Southwest Chicken Soup (Detox)
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Mar 22, 2024 
Detox Southwest Chicken Soup Recipe is a healthy low-fat, low-carb, gluten-free soup with tons of bold flavor and nutritious ingredients! This Southwest Chicken Soup is super clean and healthy.
Why We Love This Southwest Chicken Detox Soup
Over a year ago I shared a Chicken Detox Soup recipe that our family uses as a dietary reset after vacations or long seasons of unhealthy eating.
It’s a lean, healthy chicken and vegetable soup with several detoxifying ingredients to help flush toxins from your body and boost your metabolism. This soup is meant to be eaten for several days in a row to get your system back on track.
Chicken Detox Soup is low-fat, low-carb, paleo, gluten-free, and it works like a charm when using the soup as a cleanse! We have come up with another variation of our detox soup recipe that is just as healthy, just as tasty, and offers just as many cleansing ingredients, but with a bold Southwest flavor!
If you’ve tried our original detox soup cleanse, this Southwest Chicken Detox Soup is a zesty way to mix things up. Combining the Old El Paso green chiles and the spices, enhances the natural flavor of the chicken and veggies for a bold tantalizing flavor.
What is a detox soup?
The idea behind a detox soup is to cleanse the body by eating nutrient-rich vegetables and broths that are easy for the body to digest. Generally, detox soups are low in calories and high in vitamins and minerals to help the body get as many nutrients as possible!
Eating a meal like this Southwest chicken detox soup will help to release toxins and is especially good for you after a lot of indulgences, like after the holidays!
Plus, the release of toxins from this detox soup helps your body work more efficiently, meaning:
- Purging water retention
- A metabolic boost
- More energy
- And better sleep!
Ingredients For Southwest Chicken Soup
To make this Southwest Chicken Soup, I used green chiles to give the broth a smoky undertone, then loaded it with veggies and spices! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Chicken Breast – great for a lean protein source
- Onion – diced
- Garlic – freshly minced
- Olive Oil – a bit of olive oil to sauté the veggies
- Chopped Green Chiles – for a smoky, Southwest flavor!
- Crushed Tomatoes – I used fire-roasted crushed tomatoes to add an extra smoky flavor. You can also use diced tomatoes.
- Chicken Stock – if using low-sodium chicken stock, taste for salt at the end.
- Ground Cumin – for added flavor
- Crushed Red Pepper – for a kick of spice
- Turmeric – adds flavor and kick starts the metabolism
- Carrots – sliced
- Cabbage – sliced thin
- Broccoli – chopped into small florets
- Avocados – to serve
- Salt and Pepper – to taste
How to Make Southwest Chicken Soup
Set a large 6-8 quart pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil, chopped onions, and garlic. Sauté for 5-6 minutes to soften. Then add whole raw chicken breasts, Old El Paso Chopped Green Chiles, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, all the spices, carrots, and 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt.
Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20+ minutes, until the chicken breasts are cooked through. Then remove the chicken with tongs and set them on a cutting board to cool.
Add the chopped cabbage and broccoli to the pot. Continue to simmer to soften the broccoli. Meanwhile, shred the chicken breasts with two forks, and stir them back into the soup. Once the broccoli is tender, taste, then salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm with a generous amount of diced avocado on top!
If the soup base boils down too much, add 2-3 cups of water to the broth. Then taste for seasoning.
You can store this recipe in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Tips & Tricks
- For added flavor, serve with freshly chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice!
- If you have leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken on hand, add that chicken in towards the end of the cooking process for ease!
- You can substitute the chicken breast for chicken thighs if you prefer, but keep in mind that chicken thighs have more fat so the soup will not be as lean!
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely! To make a vegetarian option, omit the chicken and replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth. You can add additional ingredients for added protein, such as black beans.
Generally, Southwest chicken soup is made with chicken, tomatoes, beans, corn, chiles, and bold spices like cumin. This soup is a little different since it is a detox soup recipe, so it doesn’t contain beans and corn, and instead has lots of nutritious veggies!
Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days! You can make this at the beginning of the week and use it as meal prep. The soup cleanse works best when you eat the soup several days in a row. To freeze, place in the freezer in a large zip bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and reheat in a saucepan or the microwave!
