Spicy Chicken and Cabbage Soup

Spicy cabbage and chicken soup garnished with cilantro and corn chips.

Not your grandma's bland cabbage diet soup, this Spicy Cabbage and Chicken Soup is a vibrant, satisfying bowl of soup packed with tender chicken breast, healthy cabbage and vegetables in a bold savory broth with a kick of heat. It's a perfect way to warm up, eat well and enjoy some Southwestern spice into your comfort food rotation.

Course Soup, Stews and Chilis

Cuisine Southwestern

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Servings

Calories 214kcal

Author Lea Ann Brown

Ingredients

1 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
4 Tablespoons Neutral oil - Divided canola, vegetable or peanut oil work well here.
For The Broth
8 Cups Chicken Broth
2 Bay Leaves
1 Tablespoon Mexican Oregano
1 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon Chinese Hot Mustard
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
For The Soup
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
½ large Sweet onion chopped
½ large Green Bell Pepper chopped
6 cloves Garlic minced
1 large Carrot peeled and chopped
1 large Potato Cut into cubes
1 Cup Frozen Corn or fresh corn removed from cob
½ Cup New Mexico Chile Peppers roasted, peeled, seeds, veins and stems removed and chopped.
1 Cup Green Cabbage shredded or chopped
Topping: Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese and Tortilla chips, strips or crushed.

Instructions

For The Chicken
Heat two tablespoons of neutral oil in a heavy skillet. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Sear the chicken breasts until golden on each side. Remove to a plate, let cool, then cut across the grain and then into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
For The Broth:
Add the 8 cups of chicken broth to a large soup pot. Add the Mexican oregano, bay leaves, and the Chinese mustard.
Let the broth simmer over very low heat, uncovered for 30 minutes.
For The Soup
Add another two tablespoons oil to the fry pan and add the chopped onion, bell pepper and carrot. Saute, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant: 30 seconds to one minute.
Add the potatoes and cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes.
Add the vegetables, chicken, corn, chopped roasted chile peppers and cabbage to the broth. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Smash about half of the potatoes against the side of the pot. This adds a little consistency to the broth.
To serve, ladle into soup bowls, top with grated cheese, crumbled corn chips or fried tortilla strips. A wedge of lime for squeezing will brighten flavors even more.

Notes

Tips For Success

Chunky Vegetables: For this soup, I like to keep the vegetable chop size a little larger than a regular Mirepoix, like I do for my Crock Pot Ham and Beans recipe. Since this is billed as a chicken soup with vegetables, the vegetables play a bigger role than just adding flavor.
Mushy Cabbage: How To Keep Cabbage From Getting Mushy In Soup: Cabbage is a delicate vegetable, especially when thin sliced or shredded. Follow the rules for adding this later in the cook time steps.
Delicate Simmer: Avoid bringing this cabbage and chicken soup to a rolling boil. An aggressive boil will cause the vegetables to become too soft and the chicken to overcook.
Acid: The flavor in a a brothy soup is always elevated by some type of acid. Vinegar is a common enhancer, and for this Southwest version, lime juice works very well.

Nutrition