This chicken poblano soup is bright with lime juice, savory with tender chicken, Southwestern in nature with hominy and lively spices. A hearty soup that’s fresh, tasty and very weeknight friendly. Let’s take a look.
We make a lot of soups here on the Ranch, and this chicken poblano soup recipe is one of our favorites. The flavor, the overall texture and the fact that it’s easy are just a few of the reasons.
Here’s Why You’re Going To Love This Soup
- It’s easy. Once the roasting, chopping and shredding is complete, this poblano chicken soup recipe is on the table in a jiff. In about 45 minutes, you’ve got a delicious Southwestern soup that the whole family will love.
- If you’re a hominy fan, you’ll really like this recipe. The texture it brings to the soup is superb.
- It’s healthy. Low carb, lean protein, vitamins from the lime juice and peppers = yes please.
- It’s a good-looking soup. Adding turmeric brings a lovely healthy glow to the overall appearance.
- And the best part of all, the flavor is simply outstanding.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Shredded Chicken: To make this chicken poblano soup even easier, use shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken. Shred both dark and light meat. Or you can use shredded chicken from two cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- Chicken Broth: Use regular or low sodium.
- Hominy: Use canned, frozen or dried. You’ll find instructions below if using frozen or dried.
- Poblano Peppers: Roasted and chopped.
- Cotija Cheese: A Mexican crumbling cheese.
- Limes: Fresh squeezed for the juice.
- Jalapeno Pepper: Seeded, veins removed and chopped.
- Sweet Onion: Chopped.
- Spices: Dried thyme, dried Mexican Oregano and Turmeric.
Ingredients Swaps and Subs
- Cheese: If you can’t find Mexican Cotija cheese, purchase feta cheese. It is similar in texture and flavor to Cotija.
- Mexican Oregano: One might assume that you can simply switch out regular (Mediterranean) oregano for Mexican Oregano. Mexican oregano is different in flavor that it has a grassy and citrus note, which compliments Mexican food, compared to the sweeter and anise flavors of Mediterranean oregano. The fact is that Marjoram is more similar to Mexican Oregano. Marjoram follows suite with the citrus flavor notes.
- Jalapeno Pepper: If you feel that a jalapeno pepper is just too hot, use an Anaheim pepper instead.
Pro Tip – About Pozole (Hominy)
Using canned hominy will make this recipe a very easy fix. However, if you can find frozen posole I urge you to purchase a couple of bags and keep a stash in the freezer. Especially if you’re a fan of any soup with hominy. It will elevate your experience.
Frozen pozole doesn’t have to be soaked ahead of time. For this recipe, using a three-quart saucepan, add enough water to cover the pozole by a couple of inches. No need to thaw it first. Bring it to a simmer and cook until tender, about two hours. Then proceed with the recipe. The texture of frozen is far superior to canned.
You can also use dried posole, found on the Mexican food aisle at the grocery store. but plan ahead as you’ll need to soak the dried pozole overnight. And then cook it stovetop until tender. Again, add enough water to cover the dried hominy by about two inches. Soak overnight. The dried pozole will soak up some of the water, so the next morning add more water to cover again to two inches and then simmer for about three hours, or until tender. Drain and proceed with recipe.
Note: If using dried or frozen hominy, you may need to add more chicken broth to this recipe. These varieties can soak up a lot liquid even after they’re cooked.
Step by Step Instructions
- Step 1: Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Once the pot is hot, add a couple tablespoons of neutral oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the medium dice chopped onion. Cook, stirring frequently for about five minutes. Add the chopped jalapeno pepper and cook until fragrant. About one minute.
- Step 2: Add the roasted chopped poblano peppers, broth, the canned or cooked hominy and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and then cover and simmer for about five minutes. Stir occasionally.
Step 3: Add shredded chicken to simmering soup and let it cook about five minutes. Stir in the lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls, top with the cheese, and serve immediately. For any Mexican soup, I like to lightly crush tortilla chips and sprinkle over the soup, or a tasty little crunch. Fresh cilantro is always a welcome topping and is a good twist of freshly ground pepper.
PRO-TIP: Hot skillet, cold oil. This mantra is an excellent tip when frying with oil. Heating up a skillet or pan first before adding oil, is a habit to learn. Once the pan is hot, then add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, you can add food. Adding food to sizzling oil, will keep the food from soaking up the oil and becoming soggy. Instead, food hitting hot oil will immediately start to cook creating that crispy outer seal that not only adds flavor but will also keep inner flavor intact and tender. If our instructors in cooking school caught us adding cold oil to a cold skillet, we had to start over. A good way to learn.
