Winter in Florida is Better with This Creamy Chicken Soup (DF & GF)

It’s that time of year again. When the temperature gets cooler, we open our windows, and the craving for soup becomes stronger. Like one of my favorite creamy chicken soups. This one is gluten-free, dairy-free, and just all-around nutritious. And it’s perfect for the cold front we have coming in, something, as a native Floridian, I’m not particularly thrilled about though it does make Christmas in Florida a little more…Christmasy.

It’s cold in Florida – two cold fronts in two weeks! Frankly, I’m a little over winter already, but my native Florida creamy chicken soup helps a little bit.

What I don’t like about winter –

• Cold weather
• Wearing closed shoes
• Sweaters
• Cold weather
• Dry skin
• Cold cold
• Cold weather

Every year I say I’m moving south for the winter which leaves me few options as we live in the Tampa area. So, Miami (btdt), the Keys (btdtt), or somewhere in Caribbean like Curaçao (Sounds great! Let’s go!)

Seriously, I do NOT like being cold. I’m one of those people who gets in my baking car mid-summer and LOVE the energy of the heat and the feel of my skin puckering in response. Bizarre, I know.

When I saw a cold front was coming this week, though, I was mildly excited. Because I love soup, especially creamy ones like creamy chicken soup. Almost as much as I dislike cold. I guess there’s a tradeoff, like…

What I love about winter –

• Soup
• Open windows
• Lower electric bill
• Soup
• Making soup
• Eating soup
• Soup

So…in case you didn’t notice, I love soup. I eat soup year-round, but there’s something about cooler weather that makes soup taste better. Maybe it’s that certain soups are better suited to cooler weather. Maybe it’s just the warmth that heats from the instead and nourishes your body all in one delicious bowl.

With the cooler weather approaching, I reached for a tried and true soup. One that brings it’s own heat besides the temperature. Creamy Chicken Soup. It’s a Mexican-inspired soup, so feel free to add tortilla strips or anything else that makes it more delicious for you.

I tried something different this time. I’m not a fan of mushy vegetables but didn’t want to toss them after making the stock, and all that nutrition with them, so I pureed those mushy vegetables into the stock and came up with a thicker soup that has a flavor reminiscent of a veggie juice. It’s different and yummy. And I hope you try it and love it as much as I do. One thing’s for sure – my veggie stock will never be the same.

The Recipe for Creamy Chicken Soup

3 servings

• 1 yellow bell pepper, ½ cut in large chunk, ½ diced
• 1 orange bell pepper, ½ cut in large chunk, ½ diced
• 1 orange bell pepper, ½ cut in large chunk, ½ diced
• ½ jalapeño pepper, ¼ cut in large chunk, ¼ diced
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• ½ sweet onion, cut in large chunks
• ½ container grape tomatoes
• ½ lime, cut in lime
• 9 c. water
• 1 large chicken breast, seasoned, baked, and shredded
• ¾ large green avocado (or 1.5 Haas avocadoes), diced

Bring the water to a boil. Add the large chunks of bell peppers, jalapeño, onion, all the tomatoes, and all the cilantro. Bring back to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover, and let the stock cook for a couple of hours.

Let cool then puree the veggies and cilantro with enough stock to make it watery. Work in batches as needed. When done and it’s all mixed back in with the stock, it should have the consistency of a watery creamy soup with no veggie chunks.

Ladle 2 cups of stock into each of 3 bowls. Top with chicken, diced peppers, and avocado. Add any other toppings you like – cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips, etc. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I love the light, fresh flavor of this soup combined with its thicker texture. To get that consistency, I use the 3-in-1 Oster Blender which works fabulously to puree all those veggies used in the stock.

Final Thoughts

This soup is nutritious and filling, without all the additives you’ll find in dairy or canned products. For a little more nutrition and flavor, I often make my own bone broth in the slow cooker and use that in place of half the water in this recipe. Would you make any other changes? Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments below.