Colombian Feet and Gizzards Soup: History & Recipe

Colombian sopa de menudencias is a hearty chicken soup made with gizzards and, in this version, chicken feet, which give the broth body as they simmer. Potatoes, yuca, corn, rice, and cilantro make it a filling one-pot meal, though ingredients and names vary among Colombian regions and households.

History and Regional Context

Menudencias is a Spanish term for edible poultry offal, commonly including gizzards and sometimes hearts or liver; in everyday cooking, chicken feet may be added to the same pot even though they are not organs. Sopa or caldo de menudencias describes a broad family of home-style soups rather than one standardized recipe. There is no single documented origin or definitive national formula for this particular combination, so it is more accurate to think of it as part of Colombia’s varied tradition of nourishing, economical soups.

Using parts of a bird that might otherwise be overlooked is a practical cooking tradition found across many cuisines. Long, gentle simmering turns firm gizzards tender and releases gelatin from the feet, enriching a broth without needing a packaged stock. Colombian cooks adapt the vegetables and starches to what is available: one household might use potatoes and rice, another may include yuca or corn, and some versions add other poultry pieces. The recipe below is a home-style interpretation, not a claim that every region prepares the soup identically.

Yuca, also called cassava, is a familiar ingredient in Colombian cooking but may be sold frozen or be harder to find in some U.S. grocery stores. Frozen peeled yuca works well after thawing; if it is unavailable, use an extra potato. The soup will still be hearty, though it will lack yuca’s slightly sweet flavor and firm, starchy texture.

Ingredients

1½ lb chicken feet (680 g), rinsed, with the nail tips trimmed off
1 lb chicken gizzards (454 g), trimmed of tough outer membrane and excess fat
10 cups water (2.4 L), plus up to 2 cups (480 ml) hot water if needed
1 tablespoon neutral oil (15 ml)
1 medium yellow onion (about 150 g), finely chopped
4 garlic cloves (about 12 g), minced
2 scallions (about 30 g), thinly sliced
1 medium ripe tomato (about 150 g), finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin (2 g)
½ teaspoon ground achiote or annatto (about 1 g), optional
1 bay leaf
1½ teaspoons fine salt (9 g), plus more to taste
½ teaspoon ground black pepper (1 g)
2 medium potatoes (about 340 g), peeled if desired and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks
1 lb peeled yuca (454 g), fresh or thawed frozen, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces; remove any woody central strand
2 ears corn (about 300 g total), husked and cut into thirds
1 medium carrot (about 100 g), peeled and cut into ½-inch (1 cm) rounds
½ cup uncooked long-grain white rice (95 g), rinsed until the water is mostly clear
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (15 g), plus a little extra for serving
1 lime (about 60 g), cut into wedges for serving

Instructions

Clean and prepare the poultry. Rinse the chicken feet and gizzards under cool running water, then pat them dry with paper towels. Trim the pointed nail ends from the feet with kitchen shears. Remove any yellow skin or loose debris, and cut away excess fat or tough membrane from the gizzards. Keep raw poultry and its juices separate from vegetables and ready-to-eat foods; wash your hands, knife, and board after handling it.
Make the aromatic base. Heat the oil in a large heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and scallions and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the garlic, tomato, cumin, and optional achiote; cook for another 3 minutes, stirring, until the tomato begins to break down and the mixture smells fragrant. If the bottom starts to catch, stir in a splash of water.
Start the broth. Add the chicken feet, gizzards, 10 cups water, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring the pot just to a boil, skimming off any gray foam that rises. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover partially, and cook for 1 hour 15 minutes. A quiet simmer is better than a hard boil, which can make the broth cloudy and cause it to reduce too quickly. Check occasionally and add a little hot water if the feet or gizzards are no longer covered.
Check that the poultry is cooked and tender. After the simmer, cut into a large gizzard to check its texture; it should be tender enough to chew comfortably, though it will remain firmer than breast meat. Check a thick gizzard with an instant-read thermometer: the USDA FSIS safe minimum internal temperature for poultry is 165°F (74°C). If it has not reached that temperature, continue simmering and check again. Remove the bay leaf.
Add the vegetables. Stir in the potatoes, yuca, corn, and carrot. Keep the soup at a gentle simmer for 10 minutes. If you prefer smaller, easier-to-eat pieces, lift out the feet and gizzards with a slotted spoon, let them cool briefly, and cut the gizzards into bite-size pieces; return them to the pot. Leave the feet whole for serving or remove them if you prefer a broth without them.
Cook the rice in the soup. Stir in the rinsed rice and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the rice and vegetables are tender. Stir once or twice so the rice does not settle and stick. Yuca and potato pieces can vary in size, so test a piece with a fork before turning off the heat. If the yuca is still firm, simmer a few minutes longer; add hot water if the soup has become thicker than you like.
Finish and season. Stir in the chopped cilantro and taste the broth. Add salt or pepper a little at a time. For a looser soup, add hot water in ¼-cup (60 ml) increments; for a more concentrated broth, let it simmer uncovered for a few extra minutes. The rice will continue to absorb liquid as the soup stands, so avoid reducing it too far.
Serve hot. Ladle broth, vegetables, rice, and pieces of gizzard into bowls, adding a chicken foot to each serving if desired. Scatter extra cilantro over the top and offer lime wedges at the table.

Tips

Buy clean feet and trim them carefully. Ask the butcher for cleaned chicken feet if they are available. Even cleaned feet may have nail tips that need trimming. If you cannot find feet, make the soup with an additional ½ lb (225 g) of gizzards or bone-in chicken; the broth will be less gelatin-rich but still flavorful.
Allow enough time for gizzards. Their tenderness depends on size and how they were trimmed. If they are still rubbery after the stated simmer, keep cooking at a gentle bubble and test every 10 minutes rather than turning up the heat.
Use frozen yuca sensibly. Thaw it in the refrigerator or add it frozen and allow extra simmering time. Remove the tough fibrous core if you find one after cutting. If using potato instead, add it at the same time and check for tenderness before serving.
Keep the soup at the consistency you want. Rice thickens the broth as it cooks and as leftovers sit. Start with the measured water, then use hot water to loosen the pot if needed; cold water can slow cooking and make it harder to bring the soup back to a steady simmer.

Serving Suggestions

Serve the soup as a complete lunch or supper while it is piping hot. Put lime wedges and extra chopped cilantro on the table so each person can brighten their own bowl. A small dish of ají, a Colombian-style fresh chile sauce, is a useful optional condiment for people who want heat; it is not necessary to season the entire pot with chile.

If you want a more substantial meal, offer warm arepas or a slice of crusty bread alongside the soup for catching the broth. Since the pot already contains rice, corn, and root vegetables, keep side dishes simple: sliced avocado, a crisp green salad, or a few slices of ripe tomato are enough. For a traditional family-style feel, bring the pot to the table and let diners choose whether they want a chicken foot in their serving. Provide a small plate for bones or cartilage that diners do not want to eat.

Variations

Add other poultry pieces: Some cooks include chicken hearts or a small amount of liver. Hearts can simmer with the gizzards; liver cooks much faster and can become grainy, so add it only for the final 10 to 15 minutes. Another practical option is to use a few bone-in chicken thighs in place of some of the feet. Remove the thighs when cooked, check that their thickest part reaches 165°F (74°C), and return shredded meat to the pot.

Change the starch: For a version without rice, leave it out and add another potato or a little more yuca. If using short pasta instead, add it according to its package cooking time near the end and watch the broth closely, since pasta also absorbs liquid. To make the soup with less starch, use a smaller amount of rice and serve the bowls with arepas on the side.

Adjust the vegetables and seasoning: A handful of peas or chopped cabbage can go in during the last 10 minutes. If you do not have achiote, simply omit it; it mainly contributes warm color and a subtle earthy note, not a required flavor. For a lighter-tasting broth, skim some of the fat from the surface before adding the vegetables. These are flexible home-cooking adjustments rather than rules for a single regional version.

Storage and Reheating

Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate them within 2 hours of cooking. Divide a large batch into shallow, covered containers so it cools faster, and store it in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. If you expect to keep it longer, freeze portions for up to 2 to 3 months for best quality. The potatoes and yuca may soften after freezing, but the soup remains convenient to reheat.

Rice continues to take up broth in storage, so the chilled soup may be much thicker than it was in the pot. Reheat only the portion you need in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring and adding water or broth until it loosens. Bring it to a steady simmer and use a food thermometer to confirm leftovers reach 165°F (74°C) before serving. If reheating in a microwave, cover loosely, stir partway through, and check the temperature in several places. Avoid repeatedly cooling and reheating the same pot.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is this Colombian soup called?

It may be called sopa de menudencias or caldo de menudencias, though wording and ingredients vary by household and region. In this recipe, the term refers to a poultry soup built around gizzards, with chicken feet added for a rich broth. A menu or family recipe may use the same name for a version with hearts, liver, or other chicken pieces.

Do I have to eat the chicken feet?

No. They are simmered mainly to enrich the broth, and you can lift them out before serving. Some diners enjoy the tender skin and cartilage; others prefer to leave the feet whole in the pot or discard them after cooking. If you omit them, replace them with more gizzards or bone-in chicken, understanding that the broth will have a different body.

Can I make the soup without yuca?

Yes. Use an equal weight of additional potato, or use peeled taro if it is familiar and available to you. Potato is the easiest substitute and makes the soup a little softer and less distinctively starchy than yuca. Frozen yuca is also a good option when fresh cassava is difficult to find.

Why are my gizzards still tough?

Gizzards are a muscular cut and can need more simmering than the vegetables. The pot may have been boiling too gently to stay hot, the pieces may be large, or the birds may simply vary in size. Keep the broth at a gentle simmer and cook in 10-minute increments until a cut piece is tender; do not add the potatoes and rice early just to compensate, or they may turn mushy.

Can I prepare the soup ahead?

Yes. You can cook the feet and gizzards in the broth a day ahead, cool and refrigerate them safely, then bring the broth back to a boil and cook the vegetables and rice when you are ready to serve. This helps the potatoes and rice keep a better texture. Refrigerate all cooked components within 2 hours, and heat the finished soup to 165°F (74°C) before serving.

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Safety notes: safe minimum internal temperatures from USDA FSIS; raw and undercooked fish guidance from the U.S. FDA. Food safety notes

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