Cheesy Chicken Taco Soup

With the months finally starting to turn colder, I’ve been exploring and experimenting with different soup recipes. One recipe I came across and tried was Cheesy Chicken Taco Soup. It came from the KETO Diet Easy One-Dish-Meal magazine. I’ve been researching the Keto diet as one of the ways to eat more health. Cooking healthy can be a bit challenging when you are making meals for the whole family, many of which aren’t nearly as interested in eating healthy as you are… that said I made the soup, Un-Keto-ed the condiments I served with it and the family gave it the thumbs up! So, without furth ado I bring you Cheesy Chicken Taco Soup!

Hands-on time – 20 minutes

Total cooking time 45 minutes – serves four

Unlike many other taco soups, this rich and delightfully cheesy version contains no carbs from tortillas or corn (unless of course if add crushed nacho chips as a condiment to serve over the top!)

Ingredients:

2 (8 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix divided (I used a whole taco seasoning packet)

¼ cup olive oil

¾ cup chopped red onion

1 large jalapeno seeded and minced (Andy harvested two small serrano peppers from our garden the day before so I substituted those for the jalapeno pepper)

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

3 cups lower-sodium chicken broth (I always try and go organic with my store bought broth)

1 (14 ½ oz) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes (I just used a can of diced tomatoes)

½ teaspoon salt (I used sea salt)

4 oz cream cheese, cubed and softened

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro plus more for garnish

2 oz shredded Colby-Jack cheese blend (1/2 cup)

Sour cream (also for garnishing and not a part of the original Keto recipe)

Directions:

Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning (or if you aren’t paying close attention, sprinkle it with the entire packet). Heat oil in a medium-size Dutch oven over medium-high heat (I don’t have one of these, so I used a medium to large size saucepan.) Add chicken; cook turning occasionally, until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes. The grocery store was out of whole chicken breasts, so I substituted this for sliced chicken breasts, and it works out just as well and took less time to cook. Remove chicken from pan; set aside. Add onions, jalapeno (or serrano), and garlic to the pan; cook, stirring often, until tender, about three minutes.

Stir broth, tomatoes, salt, browned chicken and remaining one tablespoon of taco seasoning into the mixture (or if you did what I did and dump the whole packet in the pan in the first step everything is already well seasoned so you can skip this step); bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is done, about 15 minutes (less if you are using chicken strips verses the whole breasts). Remove pan from heat. Carefully remove chicken using tongs, and transfer to a cutting board and either shred meat using two forks or dice it with a sharp kitchen knife. 

Add cream cheese to the soup in the pan and stir until smooth. The cream cheese is what gives the soup its rich, creamy texture. Stir in cilantro and shredded (or diced) chicken. Ladle soup into bowls and springle with shredded Colby-Jack cheese. Garnish with additional cilantro is desired and for your non-Keto family members, crushed nacho chips and sour cream.

Super yum and tasty especially on a chilly November night.

Bon Appetit!