This Southwest Chicken Soup is full of flavor, easy to prepare and has a hint of spice. And, you can put it together without a ton of work!
I love chicken soup, and I would happily eat it all year long if weren’t so darn hot here most of the year. I grew up eating my mom’s homemade soup, which is honestly wonderful but does take a lot of time to prepare. I also have an easier speedy version that I serve when I don’t have tons of time to cook.
Now, whenever I use my mom’s chicken soup recipe, I boil chicken parts, strain the broth, remove and cut up the chicken and chop up fresh veggies. Like I said, it’s a lot of work.
My super easy version uses leftover cooked chicken and boxed broth, but I this time I tried something different. I used two small rotisserie chickens from our local market, boiled the carcasses to get a very tasty broth and then added the meat. Since the chickens were already roasted, there wasn’t any fat to strain off, and of course they added tons of flavor.
I also sauteed some onions, Anaheim chili peppers, corn and garlic together to really bring out their flavors before adding them to the broth.
So there’s a little bit more work involved with this method, but the result is definitely worth it. And, it’s still less work than making it completely from scratch.
How to Make Southwest Chicken Soup
Southwest Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 rotisserie chickens
- Water
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 Anaheim pepper seeded and diced
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 small yellow onion peeled and chopped
- 1 cup baby carrots sliced
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup cilantro leaves chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle seasoning
- 1 pound egg noodles optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Avocado lime and chopped jalapeno peppers for garnish, if desired
- Egg noodles
Instructions
- Remove most of the meat from the chickens, and boil in a large stockpot filled with water for about 20 minutes.
- Remove carcasses from water.
- Add the meat from the chicken, along with carrots and celery.
- In a separate pan, saute the corn, garlic, onions and Anaheim peppers in some butter or olive oil until slightly brown, then add to soup.
- Stir in the cilantro, chipotle seasoning, salt, pepper and egg noodles (if desired), and let simmer until noodles are done and ready to eat.
Nutrition
We usually serve some type of pasta with the soup. You can add egg noodles to the soup before serving, but what I sometimes like to do is serve it in a separate bowl. This way, you can choose the amount of pasta you want with your soup, and it’s also a great way to use up leftover pasta. Some of us like a lot of pasta, and some of us are all about the broth!
Right before I serve the soup, I like to top it off with a few avocado slices and a drop or two of lime juice. And if you’re feeling adventurous and you want some extra spiciness, go ahead and add a few jalapeno pepper slices.
So for leftovers, I added some organic chicken stock the next day, and the soup was just as good. So if you want to skip boiling the chicken altogether, you can just use store bought broth instead. You could also skip sauteing the veggies, but I don’t recommend it — this step really adds a ton of flavor!
Of course, the weather warmed up again, but for that brief moment, we got to enjoy this amazing Southwest chicken soup.
Thanks for stopping by today!
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Miz Helen says
Congratulations!
Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you have a great week and enjoy your new Red Plate!
Miz Helen
Dee M says
I love spicy food when I've got a cold too. Hope you feel better soon! 🙂
Dee M says
It was soup weather, and then it got hot again here. Sigh. 🙂
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
This looks so good! I am in bed with a terrible head cold, so the thought of a spicy warming soup sounds perfect!!!
Off to check out your noodle soup as well!
Pam Greer says
Perfectly easy!!! It's almost soup weather here!
Dee M says
Thanks, Darlene, and I'm with you on the coffee! 🙂
Dee M says
Thanks! I love anything spicy, and this is super easy! 🙂
Dee M says
Thanks so much, Deb! 🙂
Dee M says
So true, Anne. It really is a huge time saver!
Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow says
OH does this ever look wonderful! 🙂
That Square Plate says
I LOVE southwest flavors, and this soup looks delicious, and seems pretty manageable! Pinning!! 🙂
Darlene Kratz says
Soup is my favorite thing (along with coffee) on a cool day. I love this twist on chicken soup!
Anne Murphy says
I love how many ways you can make chicken soup… And I'd just been trying to convince someone to use that rotisserie chicken for soup. Sometimes skipping just one step makes the rest possible.
Dee M says
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 🙂
Cristie | Little Big H says
This looks really delicious. I'l have to make this asap!
Dee M says
Aw, thanks, Stacey. I completely agree with you — I took a bunch of pics that day because soup is definitely tricky! 🙂
Stacey Crawford says
Dee, this looks like my kinda of soup. I love a soup with a spicy kick to it. Great photos too, and soup can be hard to shoot. 🙂
Dee M says
It is a little different, but I love the extra flavor. Thanks so much! 🙂
Dee M says
Thanks, Sarah. It's just starting to cool down, and I can't wait to make it more often. 🙂
Sarah Rose says
I used to live in Arizona and I loved/hated that it was usually too warm for soup. I'm sure your Southwest version would make it worth it no matter the temperature – it looks amazing!
Silvia Ribas says
This looks really rich and tasty, real different than what I have tried. Nice!
Dee M says
That's so sweet, Lori Leigh. Thanks so much, and I hope your weekend is wonderful! 🙂
Lori Leigh says
Hi Dee,
What a great idea to use rotisserie chicken for this soup…it sounds delicious! I have to say though…your pictures are so eye catching that it makes me want to eat it now 😉
Have a great weekend.
~Lori