Mexican · Dinner

Chicken in pumpkin seed pipián

Name: Chicken in pumpkin seed pipián
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 2 h 5 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 4 pounds bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks; 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided; 8 cups water; 1/2 white onion; 4 garlic cloves, divided; 2 cups hulled raw pumpkin seeds; 1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed; 1 poblano chile; 2 serrano chiles; 2 cups cilantro leaves and tender stems; 1 cup torn romaine lettuce; 1/2 cup epazote leaves; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 3 tablespoons lard or neutral oil; 2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds, for garnish; 16 warm corn tortillas

Poached chicken in a green pipián whose toasted pumpkin seeds give body to tomatillos, poblano, serrano, cilantro, epazote, and lettuce.

About 2 hr 5 minTotal

About 1 hr 50 minActive

$$Cost

AdvancedDifficulty

Makes 8 servings

Equipment

Finely chop and simmer longer; press through a sieve when the sauce must be smooth.
Best durable full-size pick
Vitamix 5200 Blender · 64-Ounce Container
View at Amazon
Another workable path: Finely chop and simmer longer; press through a sieve when the sauce must be smooth.
Paid links. As an Amazon Associate, Kwilt earns from qualifying purchases.
How we chose
Research-backed · reviewed Aug 2026
We matched variable texture control, hot-food guidance, container capacity, stable model identity, warranty, storage burden, and exact retail destination. Kwilt has not cooked with this blender.
Vitamix 5200 Blender · 64-Ounce Container: Its variable-speed range can move from a deliberately rustic salsa to a smooth chile sauce, and the established 64-ounce system is useful well beyond these breakfast Recipes. Trade-off: It is expensive, loud, and tall enough to conflict with some upper cabinets; a less powerful blender is adequate for these softened salsa ingredients.
Another workable path: Finely chop or crush the softened ingredients, simmer longer, and press through a sieve when a smoother result is essential.
Sources
Vitamix 5200 specifications
Amazon exact product listing

Ingredients

1× recipe · Makes 8 servings

4 pounds bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
8 cups water
1/2 white onion
4 garlic cloves, divided
2 cups hulled raw pumpkin seeds
1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 poblano chile
2 serrano chiles
2 cups cilantro leaves and tender stems
1 cup torn romaine lettuce
1/2 cup epazote leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons lard or neutral oil
2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds, for garnish
16 warm corn tortillas

Instructions

Simmer chicken gently with 1 teaspoon salt, onion, 2 garlic cloves, and water until pieces reach 165°F, 30 to 40 minutes. Rest in broth 15 minutes; strain and reserve 5 cups broth.
Toast 2 cups pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet, stirring constantly, until they puff and pop but do not darken bitterly. Cool. Broil tomatillos, poblano, serranos, and remaining garlic until blistered; peel and seed poblano.
in batches with roasted vegetables, cilantro, lettuce, epazote, cumin, remaining salt, and enough broth to make a smooth pourable purée. Do not strain away the seed body.
Heat lard in a heavy pot. Add purée carefully and fry, stirring constantly, until darker, aromatic, and thick, 10 to 12 minutes. Gradually add 2 to 3 cups broth to a sauce that coats a spoon.
Simmer gently 15 minutes without boiling hard. Add chicken and warm through to 165°F, loosening with broth as needed. Garnish with 2 tablespoons toasted seeds and serve with tortillas.

MexicoMexican regional and household cooking

From the table

About this recipe

Pipián is a Mexican family of seed-thickened sauces with green and red regional forms, rooted in long-standing use of squash seeds. It is related to, but not interchangeable with, every sauce called mole verde.

Pipián is a Mexican family of seed-thickened sauces with green and red regional forms, rooted in pre-Hispanic use of squash seeds. It is related to—but not interchangeable with every sauce called mole verde. This green branch makes toasted pepitas the structural ingredient; herbs and tomatillos keep it fresh rather than turning it into generic salsa verde. This Kwilt version follows the reviewed household adaptation: Synthesize the recurring green pipián architecture into a seed-forward sauce, poach chicken for useful broth, and explicitly separate pipián identity from generic mole verde.

Sources

Dinner does not stop at the recipe

Keep recipes, plan meals, and build the grocery list in Kwilt.

Use the recipe here. Get Kwilt when you want the rest of dinner to stay together.

Get Kwilt for iPhone

See every recipe

Mexican · Dinner

Red chicken enchiladas

Corn tortillas dipped in a fried guajillo-ancho chile sauce, rolled around juicy shredded chicken, warmed briefly, and finished with queso fresco, crema, onion, and cilantro.

About 1 hr 40 min12 enchiladas