Healthy Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe

Our favorite chicken soup recipe is based on ingredients we grow here on our homestead, including our homegrown chickens, roasted tomatoes, peppers, onions, leeks and garlic. We sometimes mix it up with beans, olives or corn. This Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe is delicious served with sour cream and a handful of organic corn chips or a side of homegrown cornbread!

The recipe makes a large pot of soup, enough for a large family with leftovers. For canning, I double the recipe. This is one that I fill our pantry shelves with every year!

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Chicken for Your Soup

You have some options when it comes to the chicken for this recipe!

You can use whole chickens, chicken backs, or any cut of boneless chicken with store bought broth.

We normally cut up the chickens we raise. For soup we use the backs and wing tips, adding a few chicken breasts for additional meat since the backs aren’t very meaty. You can purchase organic chicken backs from Azure.

Roasted Tomatoes

The tomatoes for this recipe don’t have to be roasted, but we find it adds so much richness to the flavor!

Roast your tomatoes by slicing them in half, placing in a casserole dish and baking at 300°F for two hours. Remove the roasted tomatoes from the pan with a slotted spoon, discarding the liquid. Optionally, the tomatoes can be pureed after roasting. This can be done ahead of time and the roasted tomatoes frozen until you are ready to make soup.

Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe

• 2 whole chickens OR 5 chicken backs with 1lb chicken breasts OR 2 quarts chicken broth plus 2lbs boneless chicken
• Water
• 10 cups roasted tomatoes
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups chopped bell peppers
• hot peppers to taste, finely chopped or a pinch of cayenne
• 1 bulb garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro or 2 T dried cilantro
• 1 cup lime juice
• 1 – 2 T sea salt, to taste
• Optional ingredients: beans, corn, olives

For boneless chicken with store bought broth, you can skip this step. If you are using whole chicken or chicken backs, wash the meat and pack down in a large stock pot, covering with water. Simmer at a low boil until the meat falls off the bone. Remove the meat and bones and let cool slightly. Debone the meat and add it back into the broth, discarding the bones.

If you are starting with boneless chicken and broth, simmer the chicken in the broth until fully cooked. Remove and chop the meat into bite sized chunks.

To the pot with chicken and broth, add roasted tomatoes, onions, leeks, bell peppers, hot peppers or cayenne, garlic, cilantro and lime. Bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are tender. Add salt to taste.

Your Mexican Chicken Soup is ready to serve!

Canning Mexican Chicken Soup

For canning, I normally double the recipe, using two stock pots. Use a funnel to ladle the hot soup into clean jars, leaving 1″ head space.

Bring lids to a boil in a pot of water on the stove.

Wipe jar rims with a paper towel dipped in vinegar (this removes any grease so the jar will seal!). Screw lids on as tight as you can using just your fingers (don’t use your whole hand to wrench on it!).

Pressure can according to your canner directions. Pints should be canned for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes using the appropriate pressure for your elevation.

 I hope you enjoy our Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe!