we eat | chicken + quinoa enchilada soup

the weather is finally FINALLY starting to cool down here- we barely hit 70 over the weekend and even though it was a bit gloomy it was a welcome relief from the 90s and 100s we’ve been hitting for the last 6 months or so.  it was also perfect weather for soup!  thats right, more soup. I committed to making a different soup every week throughout the fall season, so here we are, week number two and I’m keeping up with my commitment.

I can’t make any promises, but this kind of commitment (with food), particularly warm fall inspired food, is easy for me.  we usually eat taco soup all season and the enchilada twist to this hearty soup was a nice change!

this enchilada soup is an easy one to make stove top (which is what I did) or you could throw it into the crock pot- PLUS nearly all the ingredients I usually have on hand anyway- even the bell pepper.  Jo eats bell pepper like an apple and requests it at lunch or dinner or both, so I’ve got that in my fridge most of the time.

you can go ahead and add this to your weeknight meal rotation because start to finish it took me less than 30 minutes to make.  I love this soup topped with a little plain greek yogurt (or sour cream!), avocado, and tortilla strips! the hubby loved it, too!  when he got up for a second bowl I knew this one was a keeper:)

chicken + quinoa enchilada soup

adapted from carlsbad cravings 

ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound chicken breasts, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 large zucchini, sliced
  • 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • chicken bouillon cube
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 3/4 cup quinoa, uncooked
  • 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed + drained
  • 2 (4 oz.) can mild diced green chilies
  • 1 (14 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
  • 7 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 cup freshly grated pepper jack cheese
    optional garnish
    • tortilla chips/strips
    • fresh cilantro
    • plain greek yogurt (or sour cream)
    • sliced avocado
    • chopped tomatoes
    • hot sauce to taste

    directions

  1. heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large dutch oven/soup pot. add chicken and onions and sauté until onion starts to soften
  2. add bell peppers, zucchini, garlic, flour and seasonings. cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes making sure to coat the veggies and chicken in the flour/seasoning mixture.
  3. stir in quinoa, black beans, green chilies, crushed tomatoes and 6 cups chicken broth. mix cornstarch with last cup chicken broth and add to soup. bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer on medium low, stirring occasionally, for 8-12 minutes or until rice is cooked.
  4. remove from heat and stir in cheese. garnish individual servings with desired toppings.

October 4, 2017

  1. Christine says:

    I love the new look of your blog! I made this soup last night! Two things, you mention a chicken bouillon cube in the ingredient list, but didn’t say when to add it (i put it with rest of seasonings). And in the directions you said melt butter into oil, but you didn’t say how much butter! I read it twice, i hope I didn’t miss them! Anyway, the soup did not look like yours (haha), but was delicious!! Super impressed and will be making it again!!

    • amber says:

      So glad you liked it, Christine! I believe the original recipe called for butter but I didn’t include it in mine. I must have left it awn accident when making edits after copying the original recipe to my blog. I apologize for that confusion! I did, however, rope to the bullion into “seasonings” in the directions. I’ve corrected it 🙂

  2. Anne says:

    Do you fully cook the chicken before you add the broth? Trying this tonight!

    • amber says:

      Hey Anne! The chicken will actually continue to cook in the broth mixture as it simmers. The pieces are cut small enough that you won’t have to worry about it not being completely cooked when you’re adding the broth in. It will be fully cooked through by the time the soup is ready! I hope you love it!