Mexican Chicken Soup
Mexican Chicken Soup is flavored with lime and cilantro, and this delicious soup can be made from rotisserie chicken! Make this soup with traditional pinto beans, or omit beans and add frozen cauliflower rice for a low-carb version.
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Mexican Chicken Soup is an easy recipe that combines commonly-used Mexican ingredients into a flavorful soup to make with leftover rotisserie chicken. You can make the slightly-spicy soup with the pinto beans that are common in Mexican cuisine. Or for fewer carbs, just replace pinto beans with cauliflower rice for a low-carb version.
And this chicken soup has lime and cilantro to bump up the flavors. I love to eat my bowl of Mexican Chicken Soup with plenty of chopped fresh cilantro added at the table, but see notes below if you’re not a cilantro lover.
I make this soup on the stove and love how it fills the house with amazing smells! This soup is my Friday Favorites pick this week, and if you like Mexican food I hope you try this soon!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)
- onion
- chopped garlic or Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth (affiliate link)
- dried oregano, preferably Mexican Oregano (affiliate link)
- ground cumin (affiliate link)
- ground Chipotle chile pepper (affiliate link), or use your favorite hot sauce
- canned pinto beans (or cauliflower rice for low-carb option)
- diced, cooked chicken
- canned diced green chiles (affiliate link)
- fresh-squeezed lime juice
- chopped fresh cilantro (see notes)
How can you make Mexican Chicken Soup that’s lower in carbs?
You can make a lower-carb version of this recipe by cutting down the pinto beans to one can of beans. Or to make a similar and equally delicious soup that’s low in carbs, replace the Pinto Beans with about 2-3 cups of frozen cauliflower rice, for a variation with about 8 net carbs per serving. Add the cauliflower rice after the soup has simmered about 30 minutes.
Is this an authentic Mexican soup recipe?
I’m not claiming my Mexican Chicken Soup is an authentic Mexican recipe, but ingredients like onion, garlic, chicken stock, Mexican oregano, ground cumin, ground Chipotle pepper, pinto beans, green chiles, lime juice, fresh cilantro, and of course chicken are traditional in Mexican cooking.
What adds the spicy flavor notes to my Mexican Chicken Soup?
The diced green chiles plus a small amount of ground chipotle chiles adds a spicy flavor to this soup. I wouldn’t skip the green chiles, but if you don’t have ground chipotle you can use a dash of your favorite Mexican hot sauce, or something like Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) would also be good.
What if you’re not a cilantro fan?
If you’re someone with the anti-cilantro tastebuds, simply replace the chopped cilantro with thinly-sliced green onion and the soup will still be very tasty!
How to make Mexican Chicken Soup:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- I cooked the onions and garlic right in the soup pot, which saved dirtying another pan!
- Then add chicken stock or broth, dried Mexican Oregano, ground cumin, and ground Chipotle chiles (or hot sauce) and simmer for about 15 minutes to blend flavors.
- Add the pinto beans with juice from the can and diced chicken. (If you’re making the cauliflower rice version, don’t add that yet.)
- Let soup simmer on very low heat about 30 minutes or a little longer, until flavors are well combined, and beans are quite soft. If you’re using cauliflower rice, add it for the last 20 minutes of cooking time.
- If you’re not a cilantro fan, use thinly sliced green onions to add some color to the soup. Chop the cilantro or green onions just before you’re ready to serve.
- Stir in the chopped cilantro (or thinly sliced green onions), turn off the heat, and let soup sit for a minute or two.
- Serve the Mexican Chicken Soup hot, with extra lime to add at the table for those who like a lot of lime. I like to add a little fresh chopped cilantro when I serve it as well, but that’s definitely optional.
Weekend Food Prep:
This Mexican Chicken Soup recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Mexican Chicken Soup
Mexican Chicken Soup is perfect to make from leftover rotisserie chicken, and this soup with Mexican flavors is tasty and easy to make! Use the traditional Pinto beans, or replace the beans with cauliflower rice for a low-carb version.
Ingredients
- 1 onion, diced small
- 1 T chopped garlic (see notes)
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 8 cups chicken broth (see notes)
- 2 tsp. dried Mexican Oregano
- 1 T ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. ground Chipotle chile powder (or use your favorite hot sauce)
- two 15 oz. cans pinto beans (see notes)
- 4 cups diced, cooked chicken
- one 4 oz. can diced green chiles (see notes)
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (see notes)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in frying pan or in the soup pot, then cook onion 2-3 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook a couple of minutes more.
- In large soup pot combine homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth, onions, garlic, oregano, ground cumin (affiliate link), and Chipotle chile powder and let simmer on low about 15 minutes.
- Add pinto beans with juice, cooked chicken, and diced green chiles and simmer 30 minutes or a little longer, until flavors are well combined, and beans are quite soft.
- If you're using cauliflower rice, add it for the last 20 minutes of cooking time.
- Turn off heat and stir in lime juice (I use my fresh-frozen lime juice) and chopped cilantro or sliced green onion.
- Serve the Mexican Chicken Soup hot, with more chopped cilantro and lime juice to be added at the table if desired.
