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!
The only regret you will have after you make this soup is why didn’t you make it sooner and double the recipe!!!! Seriously, this is beyond tasty! It rocks my kitchen at least twice a month in the cooler weather time. Peace! John 3:16!
We really like spicy food so we added a bunch of chipotles only to find that it was a little too spicy. So we adjusted by adding about a half can of coconut milk and it was AMAZING!!! We make it like that every time now. So good.
A a little bit of ginger. : )
I tried your Chicken & Pumpkin Soup Recipe tonight. I made it just as the recipe called (with 1 large chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, not 2).
This soup is surprisingly AMAZING!! I can a lot of pumpkin in the fall and have been on the look out for a few good pumpkin recipes this winter. I consider my family to be picky eaters, me, too. I LOVE this soup. I couldn’t really taste the pumpkin, which was a nice change to all the other recipes I’ve tried lately. This soup provided all the health benefits of pumpkin without getting us “pumpkined out”. My husband and my 20-month-old daughter loved it, too. It’s definitely a new favorite and cost us less than $5 with the pre-canned pumpkin and local sales. Thanks!!!
Delicious!
Great recipe! I had to sub sweet potato for the pumpkin (only pumpkin pie mix at store) – which worked out perfect because I was making it vegetarian anyway – my husband suggested roasting the ‘tates into sweet cubes. I smashed some of them to give body to the stew. I added a bit of tempeh “bacon” for some chew. Christ! This is only the second time I’ve used chipotles, only one, plus the bit of adobe, and it MAKES the recipe! I also added a small diced red bell. I thought chili was my fave southwest-style stew, but this is it! I can’t wait to make it as written, with pumpkin. Thanks again, Beth!
I have this recipe bookmarked and can’t wait to try it, but I wanted to add dry beans are more cost-effective than canned beans. Plus, you can soak dry beans to make them more digestible and healthier.
We don’t have the canned chili peppers in adobo sauce at our local store, so I plan to use a few sprinkles of cracked red peppers–but what would be a good substitute for the spoonful of adobo sauce? Perhaps Goya Adobo seasoning?
I haven’t used that Goya seasoning, but I would definitely try it if I couldn’t get the canned adobo peppers. You can also look to see if there is any dry chipotle seasoning at your store. That might give it that same smokey flavor.
Gah! I know this is an old comment, but in case someone else needs to sub for the chipotle:
Goya Adobo is just a spice blend – like S+P, Oregano, etc. To sub chipotle, I would char a jalepeno on your burner or in the broiler, then scrape the skin off. And maybe add some smoked paprika to the soup. Unless, like Beth said, if you can find ground or whole dried chipotle…? The Goya Adobo is not a sub for chipotle.
Just my two cents!
(PS – the adobo sauce in the can is like, tomato paste and vinegar and stuff. Maybe there’s a recipe to diy this!)?
I am excited to try this! I am not a big fan of black beans, would garbanzo beans or kidney beans work as a substitute?
Yes, actually, I think either one of those would still go well in this soup. :)
This recipe is AWESOME!!! I bulked it up with a little more than a pound of chopped spinach, added a little more broth and another pepper to compensate. Using the pumpkin to thicken the broth is brilliant. This is going to be a new staple recipe for me.
made this last night for dinner and it was a huge hit for my household and multiple neighbors. It reminds me of a thicker version of tortilla soup.
If I wanted to make something similar to this pumpkin soup for a vegan, would it taste alright if I (1) nixed the chicken and (2) substituted the chicken stock for vegetable stock?
I think that would be pretty good! :)
This soup is fantastic.
Tonight I distractedly put a tablespoon of curry instead of a tablespoon of cumin. I thought I ruined dinner. It turns out, it was a great mistake! It definitely surprised me. You should try it sometime.
I made a double batch of this a couple weeks ago. I made it initially in the crock pot but felt it didn’t come out very flavorful so I transferred it to a pot and reduced it slightly and added smoked paprika and some extra cumin. Maybe it was the broth I used? Regardless, after I did that it was pretty good, and after I portioned it into 10 lunch sized portions and put it in my fridge for a couple days it was AMAZING! I ended up freezing some of them and I’ve been eating them every few days since then (which has been great because we had some bad weather and I really didn’t want to get out of the house). I really enjoy serving it with a small cheese quesadilla on the side. I did it for the third bowl on a whim and haven’t been able to eat it any other way since. It’s just a small fajita sized tortilla so it’s still coming out to be a fairly healthy, low-cal meal. I call that a win. :)
I am a sucker for any kind of pumpkin dessert or coffee concoction, but I have to admit I gave my husband the stink eye when he said he was making chicken pumpkin soup. I am devouring my second bowl as I type this, so needless to say I was very wrong! This soup is amazing-hearty, spicy, smoky, and comforting when it’s cold out. Definitely a winner!
This was so flavorful. Really goes nicely with toasted bread, and will try with a side of rice next time! Thank you!