Get the Full (Printable) Detox Southwest Chicken Soup Recipe + Video Below. Enjoy!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Old El Paso. All opinions are my own.
Looking for More Detox Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
Check out the printable recipe card below for the nutrition information including calories, carbohydrates, protein, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, fiber, vitamin C, and calcium percentages. Make sure to share this recipe on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Detox Southwest Chicken Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cans Old El Paso Chopped Green Chiles (4.5-ounce cans)
- 14.5 ounces “fire roasted” crushed tomatoes
- 3 quarts chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 1/2 cups sliced carrots
- 4 cups chopped cabbage
- 3 cups small broccoli florets
- 2 avocados, peeled and diced
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Set a large 6-8 quart pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil, chopped onions, and garlic. Sauté for 5-6 minutes to soften. Then add whole raw chicken breasts, Old El Paso Chopped Green Chiles, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, all the spices, carrots, and 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt.
- Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20+ minutes, until the chicken breasts are cooked through. Then remove the chicken with tongs and set them on a cutting board to cool.
- Add the chopped cabbage and broccoli to the pot. Continue to simmer to soften the broccoli. Meanwhile, shred the chicken breasts with two forks, and stir it back into the soup. Once the broccoli is tender, taste, then salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm with a generous amount of diced avocado on top!
Notes
Nutrition
Great soup!
I added a can of fire roasted peppers to mine also!
Delicious!!!!! I added a second can of fire roasted tomatoes and a can of black beans, along with 2 fresh hot peppers instead of a third can of green chili peppers. Definitely will make again.
The detox soup calories does that include the avocado?
I made this on New Years and it was amazing. I mean, like really really amanzing. My husband RAVED over it and immediately asked when I’d be making it again. It definitely has some spice, but we all loved it.
As for my husbands second request… I am making it again as we speak. Thank you for this!
Wow! I am on a detox and was dying a slow death from the food and searched a chicken detox soup on Pinterest…to my surprise this soup is AMAZING! It tastes just like a tortilla chicken soup sans the fat and tortilla strips. I am never successful at preparing soups, but this one worked and tastes amazing…enough for my to comment on it. I prepared it for two and added more green chiles and it has some definite spice! It would however taste amazing with cheese and tortilla strips, but the avocado suffices.
So good. I wasn’t interested in the whole “detox” end of it. Just wanted some really tasty soup! After our long walk in the cold and wind, this was terrific. Glad I found it.
I can’t have hot spices will it still be a detox soup if I omit them?
Hi Caterina,
Absolutely! :)
How long will this keep in the fridge and can I freeze it?
Hi Jan,
You can keep it in the fridge for at least a week, maybe up to 10 days. I have frozen it before with success. Just be sure to thaw it slowly at room temperate, before reheating.
Very good. I like the spice kick it has and the color is perfect. I added celery because I had it and a red bellpepper in large chunks to add a fun look to it. Cant wait until tomorrow when the flavors meld!! Thanks!
Your pictures are very misleading. 12 cups of broth and all these ingredients do not fit in my larger than normal pot. You NEED a stock pot for this. I had to cook 2/3 of the broth with the chicken. After I pulled the chicken, I added as much of the remaining broth that I could and mixed. I then ladled a portion of the soup in another pot and cooked the broccoli and cabbage. Pain in the butt. Very good soup though.
Cynthia – you must have accidentally changed the proportions (can do that in the recipe above – it’s interactive). This only calls for 3 cups of broth. 12 cups is 4 times the servings this one makes.
The ingredient list does call for 3 quarts of broth. Can you confirm that it should actually be 3 cups? I want to make this today and I want to make sure I have it right! :)
I have the same question as Jackie. I’d like to make this too, but confused as to whether to use the 3 quarts of broth as written in recipe or 3 cups as written in the comments.
Thanks!
Hi Guys,
Sorry for the confusion here… It is 12 cups of chicken broth. It’s a large recipe, meant for leftovers, but it does fit in a 6+ quart pot.
Can you make this in the Crock-Pot?
Hi Kierstin,
Yes! Just be sure to sauté the veggies first, before adding to the slow cooker. They don’t always soften well otherwise. :)
I started to put it in the crockpot but it wouldn’t fit in mine. :)
Can you get the same detox benefits if you add bone broth instead of just plain chicken broth
Hi Evelyn, Absolutely! :)