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Packed with flavor, this low calorie southwestern chicken soup recipe has been a family favorite in my house for 2 decades! With less than 10 ingredients, this simple soup is sure to become a staple in your house too.
This southwestern chicken soup recipe is low-cal, easy to make, and a great way to sneak vegetables and fiber into your diet. This soup is in heavy rotation in my household. I often double the recipe to make a big batch and portion any extra soup into airtight containers to put in the freezer for an easy meal another day.
With less than 10 pantry ingredients, there is a lot to love about this healthy gluten-free, dairy-free soup recipe with a bit of kick and packed with southwestern flavors. It’s also kid-friendly too! In fact, this recipe has been a favorite at my house with my kids for two decades!
Make this for an easy weeknight dinner, fall football party, or for a holiday get-together with friends or family. Served with shredded cheese, sour cream, sliced jalapeños and tortilla chips – it is hearty enough to be a meal.
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Table of contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Spices: you’ll need garlic, chili powder, and cumin for this soup. We found this combination of spices gives this soup a spicy, warming flavor that will have you going back for seconds.
- Protein: black beans and shredded rotisserie chicken add tons of protein to this low calorie soup recipe. You can also use 1 lb of cooked boneless, skinless leftover chicken breasts if you’d prefer. If you don’t have a can of black beans, you can swap for pinto beans.
- Vegetables: we like to add canned pumpkin and corn but you can add others if you’re trying to sneak some more vegetables into your diet. We also love adding: shredded zucchini, diced onion, and sliced bell pepper.
- Canned Pumpkin: The canned pumpkin is the secret ingredient for this southwestern chicken soup. It adds so much creaminess and nutrients, but you don’t taste any pumpkin flavor.
- Toppings: try topping this soup with fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, sliced jalapeño pepper, green onions, or lime wedges. Some of these will up the calorie count of your dish, so add them sparingly if you’re trying to keep this meal low-calorie. Greek yogurt is a good substitute for sour cream.
Variations
- Make it Vegan: use vegetable broth and omit the chicken. For extra protein, you can double the black beans or add some chickpeas.
- Make it Paleo or Whole30: to make this soup paleo or Whole30 friendly, omit the black beans and corn.
Tools For This Recipe
- Large pot or dutch oven
- Chicken shredding tool
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Freezer storage containers
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How To Make Southwestern Chicken Soup
- Bloom the spices: wake up the flavors in your dried spices by sauteing them in ½ cup of the broth over medium-high heat on the stove in a large pot or dutch oven.
- Simmer: stir in the pumpkin, broth, and the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Serve: serve this simple and delicious southwest soup recipe with your favorite toppings like shredded cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, and cilantro. You could also add a squeeze of lime juice.
How Many Carbs are in Southwestern Chicken Soup?
A bowl of this low cal chicken soup has 34 grams of carbohydrates, but only 19 net grams of carbohydrates since a bowl packs 15 grams of fiber. If you want to make a lower carb version, omit the corn and the black beans.
Storing, Freezing, and Reheating
- To Store: leftover soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- To Freeze: store cooled soup in individual airtight containers or a freezer bag for up to 4-6 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Reheating: you can reheat this soup on the stovetop by adding to a saucepan over medium heat until warmed through. You can also reheat in the microwave, stopping every 1 minute to stir until hot.
How to Make Your Own Healthy Shredded Chicken
- Step 1: Place chicken breast or chicken thighs in a pot. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 2: Cover with water (or chicken broth if preferred) to a level about an inch higher than the chicken.
- Step 3: Bring to a low simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes.
- Step 4: Check for doneness by inserting a meat thermometer. Chicken is cooked at 165 degrees.
- Step 5: Remove chicken from water and shred. This can be done by using two forks to pull it apart, or by using my favorite chicken shredding tool. It’s been a huge time saver for me!
Making your own shredded chicken gives you the perfect healthy base for the week. Try any of these shredded chicken recipes to mix up your lunch or dinner routine!
Low Calorie Southwestern Chicken Soup
Equipment
- Large pot or dutch oven
- Chicken shredding tool
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Freezer storage containers
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 4 cups chicken, or vegetable broth
- 1 15- ounce can pure pumpkin
- 1 15- ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 16- ounce jar salsa
- 2-3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
Optional Toppings
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream
- Tortilla chips
- Sliced jalapeño
Instructions
- Mix garlic and spices with 1/4 cup broth and bring to medium heat on the stove.
- Add the rest of the broth and bring to a simmer.
- Add pumpkin and mix well.
- Add remaining ingredients, stir and bring soup to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with toppings.
Great recipe – my family loved this! The only thing I did differently was to cook the pumpkin, spices and garlic together for about 5 minutes over medium heat. It gets rid of the “tinny” taste of the pumpkin and allows the spices to bloom. I loved how creamy the pumpkin made this soup; it wasn’t watery like most lowfat chicken soups. Thanks!!
This looks great, but does it have a pumpkin taste to it, or does that just add texture and creaminess? I’m selective about what I like the taste of pumpkin in, and can’t picture it in this kind of soup.
It just thickens the soup, you really can’t taste the pumpkin at all!
i made tonight, and it was fabulous, simple, fast, and filling, used low fat taco shredded cheese as a topper, and just a few tortilla chips .Thank You Chris, please keep them coming
Delicious, right?
Amazing recipe, we made this in my Intro into Cooking class in high school yesterday, everyone in my group loved it. Everyone thought that the pumpkin would give it a “weird” taste to it, but it didn’t. I told my mom about it when i got home and ask my teacher to send me the link, so tonight she gets to try it out. Once again, great recipe keep up the good work
Definitely a family favorite in our house!
Looks amazing! Are the nutritionals available? Thank you!
I just made this soup…delicious. I put the chicken stock and the pumpkin in the vitamix to blend it well – made it perfect! Flavor and texture – amazing!
Has anyone ever made this soup in the crockpot?
Also curious about this soup in the crockpot!
Love this soup not only because it’s healthy but also because it is easy and delicious!
Can you leave out the black beans?
Sure!