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    Home » Puerto Rican Recipes » Sopa de Conchas

    Published: Mar 22, 2022 Modified: Jun 13, 2023 by Catherine Arena Leave a Comment

    Sopa de Conchas

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    Imagine a delicious pot of homemade Sopa de Conchas (Seashell Soup or Shell Soup) made in a rich savory chicken broth filled with succulent pieces of tender chicken, carrots, potatoes, corncobs, and mini shells for dinner tonight! A one-pot scrumptious meal cooked and served in under an hour!

    Sopa de Conchas served in a bowl with a side of white rice.

    In Latin culture, soup is not made solely on cold winter nights or when a family member is sick. Instead, you will find all kinds of soups served year-round either as a starter or for dinner.

    Soups are very commonplace and quite often on a restaurant menu and weekly dinner rotation. The connotation that soup is more commonly served in wintertime or only when someone is sick doesn’t really exist.

    So feel no shame in making this delicious hearty bowl of soup for dinner this week even if the weather is currently 90-degrees where you are at!

    I promise your belly and soul will thank you! Because sometimes a delicious bowl of soup is all you need!

    Sopa de Conchas in cooking pot and also served in a bowl with a side of white rice.

    White or Dark Meat?

    To produce the most flavorful chicken broth I always highly recommend using dark chicken meat vs using chunks of white meat or chicken breast.

    Think, chicken thighs, drumsticks, and wings.

    The fat and bone-in dark meat makes for a full flavorful broth and adds much more richness to the soup than breast meat alone.

    Of course, you can use white meat as well but use it in combination with dark meat.

    Sopa de Conchas in cooking pot and also served in a bowl with a side of white rice.

    Ingredients for Sopa de Conchas

    • chicken thighs or drumsticks
    • adobo
    • sofrito
    • garlic cloves
    • bay leaves
    • sazon
    • large chicken bouillon cubes
    • oil
    • carrots
    • onion
    • corn cobs frozen or fresh
    • potatoes
    • ripe tomatoes
    • fresh cilantro
    • mini shell pasta
    • salt and pepper

    How to Make Sopa de Conchas

    All ingredients to make sopa de conchas (Shell soup/Seashell soup) on wooden cutting board.
    Chicken pieces being cut in half getting it ready for sopa de conchas.
    1. Peel onion, carrots, and potatoes. Chop onion coarsely, carrots into ¼ inch thick slices and potatoes into large chunks.
    2. Rinse tomatoes, cilantro and chop coarsely.
    3. Rinse frozen corn cobs under cool water and cut in half.
    4. Peel and mince garlic.
    5. Rinse chicken and using a mallet chop pieces in half (optional).
    6. Sprinkle chicken with adobo seasoning and set aside.
    Tomatoes added to cooking pot.
    ro
    All ingredients for sofrito base added to caldero pot for soup.
    1. In a caldero or large pot, over medium heat, add oil.
    2. Add chopped onion and cook for a few minutes until onions are translucent.
    3. Then add the chopped tomatoes, stir and cook for a minute.
    4. Add sofrito, garlic, sazon and bay leaves.
    Sofrito base cooking in caldero pot.
    Chicken pieces added to caldero for shell soup.
    1. Stir and saute for a minute.
    2. Add chicken pieces, stir and cook for about 5 minutes. (Note: If using white meat in combination with the dark meat, DO NOT add now. We will add these pieces later)
    Carrots added to cooking pot for Sopa de Conchas (Shell Soup).
    Cilantro, mini corn cobs added to pot.
    1. Add the carrots, corn, cilantro, chicken bouillon cubes and 10 cups of water.
    2. Cover pot slightly with a lid and bring to a boil.
    Potato chunks added to cooking pot.
    Shells added to the pot.
    1. Add pepper to taste (about a teaspoon).
    2. Add potato chunks and white meat chunks if using.
    3. Cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is very tender and almost falling off of bone.
    4. Add shells and cook until shells are tender (about 8 minutes) Note: Soup will start to thicken.
    5. Taste soup and add salt if needed.
    6. Soup is done!
    Sopa de Conchas cooked in a caldero pot.

    What to Serve with Sopa de Conchas

    This sopa is a meal all on its own but we normally serve it with a side of arroz blanco (white rice).

    As you are enjoying your soup, dunk a spoonful of white rice into broth for an even yummier bite of rice!

    Sopa de Conchas in cooking pot and also served in a bowl with a side of white rice.

    What if My Soup is Too Thick or to Thin?

    If your soup is too thick, simply add additional water, a little at a time to thin out.

    If the soup is to thin or you prefer your soup thicker, rise heat for 2-3 minutes to thicken.

    How to Reheat Shell Soup

    Stove Top Instructions

    To reheat the sopa on a stove pot, simply add about ½ a cup of water to the pot and heat over medium heat for 10 minutes.

    Sopa de Conchas being reheated.

    Microwave Instructions

    To reheat in the microwave, simply add what you will be eating to a bowl and about 2 tablespoons of water. Heat for 2 ½ minutes or until heated through.

    For more delicious soup ideas, you will also love these…

    Puerto Rican Chicken Soup

    Pasteles al Caldero

    📖 Recipe

    Sopa de Conchas served in a bowl with a side of white rice.

    Sopa de Conchas (Seashell Soup or Shell Soup)

    Imagine a delicious pot of homemade Sopa de Conchas (Seashell Soup or Shell Soup) made in a rich savory chicken broth filled with succulent pieces of tender chicken, carrots, potatoes, corncobs, and mini shells for dinner tonight! A one-pot scrumptious meal cooked and served in under an hour!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dinner, Lunch
    Cuisine: Puerto Rican
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 208kcal
    Author: Catherine Arena

    Ingredients

    • 6 pieces chicken thighs or drumsticks rinsed
    • adobo sprinkled
    • 3 tablespoon sofrito
    • 4 garlic cloves minced
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 1½ envelopes Sazon with Annatto
    • 4 large chicken bouillon cubes
    • 3 tablespoon oil
    • 3 carrots peeled and sliced into ¼ inch pieces
    • 1 onion chopped
    • 4 frozen mini cobs cut in half
    • 2 potatoes peeled nd cut into large chunks
    • 1-2 ripe tomatoes rinsed and chopped
    • handful fresh cilantro rinsed and chopped
    • 1 cup mini shell pasta
    • ground pepper to taste
    • salt to taste and only if needed

    Instructions

    • Get all your ingredients together and rinse, peel, chop veggies.
    • Rinse chicken and using a mallet chop pieces in half (optional).
      Sprinkle chicken with adobo seasoning and set aside.
    • In a caldero or large pot, over medium heat, add oil.
      Add onion and cook for a few minutes until onions are translucent.
    • Then add the tomatoes, stir and cook for a minute.
    • Add sofrito, garlic, sazon and bay leaves.
      Stir and saute for a minute.
    • Add chicken pieces, stir and cook for about 5 minutes.
      Note: If using white meat in combination with the dark meat, DO NOT add now. We will add these pieces later.
    • Add the carrots, corn, cilantro, chicken bouillon cubes and 10 cups of water.
      Cover pot slightly with a lid and bring to a boil.
    • Add pepper to taste (about a teaspoon).
    • Add potato chunks and white meat chunks if using.
      Cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is very tender and almost falling off of bone.
    • Add shells and cook until shells are tender (about 8 minutes)
      Note: Soup will start to thicken.
    • Taste soup and add salt if needed.
      Soup is done!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 6 | Calories: 208kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 692mg | Potassium: 342mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 5213IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg
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