Southwestern Chicken Quinoa Soup

This is by far one of my favorite recipes. Not only because it’s delicious but because it’s incredibly easy to make, it’s cost effective and it’s perfect for meal prepping! This recipe makes a very large amount but the good thing is it tastes just as good reheated which makes it perfect for lunches throughout the week! This is a hearty soup that is packed with flavor and is ideal for these chilly nights. Speaking of chillier nights, I’m hoping for cooler temperatures here in Charleston soon..  the weather hasn’t really decided what it wants to do. Just before Thanksgiving it was starting to cool down to the low 60’s during the day and it was PERFECT. This week it’s decided it wants to go back up in the high 70’s.. just as I finished decorating for Christmas. I am totally a sweater weather person around the holidays. Something about it being T-shirt weather when Christmas music is playing just bothers me. 

I guess I should address the fact that I didn’t do my second blog post last week that I said I would do. If you read my post last week on the paleo pumpkin pie, I stated that I would post another recipe right before Thanksgiving with some kind of brussel sprout recipe. Well here’s the thing.. I did in fact try out a brussel sprouts gratin recipe early last week in hopes that it would be the best dish ever but unfortunately that just wasn’t the case. I realized right before making the dish that I didn’t really have the right kind of cheese I wanted so instead of going back out to the store I used what we did have and I found out that was a bad idea. I used some kind of Italian cheese blend hoping that would be just as good but it definitely was not. So instead of posting a lousy recipe in which I was lazy and used the wrong cheese, I figured it’s probably best to just not do the post. With that being said, I am going to give the recipe a go again and this time with the right cheese and hopefully then I will be able to write about it how delicious it was! 

Until then, please enjoy this delicious recipe 🙂 And PLEASE let me know what you think in the comments!

Southwestern Chicken Quinoa Soup
Serves 8
Flavorful, hearty soup perfect for the cooler weather
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Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
6 hr 20 min
Total Time
6 hr 40 min
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
6 hr 20 min
Total Time
6 hr 40 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 tbsp olive oil
  2. 1 can petite diced tomatoes with green chilies
  3. 1 yellow onion, diced
  4. 4 cloves garlic, minced
  5. 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  6. 1/2 cup quinoa
  7. 2 1/2 tsp chili powder
  8. 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  9. 3/4 tsp paprika
  10. 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  11. 1 tsp salt
  12. 1 tsp pepper
  13. 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
  14. 1 can low-sodium black beans
  15. 1 can yellow corn
  16. 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
  17. 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped and more for serving
  18. Shredded cheese (optional)
  19. Sliced avocado (optional)
Dutch Oven Instructions
  1. Place dutch oven on stove over medium-high heat. Drizzle bottom of pan with olive oil and saute the onions and garlic first and then add the tomatoes.
  2. Once these ingredients are lightly sauteed, add the chicken broth, quinoa and all of the spices. Mix well.
  3. Add the chicken breasts to the pot then cover with the lid and leave on the stove over medium heat for about 2 hours or until internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees.
  4. Remove the chicken from the pot and shred. Then add the shredded chicken back to the pot.
  5. Add the black beans, corn, cilantro and lime juice and mix well. Allow to cook another 20 minutes or until heated throughout.
  6. Serve in bowls and top with shredded cheese, avocado and more fresh cilantro.
Crockpot Instructions
  1. Combine the first 12 ingredients in the crockpot.
  2. Then add the chicken breasts and cover with the lid.
  3. Cook on low for 6 hours or until chicken is done (internal temperature reaches 165 degrees)
  4. Remove the chicken, shred it, and put it back in the crockpot.
  5. Add the black beans, corn, cilantro and lime juice and mix well. Allow to cook another 20 minutes or until heated throughout.
  6. Serve in bowls and top with shredded cheese, avocado and more fresh cilantro.
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