Sopa De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

Sopa de Pollo con mofongo is the Puerto Rican version of Matzah Ball Soup.  This is the best chicken soup in the world, it’s guaranteed to soothe your soul!

This post may contain affiliate links.

Sopa De Pollo Con Mofongo (AKA Puerto Rican Chicken Soup) is a cure all for whatever ails you. The rich broth is flavored with sofrito, and the plantain dumplings add heft to the soup to make this a deliciously hearty bowl of goodness.Sopa De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

I’m 1000% certain that my mother’s sopa de pollo con mofongo can cure anything.  Whenever any of us were feeling under the weather, we knew this would be on the menu.  Simple, yet sophisticated, this is definitely not your average chicken noodle soup.  The broth is flavored with sofrito (of course, it’s Puerto Rican!), and simmered with simple ingredients like chicken, carrots and potatoes.  But the real star of the show are the mofongo balls.  Sopa de Pollo con mofongo is the Puerto Rican equivalent of Matzah Ball Soup.

For those who haven’t had the pleasure of trying mofongo before, it’s pretty much Puerto Rico’s national dish (or at least top 3).  Green plantains are peeled, fried, then mashed with fried pork skin, garlic and salt.  You can eat mofongo a hundred different ways, but in this recipe, the mofongo is shaped into balls, and then dropped into the soup, or eaten on the side.

Sopa De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

This Puerto Rican sopa de pollo con mofongo is the stuff of legends, you owe it to yourself to make this recipe next time your soul needs a pick-me-up.

ingredients

Serves 4

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sofrito
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium potato, diced
1 celery stalk, diced (optional)
2 14 oz cans low sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
3-4 skinless chicken legs or thighs (about 1 to 1.5 lbs)
1 heaping cup fideo noodles (fine egg noodles)
4 teaspoons powdered chicken bouillon
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Canola oil, for frying
2 green plantains
2 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
Adobo seasoning
Garlic powder

directions

Heat a Dutch oven to medium heat, then add the olive oil.  Add the sofrito, onions, carrots and celery and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add in the diced potato and saute for 2 more minutes.

Sopa De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

Toss the chicken legs or thighs into the pot.

Sopa De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

Add the chicken broth, water, and powdered chicken bouillon.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Sopa De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

Pull out the chicken once it’s cooked, and pull the meat off the bones.  Add the shredded chicken back into the soup and taste for seasoning.  Add more chicken bouillon if needed.  Then stir in the fideos and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until the noodles are tender.

Sopa De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

 For the mofongo balls, first peel the plantains (check out my tostones post to see how).  Cut the plantains into 2 inches pieces. Submerge the plantain pieces in salted water so they don’t brown while your canola oil heats up to 375 degrees F.

Sopa De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

Drain the plantains, and dry with a paper towel. Fry the plantains until they’re golden brown and easily pierced with a knife.  In a pilon, add a few of the plantain pieces.  Sprinkle with adobo and garlic powder to taste, and add 1/2 of the bacon crumbles.

Caldo De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

Mash the plantains until they become a paste.  If they begin to dry out, add a bit of the chicken soup broth, until the mixture is moist but not soupy.

Caldo De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

Add a few more plantain pieces and mash again. Taste for salt, if it needs more, add more adobo. Use a spoon to mix the mofongo, then scoop it out onto plate.  Repeat with the remaining plantain and bacon until you use all of it up.

Caldo De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

Shape the mofongo into balls, about golf ball size.

Caldo De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)
Serve the hot sopa de pollo with a few mofongo balls, and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.

Caldo De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

5 from 12 votes
Print

Sopa De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 4 servings
Author Delish D'Lites

Ingredients

For the Caldo De Pollo

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons sofrito
  • 1/2 medium onion diced
  • 1 medium carrot diced
  • 1 medium potato diced
  • 1 celery stalk diced (optional)
  • 2 14 oz cans low sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 3-4 skinless chicken legs or thighs about 1-1.5 pounds
  • 1 heaping cup fideo noodles fine egg noodles
  • 4 teaspoons powdered chicken bouillon
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped

For the Mofongo

  • Canola oil for frying
  • 2 green plantains
  • 2 slices cooked bacon crumbled
  • Adobo seasoning
  • Garlic powder

Instructions

For the Caldo De Pollo

  1. Heat a Dutch oven to medium heat, then add the olive oil.
  2. Add the sofrito, onions, carrots and celery and saute for 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add in the diced potato and saute for another 2 minutes.

