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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
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!
Awesome southwest soup! The pumpkin gives a great consistency and the peppers in adobo give a nice warm depth. I used 2x the amount of peppers for more heat. Throw on some cilantro and cheese… great recipe!
OMG Amazing.. I am a hardcore cook, this simple recipe is AMAZING!!! I pureed the canned pumpkin myself and added a little half and half, (probably not necessary.) I doubled the recipe, next time I will add 3 chicken breast instead of 2.
I topped the soup off with shredded cheddar and sour cream! Can’t WAIT to have it again tonight.. One of my favorites.
Oh yeah–this is good. I made it because I had all of the ingredients on hand but I will make it again because it is delicious. My husband suggested adding a can of hominy, which I will do next time. I think this might be good game food–it’s got the great qualities of chili but isn’t so filling.
Amazing everytime. Just make sure to thaw any chicken breast before using, it will cook through in the listed time but will be tougher.
This may be my favorite soup of all time, which is saying a lot, cause I LOVE soup. It’s fantastic as-is, but having made it enough times to experiment with a couple modifications, I have some to recommend! Use any, all or none as you see fit:
-Crumble in some tortilla chips when ready to serve
-top with a dollop of sour cream
-use fresh pumpkin instead of canned (halve, seed, and roast at 350 til soft and scoopable). It’s a bit of extra work, but adds to the depth of flavor
-stir in a bit of frozen spinach with the corn for extra veggies
Delicious every time! I got ready to make it today and found that I was out of both pumpkin and black beans (how do ingredients just disappear?!), but the craving was already upon me so I made it with frozen butternut squash (thawed and pureed with a little broth) and pinto beans. Still delicious.
Exceptionally good recipe. Unfortunately, there’s no way to get canned chipotle in Russia, so I had to use a teaspoon of ajika as a substitute.
I have had this recipe marked to try for.a year or more. I was looking for inspiration in a fridge with limited resources and remembered that I wanted to try this. So simple and absolutely delicious. Added homemade tortillas on the side. Everyone cleaned their bowls. Thanks!
Easy to make quite delicious. The soup does have heat. I doubled the recipe and used 2 abode peppers a one tsp sauce . Eliminated the cumin .Plenty of heat. Especially good the day after.
This has become a family favorite and it also works well in the crockpot when you need a quick weeknight meal and don’t have much time to cook. (Just dump everything in and cook on low all day…shred the chicken just before serving it.) I also add a can of diced tomatoes and always serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and cornbread on the side. Yummy and very filling!
This turned out well! I had leftover rotisserie chicken which made it even easier! I got to skip the strong of letting the chicken cook which made it a very fast meal to put together. I was nervous about the peppers but was happen to try something new. Thanks!
This soup was delicious! Everyone loved it. I will make a double batch next time.
Thanks for all your hard work. Keep ’em coming.
This was a regrettable soup. I was willing to give it a try because of the chipotle/pumpkin combo, but I remain uninspired. Worse, this is quite a carb heavy soup regardless of its healthy ingredients. I gave it two stars because although I did not care for it, it was not inedible. I may make it through one bowl of leftovers to avoid wasting it, but I have a big feeling it will end up in the garbage.
Easy to make, perfect for a fall evening. Added jalapeños, a dollop of greek yogurt and cheddar cheese. Overall a win! I also ate it with a quesadilla like another commenter.
I made this for the first time last night. Perfect! Tastes like fall.