Notes
You can use minced garlic from a jar if you prefer.
Nutritional information is for the version with two cans of pinto beans. Use one can of pinto beans for a lower-carb soup, or replace pinto beans with 2-3 cups cauliflower rice for a low-carb soup.
Be sure to buy Anaheim chiles, not Jalapenos unless you really like it hot!
You can substitute thinly sliced green onion if you’re not a cilantro fan.
Recipe created by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 460Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 91mgSodium 1303mgCarbohydrates 45gFiber 14gSugar 4gProtein 38g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Mexican Chicken Soup made with pinto beans would be too high in carbs for low-carb or Keto eating plans. You can make this soup lower in carbs by using only one can of beans or make a soup with only 8 net carbs by replacing the beans with 2 cups of frozen cauliflower rice. Pinto beans are considered a “good” carb for the original South Beach Diet and this soup would be approved for all phases of South Beach.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
The Mexican Chicken Soup recipe was first posted in 2007 when I was following the original South Beach Diet and eating a lot more dried beans! The recipe was updated with the option for a lower-carb version using cauliflower rice in 2024. It was last updated with more information in 2025.
30 Comments on “Mexican Chicken Soup”
What changed from the original recipe?
The actual recipe has not changed. I updated the post with better photos and also added (in the post, not in the actual recipe) some suggestions for making it lower in carbs. I did put a note in the recipe about when to add the cauliflower rice for people who are using that option.
If you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link and go to the actual recipe it’s just the same.
Hmmm I’ve been making this recipe for yearsssss and I swear it used to have hummus/refried beans in it. I make it with refried beans but did I totally just imagine that in the original recipe? Lol
I have an old site where I store all the original recipes and this recipe always had pinto beans.
I made added a tomato and since I didn’t have chipotle peppers I added a serrano pepper instead. This soup is super good and I am so glad I found it!
Don’t understand why people have to change original recipe
Not sure if you are talking about me offering new options or other people wanting to switch things up, but pretty sure people will never stop doing that.
I love your soup just the way it is but I’d like to make it with refried beans either black or brown, add a can of rotelle a can of of sweet corn and a can of hominy beans, plus diced jalapeños and I top it off with sour cream. I could eat this soup every day!! Thanks
That sounds good to me.
I have made this recipe so many times, it’s delicious. Sometimes I even add a little rice, AMAZING
Glad you are enjoying it!
Tammy I'm always happy when something is a hit with the kids!
This was fantastic, thank you!! Even my kids enjoyed it.
Thanks Lydia. There was definitely a lot of room for improvement.
That soup really comes alive in the new photos!
This looks so beautiful! I am warming up to cilantro — it took me a while, but it's growing splendidly in this garden and I want to better use it!
Teresa and John, thanks for much for taking time to let me know you liked it!
Hi Kalyn,
My husband and I made this for dinner tonight and wanted to let you know how much we loved it. This soup really hit the spot on a cold and rainy winter night. Thank you so much!
Teresa and Jon
We used refried beans, no hummus around in the kitchen and it turned out great! One of those dinners you keep eating even when you feel full. Will definitely make this one again! So great. 😀
Braden, thanks. You’re making me blush.
Another winner from Kaylyn. I swear, you post the BEST recipes found anywhere. And your photographs are awesome too. Just another reason why you’re on my blogroll.
Thanks yet again.
Best –
Braden
Mimi, I think the diet is updated once in a while, so maybe you have an older edition. I know at one time they didn’t allow tomatoes on phase one but that was changed.
Well, that’s a relief, Kalyn. I have the trade paperback version of the diet and there are some inconsistencies, I think.
Mimi, I think skim milk is fine for phase one. My book just says to avoid whole milk or 2% milk. (I’m looking it up in the pocket guide.) Glad you like the recipe archives. If I had been smart enough to start this blog on a different blogging platform I could have saved myself a lot of work, but I do think it’s pretty easy to find things. You can also search by ingredient or recipe title. I can tell from my stats that a LOT of people who come here use the recipe archives.
Anna, I love it when you call me brilliant. Seriously, it worked very well.
Your addition of hummus to thicken the soup is brilliant! I’ll have to try that sometime!
This looks wonderful! But what I really came over to tell you, Kalyn, how much I appreciate your recipe index. It is a lifesaver!
I am on Day Three of Phase One. I am doing OK. The one thing I find I cannot go without, though, is skim milk.
I’ll be featuring some of your recipes over the next week or so.
Thanks!
Alanna, what a great collection of soups you’ve assembled.
Blest, I would love that recipe for SB cheese biscuits if you have it. I buy hummus from Costco which stays good in the fridge for several months literally. I think homemade might spoil a little sooner, but it would be good for 2-3 weeks at least.
Tanna, thanks. The hummus was a great addition. It seemed a little thin without out.
I like the secret ingredient trick! and I love hummus!
You are the soup queen!!
The SB cheese biscuits would be a great complement to this too! Looks yummy!
Question – how long does homemade hummus keep in the fridge, do you think?
Yum, yumm! Thanks so much for another inspiring soup, Kalyn! I’m updating now so look for your link (and a half dozen others, they’re still coming in!) shortly.