Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Thanks to Lauren Ann for sharing the post below!

Having a big pot of soup on hand during the cold fall days is just the best. This soup is spicy, hearty and makes you feel good and appreciate the cold weather. It is spicy but not overwhelmingly so. I like having a lot of extra chopped items like cilantro, avocado, cheese and red onion so that you can doctor up your soup how you like.

Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup (adapted from Eat, Live, Run)

• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 large red onion, diced (reserve ¼ of the onion for serving)
• 1 jalapeño, diced, seeds included
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 poblano pepper
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp salt
• 8 cups chicken broth (2 quarts)
• 1 cup hominy (you can find this at a Mexican Grocery Store or the in ethnic food section at the grocery store)
• 1 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 14-oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes (or Rotel tomatoes and chilies)
• 4 corn tortillas, cut into strips
• juice of 2 limes
• shredded cheese for serving (your choice! I picked up some quesadilla cheese from the Mexican grocery store)
• chopped cilantro for serving
• 1 avocado, chopped, for serving
• chopped limes for serving

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the chicken breasts and simmer for about 20 minutes, until breasts are cooked through. Drain and set chicken breasts aside to cool. Once cool, chop into cube-sized pieces.

While chicken is cooking, roast the poblano pepper over a burner on a gas range stove or under the broiler. You want the pepper to be very dark and charred—almost black. Set aside on a plate to cool then dice.

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a dutch oven or very large pot. Once hot, add the diced onion and jalapeno cook for five minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and diced poblano pepper and cook for another minute. Add the chili powder and cumin and mix until well combined.

Pour in the chicken stock and add the diced tomatoes, hominy, black beans, diced cooked chicken and salt. Bring to a boil.

Finally, add the tortilla strips and lime juice and cook until tortillas soften. Serve with chopped cilantro, diced jalapenos, chopped avocado and shredded cheese on the side.

*Lastly, we’re less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving! Now’s the time to start planning a menu and stocking the pantry. Don’t forget to grab your copy of our FREE Thanksgiving menu. Click here to learn more.