This budget friendly soup uses a whole chicken and tons of veggies for a spicy, tasty, nourishing meal in a bowl.
February is the month where I want to live off comfort food. Casseroles, slow cooker meals, and soups are my jam in the month of February. Ok, let me be honest; soup is on my menu every week of the year no matter what the month is.
But in February, my body screams "FEED ME SOUP ALL DAY EVERY DAY!"
If you don't believe me, come over and check my fridge & freezer. On second thought, maybe don't do that. You'll likely judge me because I have enough food in there to feed a family of four for at least a month.
For example, I have four whole chickens in my freezer. K, make that had. I had four frozen chickens in my freezer because now I have three chickens plus lots and lots of this Jalapeño Chicken and Potato Soup, and that makes me so happy.
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Knowing that I have homemade, nourishing meals in the freezer makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, just like this soup will make you feel -- all warm and fuzzy.
It's not a hard soup to make, but a whole chicken can make it seem daunting. It does take a little time to make, but this is passive time and really not much work.
Start your soup by boiling the chicken in water. This took me about an hour, but I did lots of other things during that time. You just want to cook your chicken.
Once your chicken is cooked, you'll remove it and take the meat off the bone. Reserve the meat (and you can use the bones to make broth in your slow cooker). Keep that liquid you cooked the chicken in because we'll use it for the soup to help make it even more chickilicious.
While you're letting your chicken cool, you'll toss all your veggies & spices in and let the soup boil until the vegetables are cooked. Then add in the shredded chicken and cook a smidgen longer to make sure everything is hot. Voila! You have one million cups (ok maybe just 12 cups) of soup packed with veggies, lean protein, and just the right amount of heat.
Note: I eat this for a few days then transfer to 2-3 cup containers for freezing. That way I only defrost enough for one to two servings and don't have to defrost the whole batch.
MORE SOUP RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE:
- Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Soup
- Ginger Beef Soup
- Chicken and Rice Soup
- Chicken, Spinach, and Bean Soup
Jalapeño Chicken and Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 12 cups water
- 1 3-4 pound whole chicken
- 2 onions chopped
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 2 jalapenos chopped
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 pound potatoes chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 tablespoon fresh lime juice about 1 lime
Instructions
- Put the water and chicken in a large stock pot. Heat over medium-high until the water boils. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 1 hour, until chicken is done. Carefully remove chicken and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, add onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, and garlic to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well chopped. (Alternate: mince jalapenos and garlic, and dice onions and bell pepper)
- Once the chicken has cooked, transfer the chopped veggies, the chopped potatoes, cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper to cooking liquid in the stock pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes until potatoes are done.
- Meanwhile, remove chicken from the bone and shred. Transfer shredded chicken to the soup once the potatoes are done. Stir in lime juice. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with optional toppings like chopped cilantro, grated cheese, and avocados. Enjoy!
Notes
*Recipe shared on Healthy Aperture
What to use in this recipe:
Meme
Doesn't this recipe look good?! You should probably pin it for later:
Melanie says
I am on a big soup kick right now, and this looks amazing! Off to check out the recipe and pin for later.
Meme says
I think I'm always on a soup kick haha! Thanks for sharing! xo