I love fall. There’s something about the kids being back in school full time that just warms my heart.
The changing leaves aren’t too bad either. So far this year, it’s been “cool” but not cold.
But that all changed earlier this week when temperatures took a dive. Y’all.
We went from 80 degree days to 40 degree days in a 24-hour window. And while it was sunny, it was downright cold.
Which means long pants, no flip-flops, and sweaters (or sweatshirts if you’re my kids).
After dropping the boys at school, I ended up at the grocery, wandering around aimlessly with my coffee and enjoying shopping alone.
And then I started wondering what I was going to make for dinner.
I knew that I had a few packs of chicken thighs that needed to be used up, so I headed over to the produce section to see what I could put together.
What I ended up creating is just plain bliss in a bowl. A Southwestern Chicken Soup Bowl recipe that is rich, savory, and comforting.
From the pepper jack-infused, mashed cauliflower base (so, so good!) to the crispy, skin-on chicken thighs, this soup hit all the right notes.
Then I added in tomatillos, yellow peppers, fresh avocado, tomatoes, and Serrano chilis, which made my Southern-transplant heart all kinds of happy.
See, in Texas, it’s Hatch Chili season, and while you can find some pre-packaged stuff up here in Michigan, I’ve missed the smell of roasting chilis. There’s really nothing like it.
I think that I was able to capture the feeling of those roasted chilis (even though I used Serranos because it’s what I could get locally) in this soup, and it got a big thumbs up approval from the guys. If you love soup like us, check out these 13 Healthy Instant Pot Soup recipes!
Southwestern Chicken Soup Bowl Recipe
Makes approximately four adult-sized bowls of soup
Ingredients For Southwestern Chicken Soup Bowl
- 1 head or bag cauliflower florets
- 4 chicken thighs, skin on
- 2 teaspoons olive or grapeseed oil
- 6-8 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated or shredded
- 32 ounces bone broth (chicken bone broth is my preference. I adore Kettle & Fire broth.)
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1 tablespoon grass fed butter
- 3-4 tomatillos
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 yellow pepper, sliced or diced
- 2 Serrano chilis
- Cilantro (for garnish)
- 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Directions for Southwestern Chicken Soup Bowl
Chop all of your vegetables. Steam your cauliflower for 5 to 7 minutes, until a fork goes into the florets easily.
Once your cauliflower is done, smash it until it’s smooth. You can use a food processor
Add the pepper jack cheese and stir to incorporate (if you’re lazy- like me -you can mash the cheese in instead of stirring it in after you’ve mashed the cauliflower).
Heat a cast iron skillet
Create your rub by combining the salt, cayenne, chili powder, and cumin in a small bowl.
Rub your chicken with the salt and spices, being sure to get the seasonings under the skin, and add 2 tablespoons olive oil or grapeseed oil (my preference) to the hot pan.
Carefully add the chicken thighs to the hot pan, skin side down.
Cook your chicken until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees or about 6-8 minutes per side.
While your chicken is cooking, sauté the tomatillos in a pan over medium heat in one tablespoon of butter, then add the peppers.
Heat the bone broth to a low simmer.
Once everything is cooked, you can arrange your bowls.
Place a large dollop of the cauliflower puree in the middle of your bowl, top with a sliced chicken thigh and arrange the vegetables beside it.
Ladle a cup (or so) of hot broth into each bowl, garnish with cilantro, and serve.
Deconstructed Southwestern Chicken Soup Bowl Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 head or bag cauliflower florets
- 4 chicken thighs skin on
- 2 teaspoons olive or grapeseed oil
- 6-8 ounces pepper jack cheese grated or shredded
- 32 ounces bone broth chicken bone broth is my preference. I adore Kettle & Fire broth.
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1 tablespoon grass fed butter
- 3-4 to matillos
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 yellow pepper sliced or diced
- 2 Serrano chilis
- Cilantro for garnish
- 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Chop all of your vegetables. Steam your cauliflower for 5 to 7 minutes, until a fork goes into the florets easily.
- Once your cauliflower is done, smash it until it's smooth. You can use a food processor or blender for a smoother mash.
- Add the pepper jack cheese and stir to incorporate (if you're lazy- like me -you can mash the cheese in instead of stirring it in after you've mashed the cauliflower).
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Create your rub by combining the salt, cayenne, chili powder, and cumin in a small bowl.
- Rub your chicken with the salt and spices, being sure to get the seasonings under the skin, and add 2 tablespoons olive oil or grapeseed oil (my preference) to the hot pan.
- Carefully add the chicken thighs to the hot pan, skin side down.
- Cook your chicken until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees or about 6-8 minutes per side.
- While your chicken is cooking, sauté the tomatillos in a pan over medium heat in one tablespoon of butter, then add the peppers.
- Heat the bone broth to a low simmer.
- Once everything is cooked, you can arrange your bowls.
- Place a large dollop of the cauliflower puree in the middle of your bowl, top with a sliced chicken thigh and arrange the vegetables beside it.
- Ladle a cup (or so) of hot broth into each bowl, garnish with cilantro, and serve.
You can totally cook this like a straight up soup as well, I just like the deconstructed version because we can customize it for each of us.
For example, the boys aren’t huge fans of serranos, so they don’t get any in their bowl, but they do get extra avocado.
