Chipotle Chicken, Butternut Squash, and Wild Rice Soup

If you ask a Minnesotan to name their favorite soup, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something of the creamy wild rice variety with chicken, turkey, or ham. On the days my workplace cafeteria serves wild rice soup, you best get your booty downstairs at exactly 10:45am to snag a cup or the kettles will be empty within minutes. We Minnesotans love our wild rice soup. It is the state grain after all.

The only problem with this amazing soup is the heavy cream base. Oh I do love it, but I don’t love the fat and calories that come with it. My solution? Follow the trick my mom uses in her lovely Wild Rice and Ham Soup, which I have adored since I was a child. She lightens up the soup by replacing the heavy cream with fat free half and half. It’s the perfect way to retain that comforting, rich, and creamy base.

I used my mom’s recipe as a guide for this Chipotle Chicken, Butternut Squash, and Wild Rice Soup, but I obviously switched up the ingredients (besides the half and half and rice!) quite a bit. For this soup adventure, I decided to go the Southwest route, because really, can you go ever go wrong with chili powder and cumin? To this soup, I also added chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for some tangy, smoky heat, which pairs well with the sweet butternut squash. If you’re not a fan of heat, just use an equal amount of adobo sauce in place of the pepper. Or gently slice open the pepper, and scrape out the seeds.

Simmer all these wonderful flavors in some chicken broth and finish it off with a splash of half and half. This is pure Minnesotan comfort food with a Southwestern kick!

Chipotle Chicken, Butternut Squash, and Wild Rice Soup

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

55 mins

Author: Krista

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 tbs chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground chipotle pepper
½ tsp onion powder
3 tsp olive oil, divided
1 lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½” cubes (my squash yielded about 1 ½ lbs of cubes)
1 ½ chipotle peppers, finely chopped
2 cups cooked wild rice
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
½ cup half and half (I used fat free)
1 tbs honey
Juice of 1 lime

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix together the chili powder, cumin, salt, chipotle pepper and onion powder.
Rub 2 tsp of olive oil over the chicken breasts.
Sprinkle both sides of each chicken breast with the seasoning mix.
Place the chicken breasts out on a lined baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes.
When cooking is complete, take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Then, chop into small chunks.
While the chicken is baking, heat the remaining tsp of olive oil over medium heat.
Add the onions and garlic and sprinkle with salt. Cook for about 2 minutes until tender.
Add the butternut squash and chipotle pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the wild rice and chopped chicken. Mix together until combined.
Add the chicken broth and water. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cover the pot. Let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the half and half, honey, and lime juice. Give the soup a taste and add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

Serving size: 1 heaping cup
Nutrition Information (per serving) from Caloriecount.about.com
Calories: 205 Fat: 3.7g Carb: 25.5g Fiber: 3.6g Protein: 18.1g Sugar 6.5g Sodium: 950mg
Weight Watchers Points (calculated on member website)
WW: 5 Points Plus