This is a super easy to make soup that has always been a “go to” for me when we want a comfort food! You can go as “from scratch” as you want, making your own broth, using veggies from the garden, and cooking your own black beans!
I personally tend to go somewhere in between, using garden veggies when I have them (I did for this batch), and made my own black beans because I totally forgot to grab a can of organic ones at the store! So, semi-homemade is fine too – as long as you are using organic ingredients! (You can even buy a soup starter like this one as a shortcut!)
Another thing I love about this soup is you can really just make it your own, and change it up to what your family prefers. Spicy, not spicy. More veggies, less veggies. More tomato base, or more chicken stock base. You will see many varieties of this soup if you search. My original recipe had hominy in it, but I have had a hard time finding an organic hominy, and corn that’s not organic is not happening in my house!
Of course, naturally, in this picture I forgot to show the tortilla chips! But, that’s okay because you can eat it with or without them if you are avoiding corn as well. When I use them, I like Que Pasa brand the best, but any organic tortilla chip will work. Other toppings can include chives, cilantro and avocado. If you eat cheese, you can cut up little squares of a good white Mexican cheese to melt in the soup or just top with shredded pepper jack.
This soup works really well to put away for leftovers! So – if you are a planner – it’s a great one to add to the meal plan.
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 large zucchini, thickly sliced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 tbsp. ghee (optional)
- 1-2 tsp. red chili powder (depending on how spicy you prefer)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or a couple sprigs of fresh
- Small amount of diced tomato - optional
- 1 jar crushed tomatoes (as much or as little as you'd prefer)
- 1 32 oz container (or two small) Pacific chicken stock/chicken bone broth
- Water (I just fill the chicken stock container up and pour it in)
- 3/4 cup corn kernels (I use organic, frozen corn)
- 1 4 oz can chopped green chiles
- 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained (use all or part of the can or fresh - to preference)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1.5 lbs chicken cut into bite sized pieces (thigh meat works best with this soup)
- Himalayan Salt & Black Pepper to taste
- Fresh chives
- Organic tortilla chips, crushed up to smaller pieces
- Fresh cilantro
- Shredded pepper jack cheese or white mexican cheese
- Avocado
- In a large stock pot, add oils and saute onion, celery, and carrots until onion is caramelized. Add garlic and saute a couple minutes longer. Stir in chili powder, oregano, crushed tomatoes, broth and water. Add chicken. Let simmer about 10 minutes, then add your corn, chilies, beans and cilantro. Let simmer at least another 10 minutes. After dishing out, add whatever toppings you prefer.
- Again, this is a versatile dish that you can change up according to your diet and your family preference. It cooks fairly quick, but of course the longer is simmers on a lower heat, the more time the flavors can meld. It's always even better the next time you heat it up! 🙂
