Chicken Fajita Soup

Why am I dropping so many soup recipes in the summer? Because outside temperature has generally no bearing on what I eat so I’ve been making a ton of it! This Chicken Fajita Soup is warm and comforting but still really light. It doesn’t give you the ‘itis is what I’m saying, basically.

Chicken Fajita Soup Ingredients

Feel free to jump to the full recipe, but here are useful notes about the ingredients you will need to make this Chicken Fajita Soup recipe:

• Boneless skinless chicken breasts: What I always have on hand. Thighs will work fine of course.
• Beef bacon: Again, what I always have on hand. You can use pork bacon if you like. Turkey won’t release any fat so I don’t really see the point in using it but you do you! Bacon can also be omitted totally.
• Bell peppers: You’ll need two or three bell peppers, depending on how heavy you want their presence in your soup. I like to use multiple colors for ✨ aesthetics.
• Red onion: Any onion will work fine, but I like to use red for appearances. It’s pretty! If you just want a subtle onion flavor, I’d use a yellow onion.
• Jalapeño: If you’d like it spicier, substitute two serrano peppers. Not spicy at all? Remove the ribs and seeds from the jalapeno and mince instead of slice it.
• Fire-roasted tomatoes: Diced fire-roasted tomatoes give this a hearty,
• Garlic cloves:
• Black beans, parboiled rice: I wanted this soup to be filling without needing a side option, so I added beans and rice. If you’d like to omit the rice reduce the liquid by about 2 cups or so.
• Chicken broth: It’s not Chicken Fajita Soup without broth, right? It’d just be… chicken fajitas. I generally use bouillion paste and hot water to make my broth. I don’t have enough freezer space to keep lots of homemade stock on hand anymore, unfortunately.
• Fajita spice blend: I make my own – and I’m going to be offering it for sale soon! – but a full packet of your favorite Fajita Seasoning Mix will work just fine.
• Kosher salt: We’ll use pinches here and there to draw moisture and flavor from different components.
• Equipment: I used my Scanpan TechNIQ Giant Braiser to make this soup, but a 5qt. dutch oven would work fine. Here’s everything I used:

How to Make Chicken Fajita Soup 

Full instructions are included in the recipe below, but here is a basic overview of what you’ll need to do, along with some important tidbits to help you make the most of this Chicken Fajita Soup recipe:

• Fry up the bacon. Place a dutch oven or other large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the bacon in a single layer and fry until crisp, then remove to a cutting board. Let it cool to room temperature, then chop it up into small pieces and set it aside.
• Sear the peppers. Remove all of the bacon fat except about two teaspoons from the pan (or, add oil if there isn’t enough fat), increase the heat to high, then add the sliced bell peppers. Let the peppers cook undisturbed for about 4 minutes, then toss. They should have begun to brown and char but reduce the heat if this is happening too quickly. As soon as they have the desired color, remove them and set them aside. We won’t touch them again until the Chicken Fajita Soup is almost finished.
• Now, the chicken. Add more bacon fat or oil to the pan if needed and swirl it around to coat the surface. Season your chicken pieces liberally with two tablespoons of fajita spice blend (or 2/3 of the packet), then add to the pan in a single layer. Allow to cook undisturbed then use a spatula to flip and sear the other side. As soon as you see no remaining pink remove the chicken to a plate to rest.
• Saute the aromatics and rice. Reduce the heat back to medium. Adding more oil or fat if needed, add the onion and jalapeno slices to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes until the onions become very fragrant, then stir in the garlic and cook a couple of minutes more. Next, move the sauteed aromatics to the side and add the rinsed and drained rice. Allow the rice to toast a bit and then stir everything together, just as the rice starts to deepen in color.
• Start building the soup. Pour in the tomatoes, beans, 9 cups of chicken broth, and remaining fajita seasoning. Taste, and add salt if you think you needed it. When you’re happy with the flavor, stir in the chicken and bring the soup to a low boil.
• Simmer the Chicken Fajita Soup. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and allow to simmer until the rice is cooked through. This should take about 15 minutes, and it varies based on how much ‘bite’ you like your rice to have. Keep the extra cup of chicken broth handy, and use it to loosen the sauce if you feel it needs it.
• Add the peppers and bacon. Once the rice is tender, add the bacon pieces and bell pepper slices to the soup. Cover and simmer together for 5 more minutes, then remove from heat, garnish as desired, and enjoy. Dassit!

Switch Up Your Chicken Fajita Soup

Just like with almost all of my recipes, there are so many ways you change up this Chicken Fajita Soup recipe to suit your tastes, so please feel free to customize yours to taste!  Instead of giving you suggestions on how to do that, let me give you two related tips instead:

• Leftover Remix: Drain the broth and grab some cheese and puff pastry. Make Fajita Soup Hand Pies!
• If you’re looking for something heartier – and with lots of cheese! – check out my Southwestern Chicken Stew recipe.

Here’s a couple of Pinterest graphics —

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