, and — poof — it instantly turns this classic into a show-stopping vibrant, fresh, and flavorful green soup! (And yes, it really is that green. It practically glows!) ?
So if you happen to be feeling all the spring vibes lately — but mayyyy not be quite ready to transition out of winter “soup season” just yet (I’m a 365-soup girl myself ) — I feel like this recipe is the perfect bridge between seasons. It’s definitely been the delicious bridge between mine this year.
Let’s make some.
Aguadito (Peruvian Chicken Soup) Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Alright, so let’s talk about this magical cilantro sauce that takes this simple chicken and rice soup from classic…to fantastic. ? ?
Before you start making your soup base, begin by sauteeing some poblano pepper and onions and garlic and aji amarillo paste (or a serrano or jalapeño pepper) in your stock pot until they’re soft and cooked.
Transfer them to the blender, and let them sit and cool down a bit while you make the rest of the soup. Then, once your soup has been simmering for awhile, the potatoes and rice are nearly cooked and ready to go, finish up that sauce! Just add a bunch of fresh cilantro leaves (some stems are ok) and lime juice to the blender…
…then puree the heck out of it until the mixture is super-smooth (about 1 minute). Once the soup is ready to go, stir in the cilantro mixture at the last minute until combined. Garnish with extra cilantro and green onions…
…and serve!
See? SO GREEN! And seriously, SO GOOD.
Also, if you want, you can totally make it SO SPICY. The traditional Peruvian version of this soup uses aji chiles (or much easier to find in the U.S. — this aji amarillo paste) as the heat in this soup, and you can add as much or as little as you’d like. Or if you can’t find the paste, feel free to just add in a serrano or jalapeño pepper. (Or skip the chile peppers altogether, if you’re not into spicy food.)
However you make it,
Aguadito De Pollo (Peruvian Chicken and Rice Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 1 large poblano pepper, cored and diced
- 1 small white onion, peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon aji amarillo paste (or 1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, cored and diced)
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 6 cups chicken stock, divided
- 2 cups shredded or diced cooked chicken
- 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup white or brown rice
- 1/2 cup peas
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves
- juice of 1 lime
- optional garnishes: extra chopped fresh cilantro leaves, thinly-sliced green onions
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the diced poblano pepper and white onion, and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and translucent. Stir in the aji amarillo paste (or diced serrano or jalapeño) and garlic. Continue sautéing for 1-2 more minutes, until the garlic is fragrant. Transfer the entire mixture to a large blender, and set aside to cool.
- Return the stockpot to the heat. Add 5 cups chicken stock, cooked chicken, potatoes, carrots, rice, peas, cumin, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low so that the soup maintains a low simmer. Cover partially and cook, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender and the rice is cooked.
- Once the soup is ready, add the cilantro leaves and lime and remaining 1 cup chicken stock to the blender along with the pepper mixture. Pureé for 1-2 minutes, or until the mixture is completely smooth.
- Stir the cilantro mixture into the soup. Taste, and season with a generous pinch (or more) of salt and black pepper as needed.
- Serve immediately, topped with your desired garnishes.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!This post contains affiliate links.
This came out delicious. Easy to freeze and take for lunch.
Excellent and tasty.
This soup is absolutely delicious!
To begin with I would like to comment on how you write, I appreciated how you laid out the recipe and the story. I loved the flavors and plan on purchasing the aji amarillo paste. The brightness of the cilantro and lime was refreshing. I wish I would have made the rice separate but I did not, my soup is quite hearty now. Next time I will separate the two. Two thumbs way up.
I’m eating my first batch of this soup right now, and it is so good! I subbed in a can of chickpeas instead of chicken, and cooked my rice on the side and added it to each bowl, but everything else was as written. All it needed at the end was a dash of salt and pepper. Next time, I`ll try it with chicken.
This one is going in the rotation…. Thank you!!
Very good, I kept the cooked rice separate and just put some in a bowl and the soup on top , as someone had suggested.
I just finished my second bowl of this delicious and beautiful soup. I’d never used aji Amarillo before, so I started with a half tbsp and ended up adding another 1 and 1/2 tbsp. It adds a lovely warmth but I didn’t find it too spicy/hot at all. For those who are concerned about the heat of the Aji, I will say that while I enjoy highly flavored foods, I’m not a big fan of spicy/hot flavoring. Hope that helps. Also, I added cooked rice to my bowl because I didn’t want to cloud the broth by cooking the rice with the soup.
You should try fish aguadito, is even better.
If “comfort” had a taste….it would taste like this soup.
Delicious with a great balance of heat and lime. First time making aguadito and will definitely make again!