  4. Toss the chicken legs into the pot.

  5. Add the chicken broth, water, and powdered chicken bouillon.
  6. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
  7. Pull out the chicken out once it's cooked, and pull the meat off the bones.

  8. Add the shredded chicken back into the soup and taste for seasoning.
  9. Add more chicken bouillon if needed.
  10. Then stir in the fideos and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until the noodles are tender.

For the Mofongo

  1. Peel the plantains and cut them into 2 inches pieces.
  2. Submerge the plantain pieces in salted water so they don't brown while your canola oil heats up. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F.
  3. Drain the plantains, and dry with a paper towel. Fry the plantains until they're golden brown and easily pierced with a knife, about 6-8 minutes.

  4. In a pilon, add a few of the plantain pieces.
  5. Sprinkle with adobo and garlic powder to taste, and add 1/2 of the bacon crumbles.
  6. Mash the plantains until they become a paste.
  7. If the mofongo beings to dry out, add a tablespoon of the chicken soup broth at a time to the mixture, until it is moist, but not soupy.

  8. Add a few more plantain pieces and mash again.
  9. Taste for salt, if it needs more, add more adobo.
  10. Use a spoon to mix the mofongo, then scoop it out onto plate.
  11. Repeat with the remaining plantain and bacon until you use all of it up.
  12. Shape the mofongo into balls, about golf ball size.
  13. Serve the hot soup with a few mofongo balls, and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.

 

Sopa De Pollo Con Mofongo (Puerto Rican Chicken Soup)

Share

What's for dinner?

Get email updates

Get new free recipes and exclusive content delivered right to your inbox.

21 Responses

  1. 5 stars
    I love this soup. It’s infinitely better than standard chicken soup – the mofongo balls really kick it up a notch. It’s perfect when you’re sick and need a cozy bowl of scrumptiousness. ¡Wepa!

  2. Thanks you for taking your time to write this down. Is a pleasure visiting your platform today and I can say that you nailed the article and you have made my day.

  3. Sounds delicious. I am going to make the soup this week. I am curious about the Morongo balls. Do they fall apart when you place them in the soup?

  4. Is there a suggestion for if I don’t have a pilon (other than going to buy one, ha)? Would a food processor beat them up too much if I just pulsed it?

  5. 5 stars
    Jannese,
    I wanted to say thank you for the time and work you put into this website. Both my grandparents were born in Puerto Rico and sadly both have passed. I’ve been relying on my parents to cook me my favorite PR dishes that I used to get from my grandparents. Now my father is ill and my parents do not cook as much for the family as they used to. At 38 I decided it’s high time to further develop my Boriqua cuisine knowledge. Equipped with my aluminum caldero, my pilon, some tattered incomplete recipes, and your great website I have been bringing the joy of Puerto Rican food into my house for my wife and daughters. I’ve also been blessing my parents with some amazing food they have been sorely missing. I made this Sopa de Pollo con Mofongo recipe last night and got slow-clapped by my girls when they first tasted it. Mind-blowing flavor! The only difference I did was to first brown my bone-in chicken thighs and then pull from the pot before sautéing the vegetables.
    Thanks so much for documenting these recipes!
    -Aaron

  6. 5 stars
    This was really excelente! My husband is not a soup lover but he loved this. My mother in-law, pure Puerto Rican, loved it too. That says a lot… great recipe

  7. 5 stars
    WOW!!!! This was amazing !!!! Literally felt like eating LOVE. I believe you included a link to an old cook cook your mom used for Puerto Rican recipes. What is that link?

  8. 5 stars
    Amazing! So much flavor! I just made this today. It’s freezing outside today and decided to make this…plus my two daughters are a bit under the weather. I am a big fan of mofongo. I live in New Jersey and the part I’m in we have a Spanish restaurant on almost every block so I do order mofongo quite a bit. I’m happy now that I can make it on my own. Thank you once again for a delicious recipe. Your an amazing cook!

  9. 5 stars
    Tried this tonight, and all I can say is, “Thank you!!!”
    Simple, easy instructions and everyone loved it. I haven’t cooked with sofrito or plantains by myself before, but I definitely will now!

  10. 5 stars
    Tried this recipe tonight, I was not disappointed. Such flavor in every bite. Will definitely use this recipe again. Thank you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hola

I’m Jannese, Founder of Delish D’lites

I’m a Puerto Rican girl living in paradise (Florida), and the creative mind behind Delish D’Lites. I love sharing my family recipes and travel inspired cuisine! My favorite things include collecting passport stamps, twerking to Latin music, and kissing puppies. Follow along on social.