Mango Verde Chicken Soup

Mango Verde Chicken Soup with wild rice and veggies swimming in the most tantalizing tangy, spicy, creamy coconut, mango, salsa verde broth is the MUST MAKE soup of the season!

This Mango Verde Chicken Soup is easy, healthy, reheats beautifully and can even be made in the slow cooker!  It is warm and comforting yet exotic and fresh at the same time.  It requires minimal effort but is restaurant delicious.  It is loaded with juicy, tender shredded chicken, nutty wild rice, hearty black beans, fire roasted tomatoes, tender-crisp zucchini all topped with juicy, sweet mangos AKA it is a flavor texture dream.  And you will be dreaming about this Mango Verde Chicken Soup for days!

This post is sponsored by the Mango Board.  All opinions are my own.



 

Soup season – my favorite season –  is officially here!  I love soups for so many reasons, namely, they are simple to prepare with minimal cleanup BUT deliver layers of dynamic flavor!  To kick off this soup season, I bring you a must make, new favorite, Mango Verde Chicken Soup!  Like for realzzzz.  With a fridge full of leftovers, this is all both Patrick and I wanted to eat.

This Mango Verde Chicken Soup is based off of my Chicken in Coconut Mango Verde Sauce which is an all time readers fav.  The Mango Verde Sauce is EVERYTHING!  Here’s what some readers had to say about it:

Made this dish this evening! Heaven, absolutely delicious. My husband asked if I’d make it next week as well.” – Star

“Seriously one of the BEST chicken dishes I have come across!…My boyfriend already asked me to make it again! Thanks for the awesome recipe!” – Sammi

I never comment on food blogs, as many things are good, but not “knock your socks off” good. This dish is 100% knock your socks off good. Holy smokes. I texted the link to all my friends and am sitting here contemplating another serving. Absolute perfection…- Shannon

“I made this for dinner last night and my husband and I absolutely LOVED it!! He said to add it to my list of go to dinners. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe with us.” – Stacey

“I was skeptical about this at first – I wasn’t sure how the combination of mango and coconut milk and salsa verde would taste blended together but OH BOY was it delicious… I never comment on recipe blogs, but I just had to mention how much my husband and I liked this one!” – Josephine

Mango Verde Sauce

The Mango Verde Sauce remains almost identical in this Mango Verde Chicken Soup which means it is identically delicious and the sauce takes less than 5 minutes to make!  Simply add 1 cup of roughly chopped mangos, coconut milk, salsa verde, lime juice, a touch of brown sugar, cornstarch, chicken bouillon, ground cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika and chipotle chile pepper to your blender and blend until smooth.

The sauce emerges, smooth (and will creamify further when simmered), tangy, slightly sweet and smoky, with layers of exotic fiesta seasonings. You will want to drink this sauce, so we are going to do the next best thing and slurp it in soup!

And in case you didn’t think soup season, was mango season, think again!  There are actually six varieties of mangos that have staggered growing seasons in Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Guatemala and Haiti so mangos are available year round!

Tips for Mango Verde Chicken Soup

Chicken:  You can use either a large chicken breast cut through the equator, two smaller chicken breasts or even chicken thighs. The chicken simmers with the soup until it is tender enough to shred.  This is a super easy method to make your own shredded chicken. You can also omit the chicken completely to make it vegetarian.  If you do this, you will want to slightly increase the other soup ingredients.

Rotisserie Chicken:  Alternatively, you can use leftover shredded chicken or a fresh rotisserie chicken and add the chicken in at the end of cooking.

Wild Rice:  Take care you are using wild rice BLEND and not all black rice/forbidden rice. You can purchase bags of wild rice blend at your grocery store or the bulk bins at Sprouts.

Coconut Milk:  You are welcome to use lite coconut milk which makes this Mango Verde Chicken Soup wonderfully healthy.  The mango and cornstarch add some nice body and creaminess so you won’t even miss the full fat coconut milk.

How many mangos?   You are going to want at least 2 mangos for this recipe (I use 3-4).  You will use one cup roughly chopped mango for the sauce and then at least one chopped mango for garnish.  You can garnish individual servings with mangos and/or add them directly to the soup at the end of cooking.  The mangos cut through and compliment the tanginess and acidity and MAKE this soup!

