Home > Recipes > Soup > Chicken, Lime, and Avocado Soup
Chicken noodle soup is boring. When I’m sick I don’t want something bland and tasteless. I want as much flavor as possible, I usually can barely taste as is. A few months ago I was super sick; nothing tasted good, I couldn’t eat much, and I wanted to use as little effort as possible. That’s when I discovered this perfect Chicken, Lime, and Avocado Soup thanks to Martha Rose Shulman at New York Times Cooking. Simply put, my life was changed after having this soup. I became obsessed and wanted it for every meal. It is so simple yet so delicious and the lime, avocado, and crunchy tortilla chip toppings make this soup a requirement in your soup season rotation. Chicken, lime, cilantro, and avocado are 4 flavors that work together so well and remind me of Southern California Mexican food, which I miss so much, so this soup reminded me of home which made me happy.
Ingredients:
- 2 quarts of homemade chicken stock or 1 quart of store-bought chicken stock and 1 quart water*
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 serrano or jalapeño chile, seeded if desired and minced
- 1 pound of peeled, seeded, and diced tomatoes, or 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomato, drained.
- 1 cup of cooked shredded chicken breast**
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice (to taste), plus thin slices for garnish
- 1 avocado diced or thinly sliced for garnish
- Corn tortilla chips for garnish
* When I made my chicken shredded chicken I cooked it in a pressure cooking (seasoned the chicken breasts with cumin, cayenne, and paprika) so I used the leftover cooking liquid to make up part of the 1 quart of water.
** I cooked 2 small chicken breasts and it made more than a cup. But I used all of the chicken to create a more chicken-heavy, fuller soup.
Instructions
- Bring chicken stock (and water, if using) to a simmer. Add onion, garlic, and chile and simmer for 15 minutes
- Add the tomatoes and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste and add salt if needed, then stir in shredded chicken and chopped cilantro. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the lime juice.
- Divide the avocado between the soup bowls. Laddle in the soup, top with lime slice and tortilla chips.