Cooking Time & Servings

Jonny’s Favorite Southwestern Chickpea Soup  Recipe

This hearty Southwestern chickpea soup recipe combines tender chickpeas, savory sausage, tomatoes, chicken, and bold Southwest-inspired seasonings. Made with Frontier Soups Jonny’s Favorite Southwestern Chickpea Soup Mix, it’s a flavorful homemade meal ready in about 30 minutes.

Ingredients

You Will Need

  • Jonny's Favorite Southwestern Chickpea Soup Mix
  • 1 Tbsp. oil
  • 1 lb. hot Italian sausage, Mexican chorizo or andouille
  • 4 cups chicken broth (32 oz.)
  • 1 can (14.50 oz.) diced tomatoes (for extra heat, use 10 oz. can tomatoes with green chilies)
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken breast, cup up (6-8 oz.)

Instructions

Here's What You Do

  1. In a 4-quart pot, heat oil over medium heat.
  2. Remove sausage from casing or purchase fresh bulk sausage not in casing.
  3. Sauté sausage, breaking up clumps, until thoroughly browned.
  4. Stir in stew mix. Add broth, tomatoes and chicken.
  5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.
  6. Serve with tortilla chips or cornbread.

Got leftovers? Learn how to cool, store, and reheat soup safely in our guide to soup storage and food safety.

Cooking & Nutrition Tips

Use the tips below to customize nutrition, boost flavor, or stretch the soup to fit your needs.

Reducing Sodium

Broth:

To reduce sodium, use an alternative broth such as: low-sodium, organic, stock, bone broth, unsalted, or try making a homemade broth.  See chart below to compare.

All our mixes contain no added salt, only what occurs naturally in the ingredients.  In the interest of transparency, we use regular (full-sodium) store-bought broth to create our recipes and calculate the nutrition panels — which is why the sodium levels may appear higher than you desire. 

While we don’t like it from a health standpoint, salt is a major flavor booster.  If you are using reduced sodium broth and looking to enhance flavor, try adding these depending on your preferences: fresh ground pepper, herbs & spices, lemon juice, garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, hot-sauce, flavored vinegar.

Tomatoes:

Instead of a regular can (14 oz.) of diced tomatoes, use a can of no-salt-added diced tomatoes or 1-2 cans (10 oz.) of no-salt-added diced tomatoes & green chilies.

Hot Italian Sausage:

High in sodium on its own, but when the 1 lb. of hot Italian sausage is spread across the 8 servings it’s not quite as severe, adding ~ 350-450 mg of sodium per serving. To reduce the sodium we recommend using ground pork (or turkey) and mixing in your own seasonings of fennel seeds, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, and black pepper – this will reduce sodium to ~ 40 mg per serving.

Variety (1 cup) Sodium (mg) % Daily Value
Standard Broth 860 mg 37%
Low-Sodium Broth 570 mg 25%
Organic Broth 550 mg 24%
Stock 510 mg 22%
Bone Broth 400 mg 17%
Organic Low-Sodium Broth 100 mg 4%
Unsalted Broth 35 mg 2%

Boosting Protein

  • Add ½ cup – 1 cup full-fat (4%) cottage cheese. This will alter the taste profile making the soup more tangy, salty, and savory. If using cottage cheese, we highly recommend you: 1) liquify/smooth entirely in blender or with immersion blender before adding, and 2) turn off the heat and let the soup cool slightly before adding so it does not curdle and/or lose its silky texture.  See chart below for nutritional info.
  • Add additional chicken, you can certainly double the recipe’s called for amount and add 12-16 oz.
  • Add a can of your favorite bean such as black, white/cannellini, lentil, chickpea, navy, etc.
  • Swap standard broth for bone broth.

Nutritious Options/Swaps

  • Instead of pork-based sausage try turkey or chicken sausage.
  • Toss in nutrient-dense greens such as spinach or kale for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
  • Toss in whatever vegetables you have in the fridge and simmer with soup mix.
  • Top with hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, or nutritional yeast.
  • Add in red lentils or quinoa for added nutrition and thickness.

