This Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe is easy to make and filled with hearty and flavorful ingredients. The whole family will love this filling soup with chicken, veggies, and rice.
This Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe gives you a delightful combination of smokiness, warmth, and savory notes. It’s not only a unique and flavorful dish, but it’s also very easy to prepare and cook. It makes for a perfect family weeknight dinner and especially perfect for enjoying on a chilly night.
It starts with chicken thighs that are seasoned with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika for a subtle smokiness and warming spiciness. Then carrots, onions, celery, garlic, tomato paste and stock are added. Finally the chicken is shredded and added back with rice to the soup. The combination of chicken, vegetables, and rice creates a hearty and savory taste that’s satisfying and comforting.
Easy One Pan or One Pot meals or dinners are a go-to in my house. Check out my Sheet Pan Spanish Chicken for another option!
This is also a great recipe to add to your Weekly Meal Plan for International Wednesdays!
Jump to:
- Why Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe Is Easy
- Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
- Simple Equipment
- Time Saving Prep-Ahead Steps for Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe
- Cooking In A Slow Cooker
- Variations on Spanish Chicken Soup
- Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe FAQs
- Want More Recipes like this Spanish Chicken Soup?
- Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe
- Comments
Why Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe Is Easy
The traditional Spanish Chicken Soup recipe is made with the whole chicken. The chicken meat, bones, and skin are cooked in a large pot for at least an hour or so until the meat falls off the bone.
But, not all of us have the time to cook the whole chicken. So, this version of Spanish Chicken Soup takes just the chicken thighs on the bone with skin to still deliver big flavor in faster time!
Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
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- Chicken Thighs – You can use chicken breasts or chicken legs or a combination of all of these. But thighs are really great because they have more meat than legs and cook faster than breasts. If you want to use boneless chicken breast or thighs, just be sure to add a bit of oil to the pot before sauteeing the veggies. If you need to use frozen chicken, be sure to put it in the fridge to thaw 24 hours before planning to cook this recipe. Check out all of my tips for Prepping and Storing Chicken for Easier Dinners.
- Carrots, Onion, and Celery – You can make this recipe without these veggies, but they add flavor and texture, as well as vitamins and nutrients.
- Carrots, diced – You can use whole carrots with the skin on or peeled. I peeled for this recipe. You can substitute with diced baby carrots, parsnips, or even radishes. You could use frozen carrots if you have them too. Simply add them straight from the freezer, do not thaw first.
- Onion, diced – I used yellow onion, but you can use white onion, red onion, shallots, or even scallions. If you don’t have fresh onion, you can also use frozen or a tablespoon of onion flakes or onion powder.
- Celery, diced – I like to use the stalk and the leaves. You can leave the celery out if you desire. You can also substitute with green bell pepper.
- Fresh Garlic cloves, minced – Fresh is best in this simple recipe, but you can buy the pre-minced garlic sold in a small jar or use dried garlic flakes or garlic powder.
- Fresh Italian Parsley, chopped – Fresh parsley is best, don’t even bother with dried parsley. You can substitute in other fresh herbs, such as basil or oregano.
- Spices & Seasonings – For searing the chicken, I used smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and a touch of cayenne. For the soup, I used more paprika, salt, and also bay leaf. You can make substitutions based on what you have on hand. The one ingredient you do really need for this recipe is Smoked paprika, which gives the dish it’s distinct Spanish smokey flavor. You could swap with chili powder. Other ingredients you could add or swap to enhance this soup are: bay leaves, oregano, or cayenne for spice!
- Long grain rice – You can use other types of rice, but if you are going to use a converted rice or quick cooking rice, you will want to cook the chicken 10 minutes longer on the stove without the rice. Then add the rice and cook in the oven for 20 minutes vs. 30min.
- Tomato – If you do not have a fresh tomato, you can use 1 can diced tomatoes.
- Tomato paste – This ingredient gives the dish a deep deep tomato flavor which is hard to replicate, but you can leave it out as long as you have another tomato product in the dish.
