Once upon an afternoon, I decided to make a chicken dish and thought, “If a little chipotle pepper is good, then an entire can of chipotle peppers must be better.” Wowzers!
As my husband and I tried to eat dinner that night, our noses and eyes ran uncontrollably, and we discussed the television show where a man challenges himself to eat crazy-hot things. Needless to say, I learned a painful (pun intended) lesson that night and applied that lesson when experimenting with my Vegetable Beef Soup.
Just. Use. One.
A little chipotle goes a long way. Trust me.
Cook’s tip: Don’t waste the rest of the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce in the can. Just place them into a freezer bag and flatten. Freeze until needed. Then, you can break off what you need.
This Chipotle Beef Soup is spicy but not too hot. Another bonus is that if you want to skip the beef, you could easily swap out cooked chicken or just extra beans. Delicious.
Chipotle Vegetable Soup
- 1 pound ground beef, browned and drained OR 1 pound chicken, cooked and chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 cups cooked black beans
- 32 ounces beef or chicken broth
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes
- 2 zucchini, halved length-wise and sliced in 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 chipotle pepper packed in adobo sauce, chopped fine
- Salt, to taste
- Greek yogurt, lime, cheddar cheese, and green onion to garnish
Heat olive oil in stock pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook until softened slightly.
Add beef (or chicken), corn, black beans, broth, and tomatoes to the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium.
Stir in chipotle pepper and zucchini. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.
Serve with your choice of toppings.
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