Chicken and pumpkin? Sounds weird, right? Well just wait until you taste it…
I made this simple pumpkin soup ages ago and decided to make a newer, better, more powerful version today. I took it in a southwest direction by adding some smokey chipotle peppers in adobo, earthy cumin, and fresh cilantro. Black beans, corn, and a shredded chicken help make the soup more hearty and almost stew-like. So nom-nom-nom and perfect for stashing in the freezer!
Get some tortilla chips or hearty bread to dip in to this soup because you’re gonna want to soak up every last drop!
P.S. If you don’t like cilantro, slice up some green onions to throw in there. They’ll offer a nice freshness and a pop of green color to replace the cilantro.
P.S.S. Now that I’m thinking more about it, a little shredded cheddar or a dollop of sour cream would be amazing on this soup.
Chicken and Pumpkin Soup
Servings 6 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 5 cups chicken broth* ($0.35)
- 1 chicken breast (about ¾ lb)* ($1.50)
- 1 15oz. can pumpkin pureé ($1.49)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.89)
- 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels ($0.24)
- 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce ($0.66)
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro ($0.60)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add both to a large soup pot along with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are translucent (3-5 min.)
- Add the chicken breast (whole) and chicken broth. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high, and allow it to come to a full boil. As soon as it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and allow the pot to simmer for 30 minutes. Make sure the pot does not stop simmering after turning down the heat. If it does, increase the heat slightly until it is gently simmering.
- After 30 minutes, remove the chicken breast from the broth and use two forks to shred the meat. Return the shredded meat to the pot. Add the pumpkin purée and stir until the it has mixed into the broth.
- Take one or two chipotle peppers from the can (one pepper for a milder soup, two for a spicier soup) and mince them. Add the minced peppers and about a teaspoon of the adobo sauce from the can to the soup. Rinse the black beans and add them to the soup, along with the frozen corn kernels and cumin. Allow the soup to come up to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes more to allow the flavors to blend.
- Taste the soup and add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt if desired. Roughly chop the cilantro and stir it into the soup just before serving.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos
Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cook both in a large soup pot with the olive oil over medium heat until translucent.
Add the chicken breast and chicken broth to the soup pot. If the broth doesn’t cover most of the chicken, go ahead and cut the chicken into two pieces so that it is mostly submerged. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high, and bring it to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the chicken breast and use two forks to quickly shred it. Return the shredded chicken to the pot.
Add the pumpkin purée to the soup and stir until it is mixed into the broth.
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are sold in little cans like this. The peppers are spicy and the sauce is nice and smokey.
Take one or two of the peppers out of the can and mince them. Add the minced peppers and a spoonful of the sauce from the can to the soup. You can freeze the rest of the can of peppers for later use (I actually used peppers that I had in my freezer today. These pictures are from before.). Also add the cumin to the soup at this point.
Give the black beans a quick rinse and add them to the soup along with the frozen corn kernels. Allow the soup to come up to a simmer and then cook for about 10 minutes more to allow the flavors to blend.
Lastly, roughly chop the cilantro and stir it into the soup. Give it a taste and add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt if desired.
It’s AMAZING. I promise.
Colorful, flavorful, and very healthy!
I made this tonight with some yummy jalapeno cornbread! Delicious and easy to throw together! I used shredded chicken I had baked previously and added some red bellpepper and smoked paprika. Yum!
Thanks for this recipe. Made it tonight for dinner guests and it was the bomb. We all loved it. It was hearty enough to be a main course with some bread. I doubled it and added two big leeks and three carrots. The kids and adults all asked for more.
Can this be converted to cook in the crock pot?
Yep, you could probably put everything except the cilantro in a slow cooker, cook on high for four hours, shred the chicken, then add the cilantro.
Thank you! Trying this tomorrow night. :-)
Hi Beth!
I was so excited when I found this recipe–I have a tomato allergy and am always on the hunt for acceptable substitutes. It was delicious! I would have never thought to try this combination–but I’ll definitely be making this often.
Good idea. I used three chicken breasts and a whole bag of frozen corn, substituted cayenne powder for the chiles, and added a few carrots. Made five large bowlfulls. I call it, “Three Sisters Stew.” (Say that three times fast.)
Another winner, and what a particularly comforting meal to soothe the cold I’m nursing. I love the trick you use in your chicken soups where you shred one breast – it honestly really does spread out amongst the servings and I never feel jipped on chicken. For those of you wary of the pumpkin, the others who have mentioned it are right; you don’t really taste it, it just makes for a lovely thick texture!
I’ve made this soup several times and it is a staple/classic for the 2 of us when we want something flavorful (…like Chipotle…) but know we have to eat cheaper/healthier :) it’s amazing with a dollop of sour cream!
It ticks so many flavor/texture boxes that I combined this recipe with your basic chili recipe (used pumpkin, chipotle, gr. turkey, & cut the spices by about 1/3) and it WON an office chili cook-off! The judges were all manly carnivores who couldn’t believe they had: 1) just picked a *turkey* dish (it was up against bison and beef), 2) that they ate pumpkin and loved it, 3) that it was healthy. So thank you for introducing me to the magical combination of pumpkin + chipotle soups!!
Hahaah, that’s AWESOME! Good job! :) (now I want to try the chili version of this!)
By the way, glad to know you can freeze the peppers because it would have been a waste to throw them out.
Made this for dinner. Yum, yum, and yum. It’s amazing. I never thought to use can pumpkin in a soup. What a nice find.
Just made this tonight. Delicious!! I used 1 chipotle pepper and added the sour cream upon serving – wow! The sour cream really kicked it up the flavor notch. Forwarded the recipe to all my friends. Another great dish!
This soup is really good! Made it for friends and everyone loved it. Thanks for the recipe.
I love this recipe and the adobo peppers. The problem is that I have an open can of those peppers left over. Are there any other recipes that use the peppers that I can make to not waste them? Thanks!
I actually just freeze the rest of them. I pour them into a freezer bag and then just partially thaw it and remove a pepper or two when I need more. :D Because, yeah, they’re STRONG and I’d never use a whole can at once!
I know this is old, but I like the tip I read somewhere. Purée your can of peppers and sauce, then pour into ice cube trays. Once frozen, transfer to a ziplock and store in the freezer. So easy to add to recipes!
Fantastic! I added a few two many peppers first, so I added some nutritional yeast flakes and flaxseed oil to mellow it back out a bit. Thank you for the fantastic recipe!
Love your website! Would this recipe work with a bone-in chicken breast or would I have to cut the bone out first? I bought and froze a bunch of bone-in chicken breasts on sale.
Yep, you can definitely use bone-in breasts. When you remove the chicken from the broth to shred it, just remove the bones at that point. :)
I did this tonight with 3 chipotle peppers (I divide up 2-3 peppers into small plastic bags and freeze them) and used fresh pumpkin (I got 2 5lb-ers for literally $1/lb at a local farm because I try to avoid canned veggies when possible). It’s amazeballs!