Cheesy Southwest Chicken Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to make chicken soup without drying out the chicken? ›

Cold-poaching the chicken breasts, then removing them until the end of the cooking process, guarantees a perfectly tender and juicy texture. Using stock reinforces the flavor of the broth, creating a more deeply flavorful soup.

If you have a few extra minutes, you could also sear your chicken on all sides before adding the water. This will give your soup just one more layer of savory goodness, although Koenig says your soup will be incredibly flavorful either way.

Don't BOIL, only ever a slow gentle simmer - Not just Chicken all Meat. If you insist on putting your Chicken in there at the start of cooking you make be better off with boneless thighs as they contain slightly more fat and sinew (good for keeping meat moist).

You can cook the chicken at a high-enough temperature to kill bacteria by turning up the heat on the broth, but for a much safer and tastier method, brown your chicken first. Browning or searing the chicken in a separate pan is not only far more foolproof, but adds richness and extra umami to your soup.

If a soup is tasting bland in the bowl, consider adding acid rather than salt. A squeeze of lemon or lime, or a dash of yogurt or sour cream can add brightness to the bowl.

While broth and stock both get richer and richer the longer you cook them, the problem is that the chicken meat will dry out and get tough if you let it go too long. Vegetables will also have an unpleasant texture if you overcook them, turning mushy and falling apart.

Do you simmer chicken soup with lid on or off? ›

Always cover your pot if you're trying to keep the heat in. That means that if you're trying to bring something to a simmer or a boil—a pot of water for cooking pasta or blanching vegetables, a batch of soup, or a sauce—put that lid on to save time and energy.

In addition, chicken breast has less fat and can become dry (chewy or rubbery) if cooked for too long. Without moisture, the protein fibers in the chicken become elastic.

Chilis Southwest Chicken Soup (1 cup) contains 14g total carbs, 13g net carbs, 5g fat, 4g protein, and 110 calories.

Cook at a very gentle simmer so that the liquid breaks lazily on the surface. The temperature of the surrounding liquid should be about 180ºF (82ºC). Meat that cooks at too high a temperature, even if it's in liquid, can still become tough and dry.

Make the chicken thinner

Thinner breasts or cutlets are less likely to dry out, as they won't spend as much time in the pan. A simple option is to pound the chicken until it is 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, using a meat mallet/pounder, heavy skillet or even a hammer. This is best done between parchment paper or plastic wrap.

It's a basic technique—simply use your spoon or spatula to pick up hot oil or butter from the pan, then pour it over the meat as it cooks. This helps distribute the fat and juices, keeps moisture intact as the meat cooks, enhances flavor, and results in a more even cook.