I challenged myself to come up with more ways to use leftover chicken. Since there is just myself and my hubby in our household now, a whole chicken can be stretched to four meals. We eat our favorite parts of the chicken the first night and then… leftovers. In this series, I will share three options to use up your leftover chicken.
Over the years I’ve created many dishes with leftover chicken including Chicken Salad With Flair (which has several links to other leftover chicken recipes), Lazy Day Chicken Cacciatore, White Bean Chicken and Pasta, and Chicken Fried Rice.
Now I’m looking for new ways to use leftover chicken. So, I’m creating three new recipes, this nacho soup is first in the series.
An old standby comfort food is chicken soup. I’ve made it many times, however, I wanted to create a jazzier version, spicy maybe, something that would make my taste buds sit up and pay attention. And a recipe that makes good use of pantry staples.
So here we go with this “Nacho” version of chicken soup.
There is very little prep to this soup. Other than chopped onion and garlic and shredding the chicken, the rest of the ingredients are from a can (or frozen) so just dump and stir.
Just look at all that nutritious goodness!
Broth added. Depending on how brothy you like your soup, you can adjust when adding the chicken stock. I put in 4 cups and wish I had only put in 3 because I like most soups thicken or creamier. However, this version turned out great and hubby liked it.
Adding the cream at the end tones down the spiciness of this soup and gives it a rich flavor.
I really like this soup because it is loaded with vegetables and chicken. I made my own “tortillas” from the flatbread recipe posted in this blog.
Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of this Leftover Chicken Challenge Series.
Serves 8
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
- 1 cup white onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
- 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted or your favorite)
- 1 (15 oz) can corn (or frozen equivalent)*
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained & rinsed
- 3 cups chicken broth (4 cups if you want it soupier)
- 3/4 cup cream
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- tortilla chips
- fresh cilantro
- tomato, chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large pot. Add onion and cook until translucent (about 6 minutes).
- Add spices to the pot to heat up: garlic, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne. Cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
- Pour in fire-roasted tomatoes, corn, black beans and chicken, stirring to combine. Pour chicken broth over chicken and vegetables.
- Simmer and let cook 15-30 minutes. Stir in cream.
- Before serving, sprinkle the soup with cheese - it will melt in the hot soup. Garnish with sour cream, tortilla chips, cilantro and tomatoes.
Notes
* I used frozen corn from our summer corn fest.
Nutrition