Soup recipes like this Whole30 Chicken Poblano Soup are meal prep heroes! With plenty of veggies and a spicy broth, this soup is paleo, gluten free, low carb, and keto-friendly.
Cold weather calls for a healthy supply of soup recipes — and let's face it, you can never have too many.
Since Fargo is in the midst of more below zero weather, my thoughts are turning to cozy, warming bowls of veggies and broth. I created this recipe because I couldn't shake the match-up of chicken and roasted poblano peppers. Google 'chicken poblano' and you'll see what I mean — it's a classic!
How to make fire-roasted poblanos at home
This soup wouldn't be the same if you didn't roast the poblanos. Fortunately, it's quick and easy to "fire-roast" your poblanos without a fire!
To make fire-roasted poblanos in the oven:
- Move a rack of your oven to the topmost slot. Turn the broiler on high. Place the poblanos on a baking sheet and broil on the topmost rack for 5 minutes. Flip the peppers, then roast for 5 more minutes. The peppers should be blackened and blistered in most spots.
- As soon as you take 'em out of the oven, put them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap, a zip-top plastic bag, or some other sealed container and let sit for 15-20 minutes.
- After the wait's over, take the peppers out and peel the skin off. It should slough off fairly easily after steaming in the container. Discard the stem and seeds and we're ready to rumble!
Alternatively, if you have a gas stovetop, you can roast and blister the peppers over the flame. Just be very careful when dealing with an open flame!
Easily prep shredded chicken
The other prep-ahead portion of this recipe is the shredded chicken. You have many, many ways to prep this ahead of time (even if you don't want to use leftovers).
- Dutch oven shredded chicken.
- Poach a chicken breast: place two chicken breasts in a deep skillet dutch oven. Sprinkle with salt. Pour water in until chicken breasts are completely covered. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from water and shred.
- Use rotisserie chicken meat — this would be especially great in this recipe!
- Use leftover chicken breast from a roast chicken.
Make this recipe your own!
One of my favorite parts of cooking is tweaking a recipe to make it fit what I've got in the fridge.
Here are some tips if you want to make a few changes:
- Use half red bell peppers, half green — adds more color!
- Want it a little spicier? Add more jalapeno.
- Use leftover turkey instead of chicken.
Equipment for chicken poblano soup
For this recipe, you'll need a good stock pot or dutch oven. Those are the most important parts!
To see my favorite soup pots, check out my dream kitchen collection on Food52.
Or shop my Amazon Page, where I’ve rounded up my top kitchen picks!
Whole30 Chicken Poblano Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 100 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Whole30 Chicken Poblano Soup recipe is a meal prep hero! With plenty of veggies and a spicy broth, it's paleo, gluten free, low carb, and keto.
Ingredients
- 6 large poblano peppers
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup diced red onion
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons diced jalapeno
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 pound cooked, shredded chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Turn on the broiler. Place the poblano peppers on a baking sheet and roast the peppers on the topmost rack for about 5 minutes on each side, until blistered and blackened in spots. Remove from the oven and immediately place in a sealed container or plastic food-storage bag, steaming for at least 20 minutes. After steaming, remove from the container, peel off the skin, and remove the stem and seeds. Chop into 1-inch pieces and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the onion, jalapeno, and bell pepper, cooking for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the roasted poblano pepper, cumin, chili powder, oregano, sea salt, black pepper, broth, non-dairy milk, and shredded chicken.
- Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Partially cover the pot and let simmer for 1 ½ hours.
- Before serving, squeeze in the juice of 1 lime and garnish with cilantro and avocado slices. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Keywords: chicken poblano soup, whole30, paleo, low carb, keto, gluten free
Caroline says
My milk seemed to separate and curdle from the broth :/ any ideas why?
Chelsea says
What kind of milk did you use? When I make this, I typically use a storebought coconut milk/almond milk blend. The soup may have boiled too long or been too hot (instead of simmering) - higher heat could cause it to separate.
Kelly W Nord says
When do put in bell pepper?
Chelsea says
Good catch! Add it with the jalapeno so it can soften a little. Updating the post now!
Kelly Nord says
Soup tasted amazing! I love the flavor of the roasted pablanos. I didn't have any issues with my coconut milk curdling as in on post. I made two changes to the recipe. One, when to add the bell pepper was missing so I added it to the onion and jalapeno. Two, I added the spices after the garlic for 30 seconds to open up their flavors before adding the chicken stock. I loved this recipe for using 3 kinds of peppers all which have come in this and last months farm share that I had no ideas what to do with.
★★★★
Sheri says
I made this recipe today. I couldn't get the poblano peppers to peel very easy after broiling them 5 minutes on each side and steaming them for 20 minutes in a plastic bag. I left some peeling on them. I didn't think it would matter. I added a little brown rice penne pasta and extra broth. It is a delicious recipe!! Thank you.
★★★★★