This one is sure to become a family favorite! I made this on a whim today. My toddler was taking his nap, my baby was happily cooing away…and so I went to work in the kitchen! Some of my best creations come spontaneously rather than from careful, conscious planning (though there are those as well). Often as I’m scanning the ingredients on hand in my fridge and in my pantry, ideas will jump out at me. Such was the case today. Two things initially stood out to me: Bone-in chicken and a can of chipotles en adobo. I instantly knew I wanted to use them…somehow. The clock was ticking…my toddler would be awake from his nap before long…so I grabbed the ingredients and set to work! Pacing myself, like a candidate on the TV show “Chopped”, I hustled about, grabbing this and grabbing that in order to get this dish finished on time. The end result: Smoky South of The Border Soup. You’re going to love this recipe. My in-home panel of food critics presented their verdict: It’s a winner!
I love chipotles en adobo. They are smoked jalapeno peppers in a red sauce. The end result yields a smoky, rich flavor that literally transforms any dish in which they’re used. Although still spicy, some of the edge is taken off by the marinating process.
This soup is easy to make and, aside from preparing the homemade chicken broth, takes about 5 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook. You can make the broth the day before to save time. Freezing broth is another great option, and that way you’ll conveniently have it on hand when you need it.
Let’s get started!
Homemade chicken stock is the best. There just is no comparison. And since you have to cook the chicken anyway for this dish, why not turn it into a luscious stock?
Place the chicken in a stock pot with 5 cups of water. Add a stalk of celery and a carrot, cut into 2-inch pieces. Add a bay leaf and a few black peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Discard the vegetables and bay leaf. Place the chicken on a plate, discard the skin, and shred the meat with two forks. Set the meat aside. Once the chicken stock has cooled, skim off the fat on top and discard. Set chicken stock aside.
Dice the onions, garlic, jalapenos and red peppers (sorry, forgot to add those to the picture)
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven (I use and love Lodge) on medium-high and saute the onions until translucent and just beginning to caramelize. Add the garlic and jalapenos and cook for another minute.
Add the red bell pepper and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Dice the chipotles en adobo. If you prefer your food less spicy, discard the seeds.
Add the beans, tomatoes, chicken and chipotles to the pot. Stir to combine.
Add the corn, cilantro, spices, and chicken stock and stir to combine.
Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded Cheddar cheese, if desired.
- 2 chicken thighs and 2 drumsticks (or any combination of bone-in, skin-on chicken that equals about 2 cups cooked shredded chicken) (Vegetarian/Vegan: use chicken substitute such as President's Choice Vegetarian Chicken and shred it)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 yellow or white onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 chipotles en adobo, chopped, remove the seeds if you prefer less spicy (canned chipotles en adobo can be found in any Mexican store or well-stocked grocery store in the Mexican section)
- 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans
- 1 (15 oz) can Great Northern beans
- 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15 oz) can corn
- 4 cups homemade chicken stock (vegetarian/vegan: use vegetable broth)
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano (preferably Mexican)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- Sour cream for topping (vegans: use sour cream substitute such as Tofutti Sour Supreme)
- Place the chicken in a stock pot with 5 cups water. Add a stalk of celery and a carrot cut into 2-inch pieces. Add a bay leaf and a few black peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Discard the vegetables and bay leaf. Place the chicken on a plate and discard the skin. Shred the meat with two forks. Set the meat aside. Once the chicken stock has cooled, skim the fat off the surface and discard.
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven on medium-high. Saute the onion until translucent and just beginning to caramelize. Add the garlic and jalapeno and cook for another minute. Add the red bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and shredded Cheddar cheese, if desired.
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Linda says
Another winner, thank you! My family loved the soup and it was a surprisingly quick meal to put together. I started a frozen lump of chicken drums in water with the celery and carrot while I chopped and added everything else to the dutch oven. With that cooking on low, it wasn’t long before the chicken was ready to shred and add along with the cooking liquid.
Nice subtle heat. We served it with Frito corn chips sprinkled over the top along with jalapeno crisps for those that like more heat.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Linda, thanks so much!
Kim says
I made this soup for the first time last night in an electric pressure cooker that i received at Christmas and it was amazing! It was a last minute decision so i used the meat from a rotisserie chicken but next time i’ll make my own stock.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad, Kim, thank you! I really love this too and I’ve just realized how long it’s been since I last made it – thanks to your reminder, I now know what to make for dinner tonight :)
Woodflower says
I’m new to your website but I enjoyed “meeting” you. I can tell that you care not only about food but about the people who visit you.
