This Gluten Free Green Chile Pork Soup is a tangy southwestern brothy soup packed with green chile, lime, and cilantro flavors. A healthy gluten free soup year round.
So you will have to excuse my sporadic posting this next month and a half while we are transitioning to Hawaii.
We are officially HOMELESS. WAHHH!
If I had the next hour to write (and you had the next hour to read) I would walk you through my most traumatic moving experience this past weekend. But I’m trying to get over it, and quite frankly, I don’t think you guys have that kind of time. Am I right?
Let’s just say I better enjoy my Tupperware, Christmas decorations, and boxes of extra aluminum foil and Kleenex because I just spent an extra $3,000 in additional truck space packing them instead of my beautiful NEW furniture. Again, it’s a long SAD story.
But, you know what makes me feel slightly better? Mooching off my parents. Sorry mom and dad. But really, for every day I stay here, for every meal you make me, and for every outfit you buy for my kids for FREE…it inches me that much closer to making up that $3K I flushed down the toilet.
Literally, every time I use toilet paper from now on I will imagine $100 bills being sucked down the porcelain commode.
Annnd, deep breaths. Okay, no more thoughts about moving. Let’s focus on FOOD.
The last time my mom treated me to dinner, we ate at Paradise Bakery right before heading out on an evening wedding attire wild goose chase for my brother’s upcoming nuptials. It really was a wild goose chase. Try finding 7 pairs of specifically colored burgundy skinny pants for the groom and his groomsmen. But, alas, we shopped, we spent, and we CONQUERED!
Now even though it’s summer, and over 100 degrees here in good old Utah, soup sounded good. So, I got soup. Soup for summer!
I figure if Paradise is allowed to keep soup on their menu year round, then not only am I allowed to EAT, but I am allowed to COOK soup year round. So there, there and there! Plus, soup is ALWAYS an easy way to clean out your pantry. Hence, why I made this soup right before packing up for our big move.
I’m under the school of thought that it’s not so much the temperature of your soup, but the flavor of your soup that determines whether or not it is appropriate for summer. So let me describe this Gluten Free Green Chile Pork Soup for you and let you be the judge.
The base of this soup is a mixture of perfectly seasoned Swanson’s Chicken Broth and your favorite salsa verde (I actually used the Target Archer Farms brand). The nice thing about using the salsa verde for flavor, is that you don’t have to add a whole lot of extra flavor. Just a few more spices and a handful of fresh chopped cilantro, and you have that Mexican flavor down to a T.
Talking about spices, I added the typical southwestern seasonings to jazz up this soup even more: coriander, cumin, chili powder, and a touch of turmeric and cinnamon for depth and warmth.
Of course I had to add a splash of honey to even out the spice and compliment the subtle cinnamon flavor.
Now you’re probably thinking, “How the heck does cinnamon play into summer???”
It just does, okay!
Especially when you squeeze in tart, tangy lime juice and toss in the cilantro. Cilantro is definitely summer to me. Think about all those cold salsas and pico de gallos with cilantro that are just screaming to be scooped on top of fish tacos or paired with homemade guacamole.
Besides the amazing spicy, tangy flavor of the soup, I love the fact that it is HEALTHY. It’s a brothy soup instead of a typical creamy pork stew. Perfect for all those summer beach bodies out there. It’s a really well balanced, low fat meal using lean pork stew meat. And if you can’t find pork stew meat, just chop up a lean pork butt or pork chops into bite sized pieces.
And to make this soup even more satisfying and filling, I added 2 cans of beans. You can use any kind of white bean to add extra protein to the soup. I used a can of northern and a can of chickpeas for this recipe.
Top this savory soup with some cool sour cream, creamy avocado, and crunchy tortilla strips and serve alongside some golden cornbread muffins and it’s a summer winner. At least in my {recipe} book it is!
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 pounds pork stew meat, trimmed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- salt
- pepper
- 4 cups Swanson's Chicken Broth
- 1 cup salsa verde
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 cans white beans (northern, white kidney, or garbanzo)
- juice of 4 limes
- small can green chiles (optional)
- Trim fat off stew meat and cut into bite sized pieces. Chop onion. Set both aside.
- Mix together chicken broth, salsa verde, chili powder, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, cornstarch, and honey in a large bowl. Whisk together until cornstarch is dissolved.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Once oil is hot enough to sizzle with drop of water, add stew meat and onions. Season with salt and pepper and cook until pork is no longer pink on the outside. Add minced garlic and cook 30 seconds more. Drain excess fat from pot.
- Add broth mixture to soup pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes.
- Remove lid and add cilantro, beans, lime juice, and can of green chiles (if desired). Warm through for 5-10 minutes more on low heat. Serve warm with desired toppings.
