Sopa Ranchera, a Ranch Style Chicken Soup is hearty and healthy with potatoes, savory with chicken breast and brimming with Mexican spices. A flavorful bowl of Southwestern goodness for when you need a healthy clean-eating soup recipe.
We’ve been eating like Lumberjacks. It started sometime in mid-September. The calorie and fat flood gates were opened and it’s been a steady river of deliciousness since. Its come to a screeching hault as of yesterday. It’s time to take a break and eat clean and healthy over the next couple of weeks, so that the Holiday food gluteney be welcomed with confidence and cheer.
The easiest way for us to eat clean without skimping on flavor is a big bowl of soup. Lots of broth, lots of vegetables and lean meats make for a satisfying meal. Here’s a recipe that I found in the January 1999 issue of Cooking Light Magazine and it’s been one of our favorites over the years.
This Sopa Pollo, or Sopa Ranchera recipe, hearty with potatoes, corn, zucchini and chicken breast and seasoned with cumin, Mexican oregano and cilantro, is a flavorful bowl of soup. Don’t forget a squeeze of lime just before serving. You’ll love a kick of zesty citrus to finish the dish.
Recipe for Sopa Ranchera, A Ranch Style Chicken Soup
I hope you give this hearty ranch style chicken soup recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating.
Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a favorite hearty chicken soup recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
Sopa Ranchera, Ranch Style Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small sweet onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano dried
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 6 Cups chicken stock
- 1 1/2 C potatoes cubed
- 1 15 ounce can chickpeas drained
- 2 Cups chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- 1 15 1/2 ounce can yellow corn or 1 cup frozen
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 small zucchini quartered lengthwise and and cubed
- 1 15 /12 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1/3 Cup chopped fresh cilantro
- toppings:
- sour cream
- finely chopped onion
- chopped fresh cilantro
- sour cream
- shredded cheese
- limes wedges
Instructions
- In a saucepan, cover the cubed potatoes with water. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté 3 minutes. Add oregano, cumin, and garlic; sauté until fragrant. Add the potatoes and the cooking water, chicken stock to equal 6 cups liquid, and chickpeas; bring to a boil, and cook 5 minutes. Add chicken, corn, salt, and zucchini; cook 5 minutes. Stir in tomato and cilantro; cook 2 minutes.
- Ladle soup into bowls, and top with 1 finely chopped onion, cilantro, 1 tablespoon sour cream, and shredded cheese. Serve with lime wedges.
Nutrition
Looking for more Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe Ideas? Take a look at:
Rotisserie Chicken Soup with Lime and Hominy
Sopa Ranchera Mexican Chicken Soup …It’s What’s for Dinner.
Good basic recipe but I make some adjustments to the original recipe to intensify the flavors. It is one of my favorites! I always get compliments on it!
Hi Judy. And thanks so much for your note. This soup recipe is one of our favorites also. What adjustments did you make? Always looking to switch up flavors.
We love this hearty soup.. I’ve made it several times, but without the zucchini, hubby won’t eat it. A while back Lea Ann did a post about hominy, which we love, and she suggested replacing the corn in this recipe with it. So I always add a can of hominy and we love the flavor and texture it brings. I also use Hunts Fire Roasted diced tomatoes instead of regular diced for a more smoky flavor. This soup is a big winner in our house, I just made it again yesterday, thanks Lea Ann!
Just found this recipe. Looks to have all our favorite ingredients. Am sure it’s a 5 *****.
Is 103 in Ft. Worth, TX, today. But may make the soup later in the week when it’s in the 90’s 🙂
Oh, and being an OKIE from Stillwater, Oklahoma – Pottery Company? FRANKHOMA.
Always look forward to your Sunday Morning greetings.
Hi Mary Jo! Thanks so much for your note. And I hear-ya about those temps. We’ve been above 90’s even here in Denver. I’m one of those odd people who can eat soup anytime of year. But I agree, 90’s would be would make more sense. 🙂 This is one of our favorite soup recipes. Let me know what you think once you make it. Thanks for the compliment about my Sunday Emails. I enjoy creating them as well. My mom collected that Frankhoma pottery. I was so thrilled to inherit it when she passed. Love that pottery. Make it a delicious week.