Grilled Green Chile Chicken Soup

Dec 26, 2024 • Tom Jackson

Nothing warms the soul quite like a bowl of homestyle Green Chile Chicken Soup on a chilly evening. In this version, Chef Tom serves the classic with fire-roasted salsa verde, smoked chicken thighs, black beans, rice, and a touch of heat—all simmered to harmony.

What You'll Love

The salsa verde is fire-roasted from scratch over live coals. Tomatillos, poblanos, and jalapeños go directly over the El Dorado's flame until charred and blistered — steamed, peeled, and blended with cilantro and garlic. That's the flavor engine of the entire soup.
The chicken gets a direct-heat char before it ever goes into the pot. Mexicano-seasoned thighs over direct flame, just long enough to develop surface char — then diced and added to the braise. You're not adding raw chicken to soup; you're adding charred chicken that contributes a layer of grill flavor throughout.
Smashing the beans partway through is the thickening technique. Once the Rancho Gordo Midnight Black Beans are tender, the direction calls for pressing them into the sides of the dutch oven with a wooden spoon. The released starch thickens the broth naturally — no cornstarch, no roux.
The sour cream goes in during the final cook, not at serving. Stirred in with ten minutes left on the heat, it incorporates fully into the broth and becomes part of the soup's creamy backbone rather than a cool topping sitting on a hot bowl.

Green Chile Chicken Soup

Tom Jackson

Rated 4.5 stars by 13 users

Cuisine

Mexican

Servings

14

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Calories

274

Built for both comfort and depth, the recipe layers flavors: smoky char, tangy tomatillo, savory beans, creamy sour cream, and melted cheese. Whether served at a family table or passed around at a gathering, this soup delivers on heartiness and finesse.

What You’ll Love

Complex layer of flavor — from grilled vegetables to seasoned chicken to salsa verde

Hearty texture — black beans, rice, chicken, and vegetables make this more meal than soup

Finishing touches — sour cream, shredded Chihuahua, fresh cilantro, and lime slices brighten each bowl

Versatile and warming — great for leftovers, entertaining, or a cozy weeknight dinner

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Ingredients

For the Fire Roasted Salsa Verde:

1 1/2 lb tomatillos, husks peeled, rinsed
3 poblano peppers
2-3 jalapeño peppers
1 bunch cilantro
3 cloves garlic, crushed

For the soup:

1 cup Rancho Gordo Midnight Black Beans
1 lb chicken thighs
Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Taco Seasoning
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups yellow onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup Rancho Gordo Brown Rice
2 quarts chicken stock, warmed on the stove
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups chihuahua shredded cheese
12 slices lime
Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt, to taste

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Directions

Soak your Rancho Gordo Midnight Black Beans in water overnight.
In the fire box of a Yoder Smokers El Dorado Grill, fill two chimney fire starters with lump charcoal and light. When hot to the top, dump on one half of the fire box. Top with splits of oak wood to build a large fire.
To make the fire roasted salsa verde, first grill the tomatillos, poblanos and jalapeños. When the peppers are blackened on all sides, remove from the grill and place in a container with a lid to steam for about 10 minutes. The tomatillos are done when they have some char on them, begin to soften and start to burst open. Remove from the grill.
Remove the peppers from the container. Slice off the tops/stems. Slice open the pepper. Scrape out the seeds. Flip the pepper over and peel the charred skin from the flesh. Give the flesh a rough chop and place in the Vitamix blander. Set aside about one quarter cup minced cilantro for garnish. Add the roasted tomatillos, remaining cilantro and garlic to the blender, as well. Blend until smooth. Set aside for later.
Season your chicken thighs with Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Taco Seasoning. Grill over direct heat until you have some nice char on the surface. You don’t need to reach a particular internal temperature, as the chicken will be braised for a long time after. Remove from the grill and side into small pieces.
If your coal bed is dying out, make sure to add another chimney full of hot charcoal to the existing coals, as well as more oak wood splits.
Place a Finex Cast Iron Dutch Oven directly on the coals. When the cast iron is hot, add the extra virgin olive oil to the dutch oven, and then the mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery). Season with Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Taco Seasoning and stir. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened and translucent.
Next, add to the dutch oven the beans, rice, chicken and salsa verde. Stir to combine, then pour in the warmed chicken stock. Place a lid on top and let cook until the beans are softened and rice is tender, about one hour and twenty minutes.
When the beans and rice are tender, use a wooden spoon to smash the beans into the sides and bottom of the dutch oven. This will release some of their starches to help thicken the soup. Also, at this time, add the sour cream and stir until well mixed. Return the lid to the dutch oven and let cook another ten minutes, then remove the from the grill.
Top the soup with Chihuhua cheese, cilantro and slices of lime. Taste and season with Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt, as needed.

