Spicy Tex-Mex Chicken Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings

Spicy Mexican Chicken Soup with Jalapeno and Cilantro Dumplings

Spicy Tex-Mex Chicken Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings

I know we all love chicken soup with dumplings so I urge you to try this Tex-Mex version with Cornmeal Dumplings that is a bit spicier but just as delicious.

Course Soups and Stews

Cuisine American, Mexican

Keyword chicken soup, dumplings, mexican, soup, spicy, tex-mex

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 20

Servings Servings

Calories 656kcal

Author Barb

Ingredients

For the chicken

3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
6 cloves garlic minced
2 carrots peeled and sliced
4 celery stalks sliced
3 jalapenos diced
1 chicken whole, cut up, cleaned and rinsed
12 cups Chicken Broth
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 bunch cilantro chopped
1 small lime juiced
½ cup heavy cream or half and half
Salt, black pepper, cayenne and cumin to taste

For the cornmeal dumplings:

1 cup cornmeal
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon butter melted
1 jalapeno finely diced
2 Tablespoons cilantro minced

For Garnish:

Sour Cream
Salsa
Chopped Cilantro

Instructions

To Make the Soup

Put olive oil into a large stockpot and heat to medium. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery and diced jalapeno and saute on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add the chicken pieces and brown on both sides; do in multiple batches if necessary.
Add the Swanson® Unsalted Chicken Broth, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, cumin, cayenne pepper and cilantro. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer for an hour and a half, occasionally skimming the foam off the surface. Taste broth and correct seasoning with salt and pepper.
Remove chicken from pot and turn off the heat. After the chicken has cooled, remove fat and pick the meat off the bones and either shred or cut into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove fat from soup using a gravy separator or my preferred method; refrigerate the soup until it has chilled enough for the fat to start solidifying; then it's easy to spoon the fat off the surface.
Add the shredded chicken, lime juice and cream to the pot; taste to correct seasonings, adding additional salt, black pepper, cayenne and/or cumin to taste. Bring to a boil.

To Make the Cornmeal Dumplings

Sift together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the eggs with the buttermilk and add to the dry ingredients. Stir in the melted butter, jalapenos and cilantro.
When soup is boiling, turn heat down to low and gently drop the dumpling batter into the pot, one heaping tablespoon or so at a time. Do not stir. Place lid on top and steam dumplings for 20 minutes.
Ladle the chicken and dumplings into bowls and garnish with sour cream, salsa and chopped cilantro.

Notes

In a hurry? Use a roasted chicken from your favorite store. Clean all the meat from the carcass and add to the veggies, stock and herbs. Cook for a half hour on low and then proceed with Step Four of the instructions.

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