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    Chipotle Chicken Soup

    Updated February 20, 2024 / By Holly Erickson & Natalie Mortimer

    Chipotles, those smoked jalapeño peppers in adobo sauce, are what give this hearty chicken soup it's earthy spiciness. With vegetables, beans, and spices, this soup is super filling and flavorful.

    a bowl of homemade chipotle chicken soup topped with shredded cheese, tortilla chips, lime and avocado
    Photography by Gayle McLeod

    A Chicken Soup With All The Toppings

    Chipotles in adobo sauce deliver a delicate smoky heat to this chipotle chicken tortilla soup recipe. We love this soup for weeknight dinners because it combines ready-made ingredients (rotisserie chicken and canned beans and corn) with fresh vegetables (zucchini and bell pepper), which really helps cut down the active prep time in the kitchen and still results in a super flavorful meal. Our Chicken Tortilla Soup is another one of those weeknight wonders. We get especially excited that the soup is a meal within a meal, because we load our bowls with tons of great toppings (sour cream, avocado, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips–but don’t hold back).

    Chipotle Chicken Soup 1

    Meet Your Jalapeño Pepper–The Chipotle

    Chipotle peppers are smoke-dried jalapeńo peppers. It’s most likely that the chipotle peppers we eat here are grown in Mexico. The smoking process, in addition to adding great flavor, was originally developed as a means of food preservation. The adobo sauce is usually some combination of spices, herbs, and vegetables including tomatoes, onions, garlic and vinegar making it the perfect flavor foundation for this chicken chipotle soup.

    chopped onion, bell peppers and garlic being cooked in vegetable oil in a pot to use in chipotle chicken soup
    Chipotle Chicken Soup 3
    onion, bell pepper, zucchini, black beans, chipotle chilis, creamed corn, chicken broth and spices cooking in a soup pot
    rotisserie chicken being added to a pot of homemade chipotle chicken soup made with corn, black beans & chipotle chilis

    How To Make Chipotle Chicken Soup

    • Build your soup base: sautée onion, bell peppers, and garlic until tender and fragrant.

    • Get the flavors going by adding tomatoes, zucchinis, chilis, adobo sauce, chicken broth, corn, beans, spices, and of course salt and pepper.

    • Cook for around 30 minutes.

    • While the soup flavors are on their way to perfection, prepare the chicken by picking the meat from a store-bought (yes we love it!) rotisserie chicken, and then adding it to the soup to warm through.

    • We love a good condiment bar, and this soup screams for a selection of great toppings. Make it fun for your family or guests to choose their own destiny by putting everything out in bowls. We recommend chopped cilantro, fresh lime wedges, sour cream, cheese, avocado and please don’t sleep on the crushed corn chips!!

    a pot of chipotle chicken soup made with onion, bell pepper, garlic, black beans, zucchini, chipotle chilis and spices
    a bowl of homemade chipotle chicken soup topped with shredded cheese, tortilla chips, lime and avocado

    Tools You’ll Need

    Soup Season Is Upon Us–Here’s Some More Great Soups To Try

    Soups are easy to love, easy to make, and easy to eat again the next day as leftovers. There’s really nothing not to love! We’ve rounded up our favorite soup recipes just for you! And here are a few more cozy soups to try!

    a pot of chipotle chicken soup next to bowls of garnishes: sour cream, cilantro, avocado, tortilla chips, cheese and limes
    a bowl of homemade chipotle chicken soup topped with shredded cheese, tortilla chips, lime and avocado

    Let’s Soup It Up!

    We love a good bowl of soup. Show us how you made yours shine by tagging us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

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    Chipotle Chicken Soup Recipe

    Updated February 20, 2024

    By Holly Erickson & Natalie Mortimer

    • Serves:  6
    • Prep Time:  15 min
    • Cook Time:  45 min
    • Calories:  277
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    Description

    Chipotles, those smoked jalapeño peppers in adobo sauce, are what give this hearty chicken soup it's earthy spiciness. With vegetables, beans, and spices, this soup is super filling and flavorful.

    Ingredients

    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
    • 1 red bell pepper, diced
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes, diced
    • 1 medium zucchini, chopped
    • 2 tablespoons chopped chipotle peppers in adobo plus 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
    • 4 cups chicken stock
    • 1 (14.75 ounce) can creamed corn
    • 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained rinsed
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1 teaspoon chili powder
    • 1 teaspoon sea salt
    • ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
    • 1 roasted chicken, shredded (3 to 4 cups) (see Note)

    For Serving (optional)

    • Tortilla strips
    • Chopped fresh cilantro
    • 1 lime, cut into wedges
    • Sour cream
    • Shredded cheddar or pepper Jack cheese
    • 1 large avocado, diced

    Method

    1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Once the oil is glistening, add the onion and bell peppers, and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant, 1 minute longer.

    2. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, chicken stock, corn, beans, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium-low and continue to cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender, about 30 minutes.

    3. Add the chicken to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until warmed through, about 5 minutes longer.

    4. Serve the soup in bowls topped with tortilla strips, and any additional toppings of your choice as desired.


    Note: Chicken is easier to pull off the bones and shred when it’s warm. We like to purchase rotisserie chicken from the store and pick off all the meat before storing it in the refrigerator—that way it’s ready to go whenever we want to use it.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 277
    • Protein 10 g
    • Carbohydrates 30 g
    • Total Fat 3 g
    • Dietary Fiber 8 g
    • Cholesterol 7 mg
    • Sodium 836 mg
    • Total Sugars 10 g

    Chipotle Chicken Soup

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • Yvette

      How much is a serving size?

      We don't currently have a yield for this recipe. It would be 1/6 of the entire pot.

    • Cayli

      Can I make this in the slow cooker?

      We haven't tried this recipe in the slow cooker yet.

    • melissa

      Do you think this would freeze ok?

      Definitely!

    • BT

      Delicious! Have made this multiple times; it’s becoming a family favorite.

      YAY! that is great to hear, so glad you love it!

    • Barbara

      Easy and delicious

      Thanks Barbara, glad you enjoyed it!

    • Ash

      SO DELICIOUS and so quick and easy!! I have yet to come across a Modern Proper recipe I haven't liked

      Thanks Ash, that is so nice of you to say! Glad you loved this one!

    • HP

      GREAT flavor and came together super quick and easy!

      Thanks, so glad you loved it!

    • HP

      GREAT flavor and came together super quick and easy!

      Thanks, glad you loved it!