Dollop
Chicken fajita soup
Sizzling fajita chicken, peppers and onions simmered into a smoky, brothy soup with black beans and lime, ready in 40 minutes.
- 40 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.34 a serving
- 350 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
- 12 oz frozen pepper and onion blend
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes, check the box: most cubes make 2 cups each
- 1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles, with the juice
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 avocado, diced (optional)
- ¼ cup sour cream (optional)
- 1 cup tortilla chips (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups water
Each serving has about 350 calories, 34 g protein, 30 g carbs and 11 g fat, and costs about $2.34 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No black beans? Pinto beans or kidney beans work.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Cut the chicken into thin strips and toss them in a bowl with the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and salt.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Medium-high heat
Cook the chicken, stirring now and then, for 5 to 6 minutes, until and white all the way through.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Move it to a plate.
Add the frozen peppers and onions to the pot and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until they’re tender and browned in spots. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Pour in the water, in the bouillon cubes, add the tomatoes with green chiles and beans, and .
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Scrape up the browned bits. It means loosening the brown bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, usually right after adding liquid. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and they melt into the sauce.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan looks clean again, and the liquid turns darker and richer.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Turn the heat to low and for 10 minutes, then stir the chicken back in for 1 minute.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 11 min
Squeeze in the lime, taste for salt, and top with avocado, sour cream and crushed chips.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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