- Chicken Broth or stock – You can also use, vegetable broth or stock or beef broth or stock. You can also use water mixed with beef or chicken bouillon cubes or beef base or chicken base.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch is mixed with cold water to create a cornstarch slurry. This is the thickener for this soup. You don’t have to thicken the soup if you don’t have cornstarch. You can leave it as a thin broth.
See recipe card for quantities.
Simple Equipment
For this recipe, you need a very large pot or soup pot to sear the chicken, then the vegetables, then make the soup. I used a dutch oven which has a heavy solid bottom and lid. You could also make this soup in a slow cooker. Scroll down for more on how to do that.
Mincing garlic is made super easy with a Garlic Press.
Time Saving Prep-Ahead Steps for Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe
We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are steps you can prepare ahead to save time on busy nights! (See the full recipe below)
To get ahead, you can cook the rice and store it in the fridge. Then prep the veggies. Dice the carrots, celery, and onion. Mince the garlic. Chop the tomato into large chunks. Chop the parsley.
In a small bowl, mix the spice rub ingredients. Measure out the tomato paste. Make the chicken broth if using bouillon.
Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and season the thighs all over with the spice rub. Rub it in with fingers.
In a 5-quart oven safe dutch oven or deep pot/pan with lid, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken thighs skin-side down and leave them alone for 5-6 minutes without touching so they get a nice sear.
After five minutes, turn the chicken over and sear the other side for another 5 minutes.
Remove the chicken pieces to a plate and set aside.
To the same pot, add the carrots, celery, and onions.
Cook for 2-3 minutes until they are glistening and starting to soften.
Then add the garlic, chopped tomato, half of the parsley, tomato paste, salt, smoked paprika.
Add the chicken thighs and the chicken broth or stock.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over medium-low heat, cover and cook for 20-30 minutes until the carrots are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
Remove the chicken to a bowl or plate.
Using forks, remove and discard the skin, then pull the chicken from the bone shred it.
Discard the bones and add the shredded chicken back to the pot along with the cooked rice.
Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve and Enjoy!
Cooking In A Slow Cooker
If you want to make this Chicken rice soup recipe in a slow cooker, simply add everything to the insert pot, including the raw chicken.
Then set to any of the settings that work with your schedule – High 6 hours or Low 8-10 hours. When there is 1 hour left in the cooking, transfer the chicken thighs to a bowl or a plate. Remove and discard the skin. Pull the chicken from the bones and shred it. Add the chicken back to the slow cooker, discarding the bones, and mix. Cover and let the final hour of cooking finish.
Variations on Spanish Chicken Soup
As with most recipes, there are so many different versions based on family, regional, or other influences and traditions. There are also lots of great recipes that you can create using this one as a starting point. Here are some ideas!
- Vegetarian Spanish Soup – To make this soup vegetarian, you will obviously need to replace the chicken as well as the chicken stock/broth. I love to use chickpeas or black beans for this. To get the most flavor from them, you can start by cooking them in the pan first just as you would the chicken. Not to render fat, but rather to get a nice browned crust on them. You can use vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock. Feel free to add more veggies, as well. Mushrooms browned with the chickpeas would be great! You can also find vegan chorizo these days to impart a beautiful spanish smokiness and texture.
- Add Noodles – Instead of rice, try adding egg noodles or other pasta options. Short cut noodles, such as macaroni, fusilli, ditalini, or even orzo are great options. Cook the pasta to al dente then add it to the soup at the end.
- Spanish Stew over Rice – My kids often prefer to eat with a fork vs. a spoon. Therefore, turning this soup into a thick stew that can be scooped out onto rice is a great option. To do this, you can simply reduce the liquid (stock or broth) from 5 cups to 2 or 3 cups, depending on how thick you want it. I would also reduce the salt by half and taste it before adding more.
- Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe – With a couple simple changes, you can go in a whole new direction with a Mexican Soup! Instead of Paprika, add a teaspoon of chili powder and a teaspoon of ground cumin, or use 2 teaspoons of taco seasoning. This is for the chicken seasoning and the soup. Then, instead of rice, or in addition to the rice for a thicker soup, you can add 1-2 cups of crushed tortilla chips or sliced corn tortillas 10 minutes before the soup is done cooking. For toppings, you can add shredded cheddar cheese, tortilla strips, scallions, sour cream, fresh cilantro, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, or onion!
Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can use boneless and skinless chicken. Follow the same searing instructions and then reduce the oven cooking time to 10-15 minutes or until the internal temp reaches 165 F. NOTE Without the fat from the skin, you will likely need to add a tablespoon of Olive Oil to the pot when you add the carrots, onions, and celery.
Yes, if the breast has skin and bones, then follow the same cooking time ensuring that the internal temperature reaches 165 F (add 5-10 minutes if needed). If you are using boneless skinless chicken breast, the soup cooking time will be reduced to 15 to 20 minutes until internal temp of the chicken is 165 F. NOTE If the chicken does not have skin during the searing step, you will likely need to add a tablespoon of Olive Oil to the pot when you add the carrots, onions, and celery.
This Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe is gluten free. Always check food ingredient labels to ensure that they are gluten free.
Once cooked, this Spanish soup can be stored in a sealed, airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat it on the stove in a pot on medium heat. Or reheat it in the microwave in a microwave safe container.
This Soup Recipe can be made entirely ahead, portioned out as desired, and then frozen. I like to freeze this soup in freezer bags laying flat in a sheet pan. Once frozen, I can stack the bags like books for easy access in the freezer. You can also use an airtight freezer safe container. This soup will last for up to 6 months in the freezer.
To reheat the soup, you can thaw it in the fridge overnight and then heat it on medium heat in a pot on the stove. You can also reheat it from the frozen state.
Want More Recipes like this Spanish Chicken Soup?
Check out these other delicious dinners! Take Spanish Chicken to the sheet pan or chicken soup to Mexico or Hungary! So many variations and hearty family dinner options.
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Spanish Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Spice Rub for Chicken
- 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (optional)
All Other Ingredients
- 1 cup White Long Grain Rice, uncooked
- 2 lbs Chicken Thighs, bone-in, with skin
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 Carrot, Large, diced
- 1 Celery Stalk
- 1 Medium Yellow Onions
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 Tomato, large (beefsteak or vine) (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
- 3 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 5 cups Chicken broth or chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 4 tablespoon Chopped Italian Parsley
Instructions
Prep Ahead Steps
- In a small bowl, mix the spice rub ingredients.
- Dice the carrots, celery, and onion. Mince the garlic. Chop the tomato into large chunks. Chop the parsley.
- Measure out the tomato paste. Make the chicken broth if using bouillon.
Cook the Chicken and Soup
- Cook the rice either according to the package instructions or like this… Rinse the rice under water in a strainer until the water runs clear. Add to 2 cups of water with a pinch of salt and bring up to a boil. Turn the water down to a low simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Once the rice is done, turn off the heat, but leave the pot covered and undisturbed until you are ready to use. (NOTE: you can do this step ahead and store the rice in the fridge. Just warm it up before adding it to the pot in the step below).
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and season the thighs all over with the spice rub. Rub it in with fingers.
- In a 5-quart oven safe dutch oven or deep pot/pan with lid, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on high heat. Add the chicken thighs skin-side down and leave them alone for 5-6 minutes without touching so they get a nice sear. After five minutes, turn the chicken over and sear the other side for another 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- To the same pot, add the carrots, celery, and onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes until they are glistening and starting to soften.
- Then add the garlic, chopped tomato, half of the parsley, tomato paste, chicken broth, salt, smoked paprika, and the chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 20-30 minutes until the carrots are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken to a plate and using forks, remove and discard the skin, then pull the chicken from the bone shred it. Discard the bones and add the shredded chicken back to the pot along with the cooked rice.
- Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve and Enjoy!
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