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

Can I skip soaking the black beans overnight?

You can, but soaking significantly reduces cook time and improves texture. Unsoaked Rancho Gordo Midnight Black Beans cooked directly in the soup will require substantially more liquid and considerably more time to become tender — likely 45–60 additional minutes beyond the recipe's 1 hour 20 minute braise window. If you're short on time, the quick-soak method works: bring the beans and water to a full boil, turn off the heat, and let them sit for one hour before draining and proceeding.

Can I use white rice instead of brown?

Yes — but reduce the time after the rice goes in. Rancho Gordo California Brown Rice takes 45–50 minutes to fully cook in a braise at a simmer; white rice cooks in 18–20 minutes. Add white rice in the final 20 minutes of the braise rather than with the beans at the beginning, or it will become mushy and disintegrate into the soup. The brown rice in this recipe is added early precisely because it needs the full braise time to cook through.

How far ahead can I prep this recipe?

The fire-roasted salsa verde can be made up to three days ahead and refrigerated. The mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery) can be diced and stored covered in the refrigerator. The beans can be soaked and pre-cooked separately if you want to reduce day-of time. The full soup is best cooked to order — rice absorbs broth as it sits and the soup thickens substantially overnight. If making ahead, add the rice and sour cream only when reheating, not during the initial cook.

Can I substitute or omit the sour cream?

Omitting the sour cream produces a lighter, brothier soup — still excellent, just less creamy. If you want the creaminess without dairy, full-fat coconut cream stirred in during the final 10 minutes is the best substitute; it adds richness without a coconut flavor at this quantity. Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack work in place of the Chihuahua cheese topping. The sour cream is stirred into the hot soup, not added at serving — don't confuse it with a topping.

Can I make this indoors?

Indoor cooking rating: 3 out of 5 — Works indoors with adjustments. The salsa verde roasting step works well under a broiler on high or directly over a gas burner flame — char the tomatillos and peppers the same way. The chicken char step works on a cast iron grill pan over high heat. The braise in the Finex Dutch Oven translates directly to a stovetop simmer on low. What you lose is the live-fire El Dorado character — the ambient wood smoke and the intensity of real charcoal heat on the salsa ingredients and chicken. The soup is excellent indoors; the fire-roasted depth is noticeably different.

Recipe Highlights

Grill the Salsa Ingredients in Stages, Not All at Once: The tomatillos and peppers have different cook times and different doneness targets — the peppers need full blackening on all sides for clean peeling; the tomatillos need char plus softening until they begin to burst. Grilling them together and pulling them at the same time produces undercharred peppers or overcooked tomatillos. Work the grill in stages: peppers first to blacken, then into the steam container; tomatillos next until bursting and charred.
Place the Dutch Oven Directly on the Coals: Direction step 7 specifies placing the Finex Dutch Oven directly on the coals — not on the grate above them. Direct coal contact produces an extremely high-heat environment that sears the mirepoix bottom and develops fond rapidly, which adds depth to the broth. On the grate, the temperature is sufficient for cooking but doesn't replicate the intensity. Make sure the coal bed is replenished per step 6 before the dutch oven goes in.
Smash the Beans Before Adding the Sour Cream: Direction step 9 specifies smashing the beans first, then adding the sour cream. Smashing releases bean starch that thickens the broth; the sour cream then incorporates into a thickened base. If you add the sour cream first, the acidic dairy can cause the starch-releasing beans to interact differently as they're pressed. The order matters — smash to thicken, then stir in the sour cream, then lid and finish for ten minutes.
Reserve Cilantro Before Blending the Salsa Verde: Direction step 4 explicitly notes to "set aside about one quarter cup minced cilantro for garnish" before adding the rest to the blender. This step is easy to miss and impossible to undo — once the cilantro is blended into the salsa verde, there's no cilantro left for the garnish. Pull the garnish portion before the blender runs.