Low Calorie Southwestern Chicken Soup (2024)

Packed with flavor, this low caloriesouthwestern chicken soup recipehas been afamily favoritein my house for 2 decades! With less than 10 ingredients, this simple soup is sure to become a staple in your house too.

Thissouthwestern chicken soup recipeis 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 abig batchand portion any extra soup into airtight containers to put in the freezer for aneasy mealanother day.

With less than 10pantry ingredients, there is a lot to love about this healthy gluten-free, dairy-free soup recipe with a bit of kick and packed withsouthwestern 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 aneasy weeknight dinner, fall football party, or for a holiday get-together with friends or family. Served with shredded cheese, sour cream, sliced jalapeños andtortilla chips – it is hearty enough to be a meal.

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Table of contents

  • Ingredients You’ll Need
  • Variations
  • Tools For This Recipe
  • How To Make Southwestern Chicken Soup
  • How Many Carbs are in Southwestern Chicken Soup?
  • Storing, Freezing, and Reheating
  • How to Make Your Own Healthy Shredded Chicken
  • Other HealthySoup Recipesto Try

Ingredients You’ll Need

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  • 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 shreddedrotisserie chickenadd tons of protein to this low calorie soup recipe. You can also use 1 lb of cooked boneless, skinlessleftoverchickenbreastsif you’d prefer. If you don’t have acan of black beans, you can swap forpinto 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 slicedbell 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 withfresh cilantro, shredded cheese, sour cream,tortilla chips, sliced jalapeño pepper,green onions, orlime 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 yogurtis 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.
  • Large potordutch oven
  • Chicken shredding tool
  • Measuring cup
  • Measuring spoons
  • Freezer storage containers

AveFare Pro Chicken Shredder,

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How To Make Southwestern Chicken Soup

Low Calorie Southwestern Chicken Soup (12)
  • Bloom the spices: wake up the flavors in your dried spices by sauteing them in ½ cup of the broth overmedium-high heaton the stove in alarge potordutch oven.
  • Simmer: stir in the pumpkin, broth, and therest 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 oflime 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.

Low Calorie Southwestern Chicken Soup (13)

Storing, Freezing, and Reheating

  • To Store: leftover soup can be stored in anairtight containerin the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
  • To Freeze: store cooled soup in individual airtight containers or afreezer bagfor 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 overmedium heatuntil 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 favoritechicken 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!

Other HealthySoup Recipesto Try

  • Roasted Sweet Potato Soup
  • Detox Vegetable Soup
  • Golden Turmeric Chickpea Chicken Soup

Low Calorie Southwestern Chicken Soup (14)Loading...

Low Calorie Southwestern Chicken Soup (2024)
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