Benefits of Mangos:  Mangos are not only sweet and juicy, but they are a superfruit full of vitamins, minerals and fiber.  Just one cup of mangos provides 100% of the daily value for vitamin C and is just 100 calories!  Mangos are also fat free, sodium free and cholesterol free so pile them high!

How to Choose and Cut a Mango:  If you are intimidated by picking or cutting mangos, please don’t let that deter you from making this magical soup!  I’ve included everything you need to know about mangos in my How to Cut A Mango Post.

Salsa Verde:  I recommend using mild salsa verde and then adding hot sauce or more chipotle chile pepper to taste in order to spice things up.

Stir Often: You will want to stir the soup often towards the end of cooking so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.

Check for doneness: I also recommend checking the rice at 20 minutes and every few minutes after for doneness because rice cooking times will vary due to how long it took the chicken to cook, how hot the simmer is, etc.

Consistency:  This soup is a thicker, chili consistency, but that is completely customizable.  For a thinner soup, simply stir in additional water or chicken broth.

Customize: Taste finished soup and add additional brown sugar for sweeter, hot sauce for spicier or lime for tangier.  You will probably want a little more brown sugar if your mangos aren’t very sweet or if you like your soup spicier.

Leftovers:  This Mango Verde Soup makes fabulous leftovers and even tastes better the next day!  The good thing about wild rice, (aside from containing 30 percent fewer calories than brown rice and 40 percent more protein) is that it retains its great nutty texture when reheated.

Can I Cook this Chicken Soup in the Slow Cooker?

YES!  I love cooking chicken with wild rice in the slow cooker like in my Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Wild Rice Soup and Slow Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken, Wild Rice Soup.  This Mango Verde Chicken Soup uses the same dump and cook method:

  1. Lightly spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Add all of the soup ingredients to the slow cooker.  Blend all of the Mango Verde Sauce ingredients together and add to slow cooker.
  2. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low 6-7 hours, or until chicken is tender enough to shred and rice is cooked.
  3. Remove chicken and allow to rest 5 minutes before shredding or chopping if preferred then add back to soup.

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©Carlsbad Cravings by CarlsbadCravings.com

Mango Verde Chicken Soup

Mango Verde Chicken Soup with wild rice and veggies swimming in most tantalizing tangy, spicy, creamy coconut, mango, salsa verde broth is the MUST MAKE soup of the season! It is easy, healthy, reheats beautifully and can even be made in the slow cooker!  It is warm and comforting yet exotic and fresh at the same time.  It requires minimal effort but is restaurant delicious. 
Servings: 6 -8 servings
Total Time: 50 minutes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients

Soup

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large chicken breasts (1 pound) cut through the equator to create 2 thin fillets
  • 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice blend
  • 1 15 oz. can black beans rinsed and drained
  • 1 15 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes with juices
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 zucchini sliced and quartered

Mango Verde Sauce

Garnish

Instructions

  • Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large Dutch oven/soup pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken and lightly sear on both sides, approximately 2 minutes, but don’t cook through.
  • Add chicken broth and wild rice to chicken and bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer on medium low, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is tender enough to shred. Remove chicken and let rest until cool enough to shred.
  • Meanwhile, add all of the Coconut Mango Verde Sauce to a blender and blend until smooth.
  • After you remove chicken, add black beans, diced tomatoes and Coconut Mango Verde Sauce to pot with rice (don’t add chicken back yet). Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 20-30 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir often, especially towards the end so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn. *Note: Rice cooking time varies so I suggest checking the rice occasionally until done.
  • Once rice is tender, add shredded chicken back to pot along with zucchini and bell peppers. Simmer for 2 minutes.
  • Taste and add additional brown sugar for sweeter, hot sauce for spicier or lime for tangier. Garnish with plenty of mangos and optional cilantro.

