Chicken Verde Soup – Gluten Free Chicken Soup with Mexican Dumplings
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Chicken and dumplings with a twist! This salsa verde chicken soup recipe is spicy and divine, it is made with masa dumplings (aka chochoyotes which are Mexican dumplings), salsa verde and is ready in under 30 minutes! Just imagine tamales in soup form and this is it! Chicken verde soup is such a fast and easy, and totally tasty meal and it’s gluten free! It’s the best gluten free chicken and dumplings.
Spicy, gluten free chicken and dumpling soup with store bought salsa verde, is tasty amazing and easy! Making corn masa dumplings (chochoyotes) is actually a cinch, and this entire recipe only took me 45 minutes from start to finish (it would’ve taken less if I had a rotisserie chicken at hand).
It’s not just gluten free chicken and dumplings, it’s actually dairy free chicken and dumplings as well, unless you add crema or queso fresco at the end.
Before I get started I want to clear something up about the word “Tamale.” Tamale is totally a gringo word and is not grammatically correct in Spanish! “Tamal” is the proper term for the singular form of the noun, and “tamales” is the plural form.
TAMALE= No!
TAMAL= Yes!
You don’t have “one tamale” you have “one tamal” and “two tamales” ok? I considered naming this “tamale soup” because that’s what people might search in search engine, but it is totally grammatically incorrect!
Phew, ok! Now that I got that cleared up, I feel much better. Let’s talk about this chicken verde soup!
If you are looking for a good salsa verde, then this is this salsa verde I use. La Costena tomatillo salsa. It had a very good kick to it. I added another serrano as well to the soup, but that is totally optional. My whole family loves spicy foods.
If you don’t use a rotiserrie chicken for this, then you will need 2 split chicken breasts.
How to make chicken verde soup with chochoyotes
Boil the chicken in 6 cups of water until it is cooked through, shred and set aside, reserving the water from the cooked chicken.
While the chicken is boiling, we are going to prepare the corn masa dumplings. Also known as “chochoyotes.” I love chochoyotes! They are made with the same type of masa used in tamales, they are super tasty and very easy to make!
How to make chochoyotes (corn masa dumplings)
If you want to read my full and more comprehensive article on chochoyotes, click that hyperlink to find out more.
Take 2 cups of the corn masa, add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 1/2 cups of water. Knead it by hand until it comes together. Add 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro and 3 tablespoons of lard (I substituted butter since I didn’t have any lard) and knead again.
Wrap it into a ball in plastic wrap and pop it into the fridge while you prepare the rest of the soup.
Chop up your onion, garlic and serrano pepper. Add the onion into a large pot or Dutch oven with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Sauté it for a few minutes then add the garlic, serrano pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt sautéing it for one more minute.
Add the salsa verde, chicken stock and the reserved water from the cooked chicken into the Dutch oven and simmer on medium heat for 15-20 minutes. I use a large pot or Dutch oven like this one.
While it is simmering, pull out the masa and roll into 1 inch balls, pressing your thumb down in the middle to make a little indentation.
Drop the chochoyotes (masa dumplings) into the simmering soup, one at a time. They will begin to rise to the top of the soup after 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken and heat through.
Avoid over cooking and over stirring once the dumplings are in the pot, otherwise they may fall apart. Serve with your choice of toppings. I love topping the soup with cilantro, jalapeño slices, fresh lime juice and avocados.
Oh and you could totally put some crumbly queso cotija on it and sour cream or Mexican cream, unless you want to keep it dairy free.
Why did my masa dumplings fall apart?
There are several reasons your chochoyotes could fall apart. If you added too much water, they may fall apart, and if you cook them too long, or stirring them too vigorously may also make them fall apart. Make sure to only drop them in one at a time into the soup.
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Ingredients
For the Soup
- 3 cups Rotisserie Chicken you can also boil 2 chicken breasts in 6 cups of water, it will just add more time
- 5 1/2 cups Water
- 1 ½ cups Chicken Stock
- 1 16.7 oz Jar of Salsa Verde I like it spicy
- 1 Onion
- 1 Serreno Pepper optional
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 tbsp Chili Powder
- 2 teas Cummin
- 1 teas Oregano
- 1 teas Salt
For the Chochoyotes (Corn Masa Dumplings)
- 2 cups Corn Masa Instant corn masa like Maseca brand
- 1 ½ cups Water
- 1 teas Salt
- ¼ cup Cilantro chopped
- 3 tbsp lard or butter
Toppings
- 1 lime
- 1 Jalapeño diced
- 1 Avocado diced
- Queso Cotija
Instructions
- Either use 3 cups of rotisserie chicken or follow the instructions below for uncooked chicken breasts
- Boil 2 split chicken breasts in 6 cups of water until cooked through. Shred the chicken and set aside, reserving the water for the soup
- Prepare the masa dough by kneading together the masa, salt and water for one minute. Add the cilantro and lard (or butter) and knead until combined.
- Wrap the masa dough in plastic wrap in a large ball and put into the fridge while preparing the soup
- Chop up the onions, garlic and serrano pepper.
- Sauté the onions in a large pot or Dutch oven in 2 Tbs of vegetable oil for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic, serrano pepper, chili powder, cumin, salt and oregano, sautéing it for one more minute.
- Add the jar of salsa, chicken stock and remaining water and simmer on medium to high heat for 15-20 minutes, while preparing the masa dumplings
- Roll the masa dough into 1 inch balls and press your thumb in the middle to make an indentation
- After the soup has cooked for about 15 minutes, drop the chochoyotes (masa dumplings) into the soup 1-2 at a time
- Simmer them for 3-4 minutes or until they being to float to the top
- Add the shredded chicken and heat through
- Serve with desired toppings and enjoy!
Notes
13 Comments
heather J Jandrue
I bet my son would love these. Does it matter if you do not have a dutch oven?
Emily Ackerman
Just cook it in any large pot!
Carmen Ceremuga
This looks amazing! I love chicken and dumplings so this is a great twist to that. Will have to try it!
Gary McCullough
My grandchildren loved these!
Ashley Pacheco
I make a similar recipe but this looks yummier! I’ll have to give it a shot.
Lisa
We love different recipes. Will have to try this.
Alexis Farmer
This looks awesome! I love using rotisserie chicken in whatever I can, kicks the flavor up a notch.
Amanda
Looks super yum! I love tamales and I love soup so what a fun twist to mis the flavors like this! Perfect for a chilly fall evening.
Elaina Mogren
Yummy! I would slather with sour cream and LOTS of avocados.
Sandi Barrett
Woah, that sounds amazing. I love tomattio salsa!
Angela
Yeah for a gluten-free dumpling soup recipe! And I love all the spices for so much flavor. Thanks so much for a great recipe.
KENDRA
This looks absolutely amazing! I’ll have to put this on the menu soon!
eat chimac
I really loved it,Thanks For Sharing this with us ,i will definitely try this ..