Surprise…surprise…I’m coming at you with a soup recipe – because they are my FAVORITE THING EVER TO EAT!
This one is no different. It’s creamy, cozy, rich, and just so dang good. Wild rice seems to take forever to cook, I know. Personally, I love the nutty, woodsy flavor it adds to dishes versus your average white or brown rice. If you despise the wild rice, feel free to sub white or brown!
This soup freezes well too – so don’t waste the leftovers. I swear, the soup gets better with time!
In a large dutch oven or soup pot, saute chicken thighs in 2 tbsp oil or butter over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove from the pot.
Add onions to the soup pot and saute for 5-6 minutes until softened.
Add the rice, broth, all of the seasonings, and bay leaves to the pot.
Bring the broth to a boil, cover, and cook for 40-50 minutes until the rice is tender.
While the soup cooks, shred your reserved chicken thighs.
Once the rice is tender, remove the bay leaves and add the peas, carrots, and the coconut cream (or nutpods/half & half) and cook for 4-5 minutes.
If your soup isn't thick enough for your liking, stir arrowroot or tapioca powder in with 2 tbsp of water to create a little cloudy slurry. Add this to the simmering soup and stir until thickened
Serve yourself up a big bowl and bask in the coziness that is to come!
Recipe Notes
If you are using half and half or heavy cream, the soup will thicken a bit more as it cooks than it will with coconut cream or nutpods. It will also yield a more rich soup. If you're lactose intolerant only, I recommend checking out the lactose free variety of half&half in your grocery store! It's becoming a lot more readily available!
Chori Pollo has been a mexican favorite of mine since the first time I had chorizo. I almost always choose chicken over beef or pork, however, the combination of chicken with the spicy sausage is perfection and I can’t pass it up!
This dish combines all of those flavors with one of my other favorite things – SOUP! It’s also made in the Instant Pot – yet, ANOTHER one of my loves. However, you can make it on your stove top or in your crockpot, as well. It’s will just take a little bit more time.
Print Recipe
Instant Pot Chori Pollo Sopa (Chicken & Chorizo Soup)
With your instant pot set to "Saute", cook onions, jalapeños, chorizo, and chicken pieces for 3-5 minutes or until onions have began to soften. TIP: Sautéing your food for a couple minutes in the beginning will help the pot come to pressure quicker.
Add remaining ingredients to your Instant Pot and stir to combine. Hit the "Cancel" button to take it off of "Saute" mode.
Attach the lid and turn your valve to seal. Press the "Soup" button, adjust the time to 15 minutes, and let it cook!
When the timer goes off, turn the valve to vent, and do a QR.
Serve with chopped green onions, sour cream, avocado slices or my Pepperjack Cheese Sauce (dairy free). See recipes notes for a link to the recipe!**
Stovetop Instructions:
In a large soup pot over medium heat, sauté onions and jalapeños for 5-8 minutes until the onions have become translucent.
Add sausage and chicken to onions and peppers and cook for 5 minutes.
Add spices, broth, and cauliflower rice to your pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
Turn your soup down to low and let simmer until ready to serve.
Crockpot Instructions:
Add all of the ingredients to your crockpot and stir to combine. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-7 hours.
Recipe Notes
*I thaw (or cook for a couple minutes) the frozen cauliflower and then pulse it in my blender for a few seconds to "rice" it. MUCH EASIER than breaking down a fresh head of cauliflower and "ricing" it. You can sub a bag of frozen riced cauliflower. It usually only comes in 12 oz bags; if you prefer not to use a partial second bag, reducing the cauliflower to 12 oz won't hurt the recipe.
It isn’t much of a secret that I am obsessed with soup. Who else decides where they’re going to eat out at based on what soup they have that day? Or is that just me? 🙂
I try to turn every meal into some type of soup. (or a casserole. I have a problem.) I wasn’t sure what I was going to make when I started chopping up the cauliflower…but I have to say, it turned into something really good!
I looked over and saw a jalapeño on the counter, so that guy ended up in this pot as well! I usually get a response like, “that shouldn’t be a question, honey,” whenever I ask my husband if I should put jalapeños in something. So, if I think for a second, that I should put one in there, I usually do! If they’re not your thing, just skip that part! It doesn’t add much heat once you remove the seeds, but it gives it a nice charred pepper flavor (because I roast it!) which is delicious.
There’s just something about sitting down with a bowl of creamy soup that soothes the soul. At least that’s what soothes my soul. Again, I have an obsession with soup. How could I not, though? SOUP IS LYYFEE. Growing up, whenever you’d get sick, mom would make you soup. You’d ALWAYS feel better. There’s just something so comforting about that bowl of goodness. FYI, there’s actually some medicinal properties involved in that homemade chicken noodle soup. It heals if it’s made properly! BONE BROTHHH!!!
Alright, enough already…recipe time!
Just kidding, P.S. You may want to double this recipe if you’re cooking for more than 2 people or want leftovers.
P.P.S. You could totally make this in your Instant Pot! Follow the same directions, but once you add the milk and broth, set your IP to High Pressure and cook it for 5-8 minutes, or so. It’ll cook FAST! Once it’s finished, stir in your arrowroot slurry to thicken it up!
Bake chopped cauliflower and jalapeño on a greased/lined baking sheet for 10-15 minutes or until the edges start to char.
While the veggies are roasting, begin to sauté the ham, onion, and ghee in a large soup pot over medium heat.
After 10 minutes or so, remove your veggies from the oven. (and turn your oven off! I'm bad about that!) Your cauliflower and jalapeño should have some good char on them. You can leave them in there a few minutes longer to get even more char. All of those charred little bits adds tons of good flavor! Whatever you like! Be sure to watch them, though. They can burn fast at this temperature!
Slice your jalapeño in half, remove the seeds*, and dice.*The seeds come out SUPER easy after you've roasted it. If you prefer to do it before roasting, have at it!
Add the cauliflower and jalapeño to your ham and onions.
Add all of your spices to your soup pot, stir, and sauté it all for a couple minutes. I can still smell that smoky paprika cooking. Seriously, invest in that stuff. It's so good!
Next, add 2 cups of your broth (set aside 1/2 cup), coconut milk, and bay leaves. Simmer for 15-30 over medium/medium low heat - the longer the better. Soup only gets better as it cooks away on the stove. I'm just impatient and need to eat it as soon as possible!
Taste test! Now is the time to add more salt or pepper!
After simmering for some time (or however long you can wait!), combine the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken broth and arrowroot powder to create a slurry. Add the mixture to your soup and stir* for a minute. This will begin to thicken everything up. *Make sure to stir from the bottom. Sometimes, the slurry will fall towards the bottom of the pot and thicken everything much faster down there. Then your soup will have gravy-like chunks in it. No good. ...well, gravy-like clumps don't sound all that bad to me. Remember, though, I like my gravy! Anyways, STIR IT GOOD!
There you have it! Scoop yourself a bowl, top with some chopped green onions, and go get cozy! You mood will INSTANTLY improve!
