This healthy Mexican Chicken Soup is a delicious and hearty soup recipe. It’s made with juicy and tender shredded chicken and loaded with veggies. Top it off with your favorite garnishes for a tasty meal!
This recipe is inspired by Ina Garten’s Mexican Chicken Soup recipe in her Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. She likes to roast her chicken breast bone-in and skin-on for her recipes because it helps keep it moist and delicious. And boy does it! So much more flavor with bone-in, skin-on chicken. And it’s not hard at all. Worth a little extra effort for deliciously moist chicken. Of course, if you need a quick weeknight meal, you could always pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store and use that instead.
How to Make Mexican Chicken Soup
Roast the split chicken breasts in the oven until done. Let cool, remove from the bone and shred. Meanwhile, saute veggies and add spices. Then, stir in the tomatoes and chicken stock. Let simmer for twenty-five minutes, then add the shredded chicken to the pot.
Recipe Notes:
I topped mine with some baked corn tortilla strips, but you could always use some crushed tortilla chips. I liked it fine with just that as a topping, but a dollop of sour cream, some diced avocado or grated Monterey Jack cheese would also be great. You could also serve this with rice.
Homemade chicken stock or a good quality store-bought one like Imagine Organic is best for this recipe. It adds a depth of flavor that you need in a soup like this.
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Mexican Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts (about 1.5 pounds)
- olive oil or melted ghee
- 1 1/2 cups diced white onion (about 1 large onion)
- 1 cup diced celery (2 stalks)
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper (1 large pepper)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 quart low-sodium chicken stock (homemade or good quality store-bought)
- 1 (28 oz) can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes
- 1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt (or salt to taste)
Optional Garnishes:
- sour cream
- crushed tortilla chips
- diced avocado
- grated Monterey Jack cheese
To make your own baked corn tortilla strips:
- 5 (6-inch) corn tortillas
- 1 tbsp melted ghee or other high heat oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. On a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, lay the chicken breasts skin side up. Rub them all over with oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on them. Place into oven and roast for 35-40, until done. Remove from the oven and let cool until you can handle them. Remove the skin, pull the chicken off the bones and shred it into bite-sized pieces using your hands or two forks. Cover and set aside.
- While the chicken is cooling, heat two tablespoons of oil in a 4 or 5-quart dutch oven or soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots and bell pepper to the pot and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the garlic and spices and let cook for an additional minute.
- Pour in the chicken stock and tomatoes. Add the sea salt and cilantro and stir to combine. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken to the pot and stir. Check seasonings and adjust if necessary. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, or sliced avocado.