This vibrant and comforting chicken and tomatillo soup is perfect for any time of year. Tender roasted chicken, caramelized sweet potatoes, tangy tomatillos, sweet onions, mellow garlic, and a gentle jalapeño kick. Roasting the ingredients intensifies their natural flavors, creating a rich and flavorful experience.
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Sweet potato
Sweet potato offers a rich, earthy sweetness complemented by a dense, starchy texture. Its flavor profile can range from subtly sugary to intensely syrupy, making it suitable for both savory and sweet dishes. Roasting it causes its natural sugars to caramelize. This enhances its inherent sweetness. Boiling or steaming brings out a more delicate, earthy quality. Sweet potato also acts as a thickener for the soup.
Chicken
Chicken presents a mild yet distinctly savory and umami flavor. Its versatility allows it to absorb and complement a wide array of spices and seasonings. The taste can vary subtly depending on the cut and cooking method. Breast meat offers a lean, delicate flavor. In contrast, thighs and drumsticks provide richer, more succulent notes.
Onion
Onions contribute a pungent and sharp aroma and flavor when raw, which transforms dramatically upon cooking. Heat mellows their intensity, bringing forth a subtle sweetness and a more complex, caramelized essence. They form the aromatic base for countless dishes, adding depth and a foundational flavor.
Garlic
Garlic delivers a strong, pungent, and spicy kick. However, when cooked, especially slowly, its intensity softens considerably, developing a delightful sweetness and a more nuanced, earthy flavor.
Jalapeño
The jalapeño is a popular chili pepper. It offers a moderate level of heat. The heat is accompanied by a fresh, slightly grassy, and bright flavor. Its crisp texture and vibrant taste make it a favorite. It adds a kick without overwhelming the palate with excessive spice.
Poblano
Larger and milder than the jalapeño, the poblano pepper is characterized by its earthy and subtly smoky flavor with a gentle heat. Its dark green skin and robust flesh make it ideal for roasting, stuffing, and incorporating into stews and chilis, where it contributes a rich, complex aroma and taste.
TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST ROASTED TOMATILLO AND CHICKEN SOUP
What is a Roasted Soup?
A roasted soup distinguishes itself from traditional simmered soups through its preparation method. A roasted soup starts by roasting many of its core components. These are typically vegetables and sometimes even meats. They are roasted until caramelized and tender instead of boiling ingredients in liquid. This roasting process intensifies their natural sugars. It deepens their flavors and adds a rich, often smoky, complexity. Simmering alone cannot achieve this. Once roasted, these ingredients are simmered with broth or other liquids. Finally, they are blended to a smooth or chunky consistency depending on the desired texture.
Roasting vs. Simmering
Roasting: This method exposes ingredients to high, dry heat, usually in an oven. The direct heat causes the Maillard reaction (browning) and caramelization of sugars on the surface of the food. This creates new, complex flavor compounds, adding depth, sweetness, and often a slightly nutty or smoky nuance. Roasting vegetables like tomatoes, bell peppers, squash, and root vegetables brings out their inherent sweetness. It also creates a much more robust flavor profile than if they were simply boiled.
Simmering: Simmering is essential for cooking ingredients through and melding flavors in both types of soup. In a traditional simmered soup, it’s often the primary cooking method for all components. This results in a cleaner, sometimes brighter, but generally less intensely flavored broth. The flavors tend to be more straightforward and reflective of the raw ingredients without the added dimension that roasting provides.
The combination of roasting and then simmering in a roasted soup provides the best of both worlds. It offers intense, developed flavors from roasting. It also provides a comforting, cohesive liquid base from simmering.
Remove chicken before blending
Chicken need to be removed from the pot first. This step is crucial before you begin blending. Blending meat can result in a stringy, unappealing texture and can also overwork the blender. You can shred the cooked chicken. Dice it and stir it back into the blended soup at the end. Alternatively, serve it separately as a topping.
Heavy pot? Use an immersion blender
For convenience and safety, it is highly recommended to use an immersion blender. This tool is also known as a stick blender. It is especially useful if you are using a heavy cooking pot. Moving hot soup to a traditional stand blender can pose challenges. It can be cumbersome and messy. The process is potentially dangerous due to the weight and heat. An immersion blender allows you to blend the soup directly in the pot, minimizing spills and cleanup. Ensure the immersion blender head is fully submerged before activating to prevent splashing.
Please don’t touch the handle. (A mistake you only make once.)
Always use oven mitts or a thick kitchen towel when handling hot pots. Similarly, the metal shaft of an immersion blender can heat up significantly during use. Always grasp it by the designated handle. Avoid touching the metal parts immediately after blending hot liquids. Even a brief lack of caution can cause a painful burn. This highlights why it’s “a mistake you only make once.”
Inclusive Adaptions
Spice Level
For a milder version, remove jalapeño seeds before roasting or swap them for mild green chiles. For extra heat, add a roasted serrano or a pinch of smoked chipotle powder during the simmer.
Texture Preference
If you prefer a smoother soup, blend half (or all) of the soup after simmering. Blend until creamy for a soft-food texture. For chunkier texture, shred the chicken coarsely and skip blending altogether.
Accessibility Tip
To reduce prep fatigue or fine motor strain, use pre-shredded rotisserie chicken and pre-husked tomatillos. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment for minimal cleanup.
Ingredient Substitutions
Swap tomatillos for a mix of canned green enchilada sauce and lime juice if fresh ones are unavailable.
Replace chicken with white beans or chickpeas for a hearty vegetarian option.
Use low-sodium broth if managing salt intake or replace with vegetable broth for a lighter taste.
Allergen Adaptation
For dairy-free creaminess, stir in blended avocado or coconut milk instead of cream or cheese.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
Dutch oven
Cutting board
Chef knife
Blender or immersion blender
SIMILAR INGREDIENTS TO
BBQ GRILLED MEATBALLS + TEXAS TOAST
Za’atar Spiced Meatballs
Spaghetti & Smoked Pork Meatballs
ENJOY THIS RECIPE WITH
Creamy Asiago Kale
Citrus Pepper Tilapia + Serrano Pineapple Yellow Rice.
Black Pepper Crawfish & Asparagus Fried Rice + Spicy Mayo
RECIPE
Roast Chicken & Tomatillo soup
Ingredients
Method
- Prepare the Chicken: In a small bowl, combine the salt, cayenne, cumin, chili powder, and black pepper. Generously coat both sides of the chicken breasts with this spice mixture.
- Roast Vegetables and Chicken: In a large roasting pan, add the olive oil, sweet potato, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, jalapeño, and poblano. Pour in half of the water, and add the bay leaves and oregano. Place the seasoned chicken breasts on top of the vegetables.
- Bake: Roast in a preheated oven at 375°F (190°C) for 1 hour, or until the chicken and vegetables have developed a nice color.
- Shred Chicken: Remove the roasting pan from the oven and place it on the stovetop. Carefully remove the chicken breasts, shred them, and set aside.
- Blend Soup Base: Ladle the roasted vegetables and liquids from the pan into a blender. Blend until smooth, starting on low and gradually increasing to medium speed, for approximately three minutes.
- Simmer Soup: Return the blended soup base to the roasting pan. Add the shredded chicken and the remaining water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the soup has slightly reduced and thickened.
- Serve: Turn off the heat and serve the chicken and tomatillo soup warm.
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