Ingredients
Chicken and broth
- 900 g boneless skinless chicken breast about 2 lb raw, without added solution
- 2000 ml water about 8 1/2 cups, plus more to replace evaporation
- 100 g white onion about 1/2 medium onion, divided
- 12 g garlic about 4 peeled cloves, divided
- 6 g fine salt about 1 tsp, divided
Tomato base and vegetables
- 400 g ripe red tomatoes about 14 oz, chopped
- 10 g canola oil about 2 tsp
- 25 g chipotle chiles in adobo about 1–2 chiles with sauce; add gradually
- 300 g cooked unsalted chickpeas about 1 3/4 cups, drained weight
- 300 g carrots about 10 1/2 oz peeled, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 200 g green beans about 7 oz trimmed, in short lengths
- 250 g zucchini about 9 oz, in thick half-moons
- 3 g fresh epazote 1 small washed sprig; omit if unavailable
To finish
- 180 g avocado flesh about 6 1/3 oz, sliced just before serving
- 60 ml fresh lime juice about 1/4 cup or 60 g
- 10 g fresh cilantro washed and chopped
Equipment
- 1 5-quart pot with lid
- 1 Skillet
- 1 Blender
- 1 Kitchen scale
- 1 Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
Cook the chicken and tomato base
- Put chicken directly into the pot without rinsing. Add water, half the onion, half the garlic and 4 g salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook 20–25 minutes, until the thickest part of every piece reaches 165°F. Skim foam if needed.
- Move the cooked chicken to a clean dish. When cool enough to handle, shred into substantial pieces. Keep the broth with its cooked onion and garlic in the pot.
- Blend the tomatoes, remaining onion and garlic with 200 ml of the broth, cooling first if necessary for your blender. Heat the oil in a skillet and cook this mixture 6–8 minutes over medium heat, stirring. Add it to the broth.
Add the vegetables and finish
- Add carrots and simmer 8 minutes. Add green beans and cook another 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini, cooked chickpeas, epazote and half the chipotle with its adobo, finely chopped.
- Simmer 8–10 minutes, until vegetables are tender but hold their shape. Taste and add the remaining chipotle to preference; a portion may be left whole for someone who wants it in their bowl. Return the chicken and heat 3–5 minutes, or until the whole serving reaches 165°F.
- Replace evaporated liquid with hot water as needed. Add up to the remaining 2 g salt after tasting. Remove a tough epazote stem.
- Divide chicken, chickpeas and vegetables among six bowls and add broth. Finish with avocado and cilantro, offering lime juice at the table. Do not boil the avocado in the pot.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving with garnish (1/6 batch)Calories: 389.4kcalCarbohydrates: 30.9gProtein: 41.4gFat: 11.8gSodium: 555.6mgFiber: 9.9g
Notes
The chickpeas must already be cooked. Reduce chipotle to preference; brands differ in heat and sodium. US amounts are approximate; gram weights control the formula. Refrigerate soup without avocado in shallow containers within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F, at 40°F or below for 3–4 days. Reheat to 165°F, then add fresh garnish.
Estimated nutrition is one-sixth of all listed ingredients, including avocado, lime, cilantro, oil and 25 g chipotle. USDA SR Legacy raw edible weights were combined with La Costeña’s Mexican chipotles-in-adobo label, reviewed October 9, 2026. Chile total carbohydrate is modeled as available carbohydrate plus labeled fiber. Sugar, saturated/mono/polyunsaturated fat, cholesterol and micronutrients other than sodium are omitted because epazote or the label has incomplete data. Missing does not mean zero. Another adobo label changes the estimate. Minerals naturally present in added water are not modeled.
