Description
Creamy chicken and jalapeño soup delivers a spicy Mexican-inspired comfort meal packed with bold flavors. Hearty ingredients blend seamlessly, creating a rich experience you’ll savor with each warming spoonful.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups (300 g / 10.6 oz) cooked, shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken works well)
- 4 cups (960 ml / 32 fl oz) chicken broth
- 2 cups (480 ml / 16 fl oz) heavy cream or half-and-half
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2–3 jalapenos, diced (seeds removed for less heat)
- 1 cup (150 g / 5.3 oz) frozen or fresh corn kernels
- 1 (15 oz / 425 g) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 (15 oz / 425 g) can black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
- 2 tbsps (30 ml) olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup (60 g / 2.1 oz) shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
- Fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
- Sliced jalapenos (optional)
- Crushed tortilla chips (optional)
- Sour cream (optional)
Instructions
- Base Creation: Sauté onions in olive oil until translucent, developing a fragrant foundation for the soup’s flavor profile.
- Spice Infusion: Rapidly incorporate garlic, jalapenos, cumin, and smoked paprika, toasting the spices to unlock their aromatic essence without scorching.
- Liquid Development: Pour chicken broth and heavy cream into the pot, establishing a rich, velvety liquid base that will embrace the soup’s core ingredients.
- Ingredient Integration: Combine shredded chicken, diced tomatoes, black beans, and corn, allowing the components to meld together and create a robust, textured mixture.
- Simmering Harmony: Gently simmer the soup, enabling flavors to intertwine and develop a complex, layered taste experience that deepens with each passing minute.
- Cheese Transformation: Gradually fold in shredded cheese, stirring until completely melted and transforming the soup into a luxuriously creamy concoction with a silky-smooth consistency.
- Final Refinement: Calibrate seasoning with salt and pepper, ensuring a perfectly balanced flavor that tantalizes the taste buds.
- Presentation: Ladle the steaming soup into bowls, garnishing with fresh cilantro, additional jalapeno slices, crisp tortilla chip crumbles, or a generous dollop of sour cream to elevate the sensory experience.
Notes
- Control Spice Levels: Adjust jalapeno quantity based on heat tolerance; remove seeds for milder soup or add extra for intense kick.
- Prevent Cheese Clumping: Gradually add cheese while stirring constantly and keep heat low to ensure smooth, even melting without creating stringy texture.
- Enhance Protein Options: Substitute chicken with rotisserie, canned, or plant-based alternatives like tofu for versatile dietary needs.
- Optimize Soup Consistency: Simmer uncovered to naturally reduce and thicken broth, or add cornstarch slurry for quicker thickening without compromising flavor profile.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 15 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 24 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg