Green Chili Chicken Soup

This Mexican-inspired green chili chicken soup is great for days when you need a comforting, cosy meal. Since you’re using cooked chicken, it’s also relatively quick to whip up. This hearty and satisfying meal includes pantry ingredients, which help keep the cost low per serving.

This soup is deliciously bright and flavorful with ingredients like fresh herbs, fresh lime juice, and green chilis. It’s easy to adjust the flavour in this soup to your liking; you can make it spicy or milder.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Light and healthy – Full of protein and fibre from the veg, chickpeas, and chicken, this green chili chicken soup will help keep you full.
• Comes together quickly – It only takes four steps to have a hot bowl of green chile chicken soup ready to eat.
• Great weeknight meal – With minimal prep and quick cook time, this yummy recipe is perfect for busy weeknights.
• Family favorite – Since this soup is quite flavorful, it’s a favorite among family members (even picky eaters!).

Here are some more tasty soup dishes to help keep you warm: Easy Bacon and Lentil Soup, Chicken Pho and Creamy Parsnip Soup

What is Green Chili Chicken Soup?

You may have heard green chili chicken soup called chili verde or green chicken chili. They all refer to the same delicious dish. It’s a Mexican-inspired soup made with fresh herbs, chillies, green peppers, rice, and chicken. It gets its name from the ingredients (chilllies, onions, and cilantro) which are typically used to make green chili/salsa verde. These ingredients also explain the green hue in the broth.

Alternate Cooking Methods

This green chili chicken soup recipe is easy to make, especially since you can whip it up via multiple methods! Try making it the below ways instead.

Instant Pot – If you’re making this green chicken chili soup in an Instant Pot, you can use raw chicken instead. Toss the ingredients into the pot (minus the rice and beans) and cook on high pressure for about 22 minutes. Remove the chicken, de-bone, and shred. Blend the other ingredients, then add the shredded chicken, rice, and beans into the green broth.

Crockpot – The crock pot version is quite similar to the Instant Pot option. However, you’ll need to cook the soup on low for 8-10 hours or high for 3-4 hours. I recommend using raw chicken and uncooked rice for this version as well.

Stovetop – I’ve included the directions below for making this recipe on the stovetop. As a quick summary, you’ll sauté the green peppers and chillies with oil in a saucepan. Then, add in the garlic and sauté for a few minutes before adding chicken broth and the fresh herbs. After blending, you’ll add the remaining ingredients.

Airfryer – Love using the airfryer? Here is some useful advice : How to cook frozen chicken breast in the air fryer, Cooking Frozen Sausages in an Air Fryer and How To Air Fry Bacon

Ingredients

Chicken legs – If you prefer the meat from chicken thighs or chicken breasts, you can use that instead. Just make sure you remove the bones first. Rotisserie chicken will also work in this soup if you don’t have time to cook chicken beforehand.

Green chillies – This ingredient helps create the colour and adds a bit of heat to the green chili chicken soup. If you can’t find fresh chillies at the store, you can also use canned, diced green chiles instead.

Spinach – I love adding spinach to green chili soup for extra nutrients. However, you can use other vegetables instead if you prefer. I recommend choosing a green veggie, like baby kale, so you still get the green broth colour.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations/ Adaptations

Here are some options for adapting this green chili chicken soup to your preferences! You can easily make this dish vegan by skipping the chicken and using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. You can also add another meat alternative like Daring or Gardein plant-based chicken pieces.

For additional flavour, consider adding corn and fire-roasted diced tomatoes. If you want more heat in this recipe, add more green chillies. Or, use spicier chillies like jalapeños or serranos.

How to make green chili chicken soup

1. Start by adding the olive oil (or chicken fat rendered from cooked chicken legs), onion, green pepper and green chillies into a large saucepan, reserving a few slices of chili for garnish. Season generously with salt and pepper and fry over a medium/low heat for 5 minutes (Image 1).
2. Add the garlic into the pan to cook for 2 minutes before adding the stock into the pan (Image 2).

3. Pour a ladle of the stock into a blender cup, along with the coriander, parsley and spinach. Blend until smooth (Image 3).

4. Pour the green blended mix into your saucepan and stir to combine (Image 4).

5. Add the chickpeas, cooked rice and cooked chicken (Image 5).

6. Stir to combine and season to taste. Serve up and finish with a wedge of lime, a sprinkle of reserved parsley, chilies and a crack of black pepper. Enjoy!  (Image 6).

Try some more delicious Warming Soups recipes.

Pair this yummy green chili chicken soup with desserts like Chocolate Nests, Mini Egg Cheesecake, and Giant Chocolate Cornflake Cake.

Can This Be Frozen?

Yes! This green chili chicken soup freezes well. Once it’s fully cooled, pack it in an airtight container or bag. Then, freeze it for up to three months. Allow it to defrost overnight in the fridge. Then, reheat it on the stove and enjoy!

Here is some advice on using your Airfryer to cook from frozen : How to cook frozen chicken breast in the air fryer,  Frozen Fish Fingers in Air Fryer and How To Air Fry Bacon

FAQs

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Green Chili Chicken Soup

by Mimi Harrison

Print

5 from 6 votes

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 35 minutes mins

£1.42

mains, Soup

Asian

Freezable

Servings: 4

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

MetricUS Standard

This creamy, flavorful green chili chicken soup is easy to make and ultra comforting! It includes simple ingredients like salsa verde and chickpeas.

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cooked chicken legs, meat removed from bone (£2.80/2)=(£1.40)
• ▢ 2 green chillies, thinly sliced (£0.50)
• ▢ 2 onions, thinly sliced (£0.25)
• ▢ 1 green pepper, thinly sliced (£0.55)
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic £0.39
• ▢ 1 can chickpeas (£0.45)
• ▢ 100 g spinach (£1.25/2)=(£0.63)
• ▢ 250 g cooked rice (£0.52/4)=(£0.13)
• ▢ 45 g fresh coriander (£0.55)
• ▢ 30 g fresh parsley, reserve a sprinkle for garnish (£0.60)
• ▢ 1 lime, sliced into wedges to serve (£0.25)

Cupboard Essentials

• ▢ 1.2 litre chicken stock (2 stock cubes)
• ▢ 1 tbsp olive oil OR chicken fat
• ▢ Salt & Pepper

Method

• Start by adding the olive oil (or chicken fat rendered from cooked chicken legs), onion, green pepper and green chillies into a large saucepan, reserving a few slices of chili for garnish. Season generously with salt and pepper and fry over a medium/low heat for 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic into the pan to cook for 2 minutes before adding the stock into the pan. Pour a ladle of the stock into a blender cup, along with the coriander, parsley and spinach. Blend until smooth.
• Pour the green blended mix into your saucepan and stir to combine. Add the chickpeas, cooked rice and cooked chicken. Stir to combine and season to taste.
• Serve up and finish with a wedge of lime, a sprinkle of reserved parsley, chilies and a crack of black pepper. Enjoy!

Notes

• Incorporate cream cheese or sour cream into the broth for a creamy texture, adding it off the heat before combining with chicken, rice, and beans.
• Refrigerate the soup overnight before consumption for enhanced taste, allowing flavours to meld and intensify.
• Utilise pre-cooked chicken and rice to speed up the cooking process, facilitating faster preparation, especially useful for Instant Pot or Crockpot cooking methods.

Nutrition

Servings: 4 servings

Fat: 16g

Calories: 558kcal

Carbohydrates: 69g

Protein: 26g