
- Servings Per Recipe: 8
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 270.5
- Total Fat: 10.6 g
- Cholesterol: 35.1 mg
- Sodium: 178.4 mg
- Total Carbs: 25.8 g
- Dietary Fiber: 8.0 g
- Protein: 19.8 g
Southwestern Chicken Soup
Submitted by: SP_STEPF
Introduction
A quick and hearty soup with plenty of spice! A quick and hearty soup with plenty of spice!Ingredients
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1 lb (16 oz) chicken breasts, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional; leave in seeds for more heat)
1 green pepper, chopped
4 c fresh spinach or about 4 oz frozen spinach (this is an estimate; you can add more or less)
1 T cumin
1 T olive oil
1 14-oz can chopped tomatoes (preferably low-sodium)
2 avocados, chopped
1 quart chicken stock (preferably reduced-sodium)
1/4 c cilantro, torn
2 limes, juiced
1 14-oz can pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed
2 c cooked brown rice
Tips
I made this soup after trying a similar one at a restaurant. Theirs had fewer tomatoes, no beans and white rice. I wanted to add more nutrition, so I added spinach, a green pepper and more tomatoes, and I use white meat chicken instead of dark. Beans and brown rice add fiber. This new soup is a good compromise of taste and time.
Directions
If you're not using cooked rice, start making rice before you begin the soup.
Heat oil in a large soup pot set over medium-high flame, and add garlic, onion and peppers. Cook until soft and starting to get some color, about 5 minutes. Lower heat to medium. Add chicken and cumin and cook another five minutes. Add chicken broth, beans, spinach and tomatoes. Raise heat to medium-high and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add lime juice, stirring well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Sodium from optional salt not included.)
To serve: place 1/2 c rice in bottom of each bowl. Sprinkle avocado and cilantro on top.
(For vegetarian version: Heat olive oil, add garlic, onion and peppers, cooking until fragrant. Add stock, tomatoes and beans, and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Add lime juice. Remove from heat and add about 1/4 of an avocado and 1/2 T cilantro to each bowl.)
Rate This Recipe
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Member Ratings For This Recipe
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Easy to make. Great color. Great mix of flavor and textures. The jalapeno was spicy enough for most tastes (I used 1/2 the seeds and ribs). Paired very well with "Spicy Southwestern Salad" also available on this site. Served to a SparkFriend (ODDBODKIN) and her DH. All adults and 13yo boy loved it. - 5/18/09
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I did not add the spinach, I followed along with the directions and realized when it was done it never said to add it! I did have a bag of frozen roasted peppers, green red and yellow, I used this instead of a fresh green pepper. Instead of plain tomato, used Rottell with lime and cilantro - 4/28/09
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I was making chicken breasts like I usually do and decided to make a soup out of it. I was able t use a lot of my GINORMOUS bag of spinache from costco in this and I love it!! I did change it to suit what I had laying around. (Chicken,spinache,green pepper,black beans,brown rice,and tomatoes) YUM! - 8/17/10
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This came out great and takes substitutions well. I added corn and I put the spinach in after the chicken had browned and before the broth mix and it came out awesome. I added the rice in and wish I hadn't because after refrigeration it had absorbed most of the water. Altough soup still tastes great - 9/26/09
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The soup was great! I made good use of a homemade salsa that grew too large when it tasted too oniony, so we just kept adding lime juice & tomatoes.
You check the nutrition info tho-recipe calls for 1/2 c brown rice (100 cals) but the rice in this recipe breakdown only accounts for 23 cals - 4/21/10
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This is a delicious and filling soup. I had to substitute beef stock for the chicken stock as I didn't want to run to the store for one item, but the beef flavor blended perfectly. I used black beans and added the rice to the soup for the last few minutes. My DH loved it and had 2 big bowls! - 3/3/13
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OMGosh....Made this today, and was sooo good we had it for both lunch and dinner. Didn't have any avacados on hand, but it didn't matter. Also, I had some ground chicken to use up, so just cooked that in olive oil, with some of the seasonings, and added. (instead of chopped breast meat). Great!!! - 5/15/12
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1/2 cup of rice in 8 bowls does not equal 2 c, it equals 4 AND an extra 80 calories per serving and a lot of carbs. I think I'll just leave out the rice. I'd also use leftover roasted chicken - dark meat is far more nutritious than light, and using leftover from a whole chicken is more economical. - 5/14/12

