Tips and Faqs
Absolutely. Dark meat carries more flavor than chicken breast. Just roast or fry the chicken thighs prior to making this soup. Then cube or shred the meat. Plus chicken thighs are less expensive than chicken breast.
Yes you can. You can prepare this soup in advance and then gently reheat stovetop before serving. Making this a great recipe for entertaining.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate. The soup should last 3 – 4 days. This soup can be frozen and will be good for 3 – 4 months. Again, use an airtight container.
For this recipe we’re roasting the poblano peppers before adding them to the soup. If you have a gas stovetop, place the peppers directly over medium high flame and turn, turn, turn. Using tongs works well here. Once the peppers are charred (not burnt) place them in a plastic zip-loc bag. Don’t seal the bag and let the peppers steam for about ten minutes. Then using your hands (not water) scrape most of the charred skin from the peppers. I like to leave a little skin on for a smoky flavor. You’re ready to chop and peppers and add them to the soup. I have a video on You Tube about roasting poblanos. Check it out. You can also place poblano peppers on a sheet pan and about 5 inches under the broiler. Turn often until charred.
Hominy is made from corn, which is relatively low carb. This soup contains 8 grams of carbs per serving.
Yes! Just place the soup in an air tight container and freeze for up to 2 – 3 months. I like to use a zip-lock freezer bag. It’s easy to push the air out and it lays flat so as not to take up much room in the freezer. Just thaw the soup overnight in the refrigerator before reheating in the microwave or stove-top in a sauce pan.
Poblano peppers are considered to be a mild chile pepper, however once in a while you’ll come across a spicy one. If you simply don’t want to take the chance, substitute a green bell pepper, or a can of mild chile peppers from the Mexican food aise.
Recipe for Chicken Poblano Soup With Hominy
If you’re looking for a Mexican style soup with hominy, I can guarantee you’re going to enjoy this recipe. I hope you give this chicken poblano soup a try.
Serving tip: I love serving this soup in a shallow white dish.
What to serve with Chicken Poblano Soup? A simple tossed salad is always a good choice to keep this a light healthy meal. Topped with blue cheese dressing is always popular or a healthier mustard vinaigrette. BLT Guacamole would be a welcome appetizer served with Paloma Cocktail or Micheladas.
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More Easy Mexican Chicken Soup Recipes
Chicken Poblano Soup With Hominy
Ingredients
- 16 ounces rotisserie chicken meat removed from bones and shredded
- 1 Tablespoon neutral oil canola works good here
- 1 medium sweet onion chopped, about 1 1/2 cups
- 1 jalapeño deveined, deseeded, minced
- 2 poblano peppers roasted, tops and seeds removed and diced
- 4 cups chicken broth If using dried or frozen hominy, you may need additional broth, as these varieties can soak up more liquid, even after cooked.
- 15-ounce can hominy drained. White or yellow hominy
- 1/8 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano crumbled if the leaves are large
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 4 Tablespoons lime juice fresh squeezed
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup cotija or feta cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a 6-quart pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in jalapeño and cook, stirring until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the poblano peppers, broth, hominy, oregano, turmeric, and thyme. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer gently for about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add shredded chicken to simmering soup and let it cook about 5 minutes. stir in the lime juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls, top with the cheese, and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Chicken Poblano Soup … It’s What’s For Dinner
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
I was excited to try this soup recipe and made it as written today. I used frozen posole so I added another cup of chicken broth. That was too much, I made your lime crema and stirred it in at the end to give it a little body. It was really good! I am from southwestern Colorado and I would have liked a bit more heat. I will make this again, but use one or two more jalapenos to get that chile warmth that I crave!
Exciting combo.
This looks great — and a wonderful way to use canned hominy (which I typically use more than the dried). Loads of flavor, nice recipe — thanks.
Well this looks absolutely delicious! I was planning on making a posole this week, but now I need to rethink it. Maybe both because I can never get enough soup. Ha Ha. Love the touch of turmeric.
Hi MJ – I hope you enjoy this soup. It’s most certainly a favorite around here. Let me know.
This sounds delicious and will be added to our soup list.
Let me know what your think.