Southwestern Chicken Quinoa Soup

Need a healthy chicken soup recipe?  This Southwestern Chicken Quinoa Soup is full of flavor with a bit of heat. The recipe takes advantage of a few canned and frozen convenience items to make a southwestern chicken soup the whole family will love.

During the space between my daughter’s college graduation and landing her first “real job” Emily lived with Scott and I. Her stay didn’t last that long — less than 6 months, but while she was here, she enjoyed free wi-fi, cable tv and lots of homemade cooking. This taste of boomerang parenting both delighted and scared us.  Happy to have her back after 4 years away at school, but also afraid that she’d get too comfortable back at the ranch — and I admit that when she had a food request, I was always happy to oblige… Like this  Southwestern chicken quinoa soup.

She wanted a healthy chicken soup recipe with a little heat to satisfy her hunger without sabotaging her gym membership efforts (I can relate). For the chicken and  heat, we started with boneless skinless chicken breasts and a chile-cumin spice rub blend, to give it a little nose-tickle and smoky quality . It’s not a Southwestern chicken soup without it. Sear the chicken in a dutch oven — not to cook it all the way through, but to warm the spices and release their flavor as well as to add flavor to the pot for the next set of ingredients — the veg.

Ingredients for soup

• Chicken
• Hand-Blended Spice Rub
• Celery
• Carrots
• Onion
• Garlic
• Jalapenos
• Hatch Chiles
• Ro-Tel Original (not the habanero)
• Canned Black Beans
• Frozen Corn
• Quinoa
• Chicken Stock from Rotisserie Chicken or low-sodium broth
• Cilantro
• Limes

Celery, carrots, garlic and onion are a familiar starting point for many soups and this one is no different. Sauté the vegetables until they’re just tender and slightly translucent, then add the diced jalapeño and hatch chiles.  I had fire roasted hatch chiles in my freezer, courtesy of my friend Nola, but you can buy real fire roasted hatch chiles in a can. {shameless affiliate link}. Let the peppers snuggle up with the other vegetables until they’re warm and fragrant.

Then add the chicken stock with the canned black beans, quinoa, frozen corn, and a can of Ro-Tel (a blend of tomatoes, chile peppers, garlic and onions).  

Here’s an easy chicken stock from rotisserie chicken, a tasty homemade vegetable broth, and a homemade turkey stock — any of those would be very good in this healthy chicken soup recipe, but don’t fret if you don’t have any on hand.  

The store-bought broth or stock will work too.  Just watch the sodium content — some brands have a ridiculous amount of salt added to them. Consequently, I always buy low-sodium broth or stock for a healthier option.

Bring the Southwestern chicken soup up to a simmer.  While it’s heating, cut the chicken breasts into bite sized chunks.  

The chicken shouldn’t be fully cooked yet, however it will quickly finish cooking when re-added to the hot stock.

I love healthy chicken soups like this because even though they’re healthy, that’s not the first thing you notice.  Instead, it’s the flavors and chunkiness of the soup that makes it special.  

It’s got spice, but it’s not overly spiced.  There’s loads of vegetables and hearty chunks of diced chicken.  The quinoa adds even more protein and mouth feel.

I give Emily a lot of credit for this one because this Southwestern chicken soup is really a winner. A chicken quinoa soup with body and depth.

Finish it with a squeeze of lime and a bit of chopped cilantro for a bright, fresh zing.  The flavors hit all the parts of your palate and really satisfies.

More chicken soup recipes you might like:

• Greek Chicken Soup with Lemon and Feta
• Southwestern Chicken Taco Soup
• Chicken Noodle Soup with Mushrooms

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