I made this recipe and my family and I thought it delicious. But I do have one questions — why the sugar? (P.S. I left it out.) With so many people in the U.S. being diagnosed as pre- or full-diabetic, I would think you would not care to use it where it is not needed. (Would have given it five stars without the sugar!)
My husband and I can tomatoes every summer and I have noticed that many recipes call for adding sugar, but we started leaving it out years ago and actually like the end result better.
Thanks for the recipe, it’s going in my monthly rotation!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi, welcome and thank you for the compliment. I’m glad you enjoyed the soup. The touch of sugar has to do with the chemistry of food and the cooking process: Adding a very small amount of sugar to some dishes helps reduce the acids in certain ingredients and brings out the flavors in others. Your concern about diabetes – let me put this into proper perspective: The entire pot of soup only has one teaspoon of sugar and that’s divided into multiple servings – hardly a concern for pre- or full-diabetics. I can assure you that the diabetic epidemic here in the U.S. isn’t because home cooks are adding the occasional teaspoon of table sugar to their dishes. Let me provide some additional perspective: Apple juice, something most people don’t think twice about consuming, ounce for ounce has as much sugar as a can of Coke – 10 teaspoons! And in fact fructose has been found to be even more damaging than regular sugar because it wreaks havoc on the liver. So again, we’re talking about 1 teaspoon of sugar in an entire pot of soup that serves a functional purpose without adding an ounce to anyone’s waistline.
Anonymous says
Will it still be delicious if I leave out the jalapeños?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
The fresh jalapenos? Absolutely still delicious! The chipotle chilies contribute such a fabulous flavor to the soup though, leaving those out will make a difference. The soup will still taste good without the chipotles but I highly recommend including those. The fresh jalapenos you can definitely leave out and not notice a big difference.
mommabakes says
Really loved the soup for dinner tonight. I made a few small changes, including using beef and beef stock and a little wine (which makes lots of things better!) ,but that is all. We loved the smoky flavor of the adobe chipotles and the rich flavor of the onion, garlic, pepper beginnings. Nicely done!
The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks for the compliment and for your feedback. Shredded pork roast would be a nice variation as well. Or shredded turkey. Hope you try some of the other recipes and let me know what you think!
Jeanie Studnek-Owens says
This was dinner tonight. Totally yummy, and the adobe chili’s really do give it a smokey flavor. I didn’t have time time to do homemade chicken stock, but I used boxed chicken stock and it still tasted great.
The Daring Gourmet says
So glad you liked it! I’ve really been coming to appreciate chipotle chiles more and more. There will definitely be more experimental dishes using them in the upcoming future…
Alex says
This is seriously my new favorite soup! I made it last night for the family and everyone loved it! Thank you so much for creating and sharing this recipe!
Jayne says
Great recipe, this soup looks so good! A great meal idea!
The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks, Jayne! Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Candy says
Hehe…well Kyle will eat everything I cook, but I always ask him to rate it in a scale of 1 to 10. There are many 8s and 9 s…but only like four 10s Hehe.
Todd eats everything right?… I found those people (the ones that are not picky) are the best judges. So I think you are just a wonderful cook :).. I will tell Alli to post a comment :)
Maria says
i actually have some chipotles in adobo in my regrigerator right now!! heheh…i may make them tomorrow…well maybe not…it is my b-day so we may go out to eat :). I have a question, do you ever have a dish that Todd did not like that much?,…do you still write the recipe for it and keep it?….I say that because i have many dishes that i make just out of my own creations too but i never keep a journal of them…and the ones that Kyle does not like, but i do like…i will still make heheh…Ohh Allison told me today that she made the vegetarian stroganof the other day and it was delicious…her hubby loved it. Many people are making your dishes…they just forget to post a comment about it :)…Good job! :)…sorry for the long comment lol
The Daring Gourmet says
Glad Allison and her husband liked it! To answer your question, Todd has never disliked anything I’ve made, he just prefers some things more than others. I’m not sure if that’s more reflective of my cooking skills or simply a lack of culinary discernment and judgment on his part ;) I will tell you, 6 years ago I made him an egg salad sandwich in a hurry and put too much salt in it. He STILL kids me about it to this day! I figure, if that’s the only thing he can come up with in terms of culinary bloopers, then I guess I’m not doing too badly! ;)
Have a wonderful birthday tomorrow!