Starting with Raw Chicken

Our recommendations:

  1. Sear Option: In a 4-quart pot, heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sear 4-5 minutes per side.  Remove chicken to cutting board to cool.  Begin recipe as stated, sauteing the sausage in the same pot as the chicken.  Stir in stew mix, broth, and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, dice or shred the cooled chicken and add to pot.  Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.
  2. Poach Option: Begin recipe as normal. Add raw chicken with broth and tomatoes and bring broth to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove chicken to a cutting board, let cool, and shred or dice.  Add chicken back to pot and simmer covered for 10-15 minutes.
  3. Simmer Option: Begin recipe as normal and simply add cubed raw chicken at the same time you would normally add stew mix, broth, tomatoes, and cooked chicken. Proceed per recipe. 

Recipe Variations

Southwestern Corn & Chickpea Soup 

You Will Also Need:

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 pound ground chicken or turkey
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
  • 1-10 ounce can tomatoes with green chiles

Here’s What You Do:

  1. In a 4-quart pot heat oil over medium heat.
  2. Sauté chicken in oil until browned.
  3. Add contents of Southwestern Sausage & Chickpea Stew Mix and stir well.
  4. Add broth, corn and tomatoes.
  5. Bring to a simmer, cover and continue to simmer on low for 30 minutes.
  6. Enjoy this Southwestern corn soup with cornbread on the side.

Veggie Boost:
Add 1/3 cup chopped onions and 4 minced garlic cloves with the soup mix. Add one box frozen mixed vegetables in the final 10 minutes of cooking time and top each serving with slices of avocado.

Sausage Swap:
Use bulk breakfast sausage instead of the suggested sausage varieties for a rich, savory flavor.

Lighter Sausage Version:
Use ½ lb hot Italian sausage instead of a full pound. The soup will still be thick, hearty, and full of flavor.

Smoky Chicken Twist:
Season the chicken with smoked paprika and a pinch of turmeric, add roasted garlic, and use Ro-Tel tomatoes for a slightly smoky Southwestern flavor.

Inspired by our customers. Thanks to Colleen P., Patty A., and K.H. for sharing their ideas.
Have a favorite twist of your own? Send us an email or leave a review on the product page.

Dietary Adaptations

These mixes are flexible by design. Use the adaptations below to meet your dietary needs or cooking preferences.

Vegan/Vegetarian

Southwestern Chickpea Soup with Butternut Squash

This vegetable stew has plenty of texture with the addition of butternut squash. Vegetarian sausage may be added for the last 5 minutes of cooking time, if desired.

You Will Also Need:

  • 4 cups vegetable broth (32 oz.)
  • 1 lb. butternut squash, cubed
  • 14 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes (For extra heat, use 10 ounce can tomatoes with green chilies)
  • Optional: 1 can (14 oz.) of corn or hominy, drained

Here’s What You Do:

  1. In a 4-quart pot heat broth to a simmer.
  2. Stir in stew mix and butternut squash. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes.
  3. Add drained corn or hominy and tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes.
  4. If desired, add pre-cooked vegetarian sausage for 5 minutes.
  5. Serve with tortilla chips or cornbread.

Vegan Southwestern Chickpea Soup with Soyrizo

You Will Also Need:

  • 1 cup of store-bought or homemade soyrizo
  • 1 (6-ounce) package of Frontier Soups Jonny’s Favorite Southwestern Chickpea Soup mix
  • 4 cups of vegetable broth 1 (14.5-ounce) can of diced tomatoes, in their juices
  • ½ of a (20-ounce) can of jackfruit (optional)

Here's What You Do:

  1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, saute the store-bought or homemade soyrizo until lightly browned.
  2. Add in the Frontier Soups Jonny’s Favorite Southwestern Chickpea Soup mix, vegetable broth, and diced tomatoes in their juices.
  3. If you’re using the jackfruit, pull apart the jackfruit pieces into shreds using your fingers and add them to the soup. Bring to a boil, cover, and lower to a simmer for 30 minutes.

Gluten Free

This soup is naturally gluten free when prepared as directed. No special substitutions are needed.

Dairy Free

This soup is naturally dairy free when prepared as directed. No special substitutions are needed.

Cooking Methods

Slow Cooker 

We do not recommend using a slow cooker due to the short cooking time on the stovetop.

Pressure Cooker

We do not recommend using a pressure cooker due to the short cooking time on the stovetop.