Easy Stovetop Green Chili Chicken Soup

A stovetop green chili chicken soup made from pantry ingredients like white beans and salsa verde! This easy soup bursts with bright, bold, satisfying flavors and is healthy to boot. And it comes together in less than an hour, perfect for a weeknight dinner.

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If you’re looking for a soul-warming, super cozy chicken chili soup, this one’s for you!

Just grab a jar of store-bought or homemade salsa verde (green salsa made from ingredients like tomatillos and hatch chiles), chicken, a can of green chiles, white beans, and a myriad of spices instead.

Deeply flavorful. Brothy, yet hearty. Comes together quickly, from pantry staples. And has absolutely no rules for toppings – just be sure to load them on!

Making Green Chile Chicken Soup on the Stovetop

When I polled ya’ll on Instagram about the method you wanted for this Green Chili Chicken Soup I’d been dreaming about, your resounding votes said STOVETOP! Not slow cooker, or instant pot, but a classic stovetop soup.

And I love you for that, because there’s a certain type of comfort that comes from stirring a richly flavored soup, standing at the stove and letting your thoughts about the rest of life flow free.

First the chicken breasts are seasoned and seared, then set aside to shred into the soup once it comes together. Thanks to mostly pantry ingredients, this Green Chili Chicken Soup comes together in less than an hour yet tastes like it simmered all day long (just like my Cozy Split Pea Soup or any of these delicious gluten-free soup recipes).

Use Chicken Thighs and Spices for Flavorful Soup:

The beauty of this soup is it’s on the table in less than an hour, but tastes like you put a whole day of prep into it. There are three key elements to the richness you’ll taste.

1. When making soup, spices bloom and intensify when sautéed in olive oil, which you’ll do at the beginning of this recipe, along with the onion. You’ll smell the fragrances of the high quality Watkins organic spices emerge, a sign that the extra flavor is being released!
2. Rather than using chicken breast, you’ll use chicken thighs, which are ideal for making a hearty soup. A mix of white and dark meat has stronger flavor and a little more fat, which also improves the mouthfeel of the soup.
3. Browning the chicken is an added step, but the golden crust achieved on the chicken is where much of the flavor is at. Don’t skip it!

Where did Green Chile Stew Originate?

Green chile stew is a widely popular dish in New Mexico that you’ll find in every home and every restaurant. It is a spicy, slow-cooked concoction of pork, hatch green chiles, and potatoes that warms you from the inside out.

My Green Chili Soup is not trying to replace or be the traditional stew – I leave that to those who grew up in the area, and have heirloom family stew recipes that continue to be passed on to the next generation, like Olivia, and her grandmother’s Hatch Green Chili Stew.

Why is this soup called “Green Chili” but has a red hue?

You may be wondering why this soup appears more red than green when the main ingredients of this soup include salsa verde and diced green chiles. Well, both those ingredients are a rather muddy green color and don’t stand up to the smoked paprika and chili powder used.

These two spices shine through the chicken brothand create a beautiful rust colored soup.

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Easy Green Chile Chicken Soup

A stovetop green chili chicken soup with white beans and salsa verde and warm spices like chili powder and cumin! The beauty of this soup is it’s on the table in less than an hour, but tastes like you put a whole day of prep into it.

4.92 from 35 votes

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Prep Time :15 minutes minutes

Cook Time :30 minutes minutes

Total Time :45 minutes minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Author: Amanda Paa

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
• 1 pound chicken thighs
• 3/4 teaspoon Watkins Fine Himalayan Pink Salt
• 1 white onion diced
• 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• 2 teaspoons Chili Powder
• 2 teaspoons Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 (12 -14 ounce) jar salsa verde
• 1 *4 ounce) can mild green chiles
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 3 dried bay leaves
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
• juice of one lime
• garnishes: shredded cheese tortilla chips, sour cream, green onions

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Instructions 

• Sprinkle salt over chicken thighs. Heat 1 tablespoon olive over medium high heat in a heavy stock pot, and add chicken thighs in individual layer. Sear on both sides 4-5 minutes to get a golden brown crust. Remove chicken thighs and set aside.
• Turn heat down to medium and add diced onion + pinch of salt to chicken drippings in pot, and saute until translucent, about 7 minutes. Add smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, and oregano leaves. Stir and coat onion, and you will start to smell the spices become fragrant, cooking for 1-2 minutes. Add a tablespoon more olive oil, and stir in garlic, cooking for 1-2 minutes.
• Add chicken back to pot, along with salsa verde, diced green chiles, chicken broth, and bay leaves. Stir, and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to a light simmer, and cover. Cook for 20 minutes.
• Remove chicken thighs and shred using forks. Add back to pot, along with white beans, cook for 10 more minutes. Stir in fresh lime juice.
• Remove bay leaves, and serve with shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, and minced green onions.

Notes

This soup freezes well for up to 2 months.