Chicken Verde Soup

This Chicken Verde Soup is one of those soups that warms you from the inside out. It’s slightly spicy from a jar of store-bought salsa verde and packed with onion, garlic, hints of cumin, and oregano. Heartiness comes in the form of shredded chicken, starchy hominy, and white beans. Bonus? It comes together in 30 minutes!

Chicken Verde Soup

If there were ever a soup that…

• Warmed you from the inside out.
• Had the perfect amount of heartiness, but left you feeling light and free.
• Managed to hit the perfect balance between spicy, tangy and salty.

It would be this Chicken Verde Soup. 

Have you ever tried chicken verde soup before? Basically it’s like a spicy green salsa, in soup form. But with all kinds of yummy additions like starch hominy, creamy white beans and tender chicken. There’s also a gaggle full of warm spices, most prominently cumin for it’s smokiness. Smokiness that compliments the salsa verde and hominy perfectly.

A squeeze of lime juice before serving, a few thin slices of jalapeño, and a touch of cilantro make this spicy chicken verde soup complete. 

I’d compare it to a more  brothy and tangy version of this Chicken Chili or this Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup. 

Ingredients in Chicken Verde Soup

The broth

Olive oil. Onion and garlic. No matter what cuisine I’m cooking, olive oil, onion, and garlic are what I start 99% of my soups with. 

Flour. Adding flour is optional here. I like that it adds just a touch of heft to the soup, but you can certainly leave it out if you like a more brothy soup. 

Spices. Ground cumin, coriander, and dried oregano is the perfect spice trip to compliment the flavors in the salsa verde. I always tend to go a little aggressive on the cumin side because I adore the smokiness it adds to dishes, if that’s not your thing, scale by a half a teaspoon or so. 

Chicken Stock. Use low-sodium chicken broth or stock so you can control the amount of salt that goes into the soup. 

Salsa verde. I had grand plans of roasting a bunch of garlic, onions, tomatillos, and jalapeños and making my own salsa verde for the chicken verde soup. And then life happened, and I needed a shortcut. I’m guessing you guys will appreciate it as well. This is the brand I picked up. It’s the perfect blend of spicy, tart, and salty. 

The bulk

White Beans. In addition to the flour, white beans help to thicken the chicken verde soup up just a little bit. They add a creamy element without adding cream, which I always love. And of course, I just adore the taste and texture of white beans in a tex-mex style soup. 

Hominy. You may be asking, What is hominy? Well, if you haven’t had the pleasure of trying hominy yet, you’re in for a treat. Hominy looks  and tastes similar to corn, and is indeed a derivative of corn. However, the difference between hominy and corn is hominy is processed in a special lime solution so that is puffs up and becomes a bit more soft and starchy than corn. The texture is almost a hybrid between a kernel of corn and a bean, and I just can’t get enough of the stuff. 

It does have a semi-high carb concentration, but it also has a ton of fiber, which is going to keep you full longer. I’d call that a win. 

Greek yogurt. Like a lot of my soups, I like to stir in a little bit of plain Greek yogurt at the end to add another element of tanginess and creaminess to the chicken verde soup. 

How to make Chicken Verde Soup

Sweat the onion and garlic. Heat a large stock pot or dutch oven to a medium-low heat. Add olive oil, onion, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sweat the veggies until slightly softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, and oregano. Continue to sweat another 1-2 minutes.

Stir in flour. If you’re using flour, stir it in and cook for a minutes or so to cook out the raw taste of the flour. 

Chicken Verde Soup

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 25 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total: 35 minutes minutes

• Pin It

Print Rate Email

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

6 people

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 cup diced onion
• ▢ 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• ▢ 3/4 tsp salt, divided
• ▢ 2 tbsp flour (optional)
• ▢ 1 tbsp ground cumin
• ▢ 1/2 tsp ground corriander
• ▢ 1 tsp oregano
• ▢ 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• ▢ 16 oz jarred salsa verde
• ▢ 1 cup shredded chicken
• ▢ 14.5 oz can hominy, drained
• ▢ 14.5 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
• ▢ 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• ▢ lime, avocado, and cilantro

Equipment

• stock pot

Instructions

• Heat a large stock pot or dutch oven to a medium-low heat. Add olive oil, onion, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sweat the veggies until slightly softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, and oregano. Continue to sweat another 1-2 minutes. Stir in flour. Cook for one minute.
• Whisk in chicken stock. Pour in salsa, chicken, hominy, white beans, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until soup is slightly thickened and beans are soft. Stir in greek yogurt. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a squeeze of lime, avocado, and cilantro.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 283kcal (14%), Carbohydrates: 38g (13%), Protein: 19g (38%), Fat: 6g (9%), Saturated Fat: 1g (6%), Cholesterol: 18mg (6%), Sodium: 1165mg (51%), Potassium: 802mg (23%), Fiber: 6g (25%), Sugar: 9g (10%), Vitamin A: 485IU (10%), Vitamin C: 5mg (6%), Calcium: 122mg (12%), Iron: 4mg (22%)

© Author: Nicole