Spicy Mexican Chicken Soup

instant pot encouraged (not required)

This soup is elite—flavorful, spicy, comforting, and incredibly easy to throw together. It is thick like a chowder minus the dairy, and easily customizable based on the veggies you have on hand. If you’re using an Instant Pot (optional, but a product I highly recommend especially if you don’t plan ahead), you can essentially always have what you need to make this with a few pantry staples and chicken straight out of the freezer—no defrosting needed. It has been a last-minute dinner savior for me many times. It can also be made stovetop!

Adapted from Danielle Walker’s Against All Grain recipe.

Tools:

• Instant Pot, or stockpot/dutch oven

• Blender/Nutri-Bullet

Serves 4-6.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts—fresh or frozen

• 2 cups tomatillo salsa (I like Frontera)

• 4 cups chicken bone broth (I like Bonafide in the frozen section. Kettle & Fire is also a good shelf-stable one)

• 3 cups cubed sweet potatoes—Japanese or regular. You can also sub winter squash. To make it less starchy, use less potato and add cauliflower, broccoli, whatever you have. But I recommend using some starchy/sweet veg in there.

• 1.5 cups chopped carrots

• 2 tsp fresh lime juice

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 cups baby spinach, chopped

• 1/2 tsp salt + more to taste

• garnish: chopped cilantro, diced avocado, plain greek yogurt, shredded sharp cheddar

INSTANT POT STEPS:

1. Pour bone broth in Instant Pot and set to saute mode (helps it come to pressure faster).

2. Add chicken, salsa, sweet potatoes, carrots, veg, lime juice, garlic, and salt to the pot.

3. Secure the lid, and select “soup/broth”, or “pressure cook” if your machine doesn’t have that option. Set to 35 minutes for frozen chicken or 15 minutes for fresh.

4. Once the time is up, release the pressure manually and open the lid.

5. Remove the chicken from the pot and shred on a plate with two forks. Don’t add back into the pot just yet.

6. Using a slotted spoon, scoop ALL BUT 1/2 cup of the veggies into a blender. Blend on high until pureed (~15 seconds), then add back to the pot.

7. Add chicken back into the pot, and add the chopped spinach. Stir to wilt.

8. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with chopped cilantro and diced avocado.

STOVETOP STEPS:

1. Place chicken, broth, salsa, sweet potatoes/carrots/veg, lime juice, garlic, and salt in a stock pot over medium heat.

2. Bring to a boil, then simmer, cover and cook 1 hour on medium-low heat for frozen chicken, 15 minutes for fresh.

3. Remove chicken from pot and shred with 2 forks.

4. Using a slotted spoon, scoop ALL BUT 1/2 cup of the veggies into a blender. Blend on high until pureed (~15 seconds), then add back to the pot.

5. Add back chicken and chopped spinach to the pot. Simmer 5-10 more minutes to wilt spinach. Salt and pepper to taste.

6. Serve hot with chopped cilantro and diced avocado as garnish.

Enjoy!