Notes

  • Chicken:  You can use either a large chicken breast cut through the equator, two smaller chicken breasts or even chicken thighs. Alternatively, you can use leftover shredded chicken or a fresh rotisserie chicken and add the chicken in at the end of cooking.
  • Wild Rice:  Take care you are using wild rice BLEND and not all black rice/forbidden rice. You can purchase bags of wild rice blend at your grocery store or the bulk bins at Sprouts.
  • Coconut Milk:  You are welcome to use lite coconut milk which makes this Mango Verde Chicken Soup wonderfully healthy.  The mango and cornstarch add some nice body and creaminess so you won’t even miss the full fat coconut milk.
  • How many mangos?   You are going to want at least 2 mangos for this recipe (I use 3-4).  You will use one cup roughly chopped mango for the sauce and then at least one chopped mango for garnish.  You can garnish individual servings with mangos and/or add them directly to the soup at the end of cooking.
  • How to Choose and Cut a Mango:  If you are intimidated by picking or cutting mangos, please don’t let that deter you from making this magical soup!  I’ve included everything you need to know about mangos in my How to Cut A Mango Post.
  • Salsa Verde:  I recommend using mild salsa verde and then adding additional chipotle chile pepper to taste in order to spice things up.
  • Check for doneness: I also recommend checking the rice at 20 minutes and every few minutes after for doneness because rice cooking times will vary due to how long it took the chicken to cook, how hot the simmer is, etc.
  • Consistency:  This soup is a thicker, hearty, chili consistency, but that is completely customizable.  For a thinner soup, simply stir in additional water or chicken broth.
  • Customize: Taste finished soup and add additional brown sugar for sweeter, hot sauce for spicier or lime for tangier.  You will probably want a little more brown sugar if your mangos aren’t very sweet or if you like your soup spicier.
  • Leftovers:  This Mango Verde Soup makes fabulous leftovers and even tastes better the next day!  The good thing about wild rice, (aside from containing 30 percent fewer calories than brown rice and 40 percent more protein) is that it retains its great nutty texture when reheated.

SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS

  1. Lightly spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Add all of the soup ingredients to the slow cooker.  Blend all of the Mango Verde Sauce ingredients together and add to slow cooker.
  2. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low 6-7 hours, or until chicken is tender enough to shred and rice is cooked.
  3. Remove chicken and allow to rest 5 minutes before shredding or chopping if preferred then add back to soup.

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14 Comments

  1. Shari says

    Hi Jen, this looks not only gorgeous but super yummy! One of my favorite recipes of yours is your Mango Chipotle Chili so I am so excited to make this!

    • Jen says

      Thank you so much Shari! That is awesome you love the Mango Chipotle Chili – that is a super olide but a goodie!

  2. Lauren says

    I love mangos but never would have thought to put them in soup. Can’t wait to try it!

    • Jen says

      If you love mangos, you are going to love this soup! Please let me know what you think after you try it!

  3. Natalie says

    Your chicken in mango verde sauce is a family favorite so I am so excited to try this soup! Going on the menus this week!

    • Jen says

      I’m so happy to hear you love the Chicken in Mango Verde Sauce! You are going to especially LOVE this soup then! I’m excited for you to try it!

  4. kiran says

    This recipe is Mouth-watering and i love it.
    I have a question related to this recipe whether we can use raw mango in this recipe?

    • Jen says

      Yes, use raw mangos in the sauce and for garnish. enjoy!

  5. Rachel says

    What a great soup! I finally got around to making this, after realizing I had most of the ingredients. What a wonderful change-up from the usual Thai coconut with a Tex-Mex flavor profile. I made it in the slow cooker with brown rice instead of wild rice and two bell peppers instead of the zucchini. I also used leftover rotisserie chicken instead of the chicken breasts, which turned out nicely. Plus it gave me enough leftovers so that I’ve got lunch covered for the week. Definitely recommend.

    • Jen says

      Thank you so much Rachel, I’m so happy you loved it!

  6. Tamara Geiger says

    This is an amazing recipe! The only thing that do a bit differently…. instead of chicken, I use Aidell’s Jalapeno -Mango Chicken Sausage. It is insanely delicious!!!! Thank you for so many fantastic recipes!

    • Jen says

      Thanks so much Tamara, I’m thrilled you loved it! he Jalapeno Mango Chicken Sausage is brilliant!

  7. Kirsten says

    This soup is just delightful!. I doubled the recipe and had plenty to share with friends. I needed to use dark kidney beans as I did not realize I did not have the black beans on hand. The kidney beans worked perfectly. I also used half coconut milk and half regular milk. We enjoyed topping this hearty soup with either tortilla strips or chopped mango. My family has fallen in love with your recipes! I have been making one or two of your recipes each week and they all get rave reviews! Thanks so very much for all of the additional tips in each recipe!

    • Jen says

      Thank you so much for the high praises, Kirsten! It makes my day to hear you and your family are enjoying my recipes! I am so thrilled your substitutions worked perfectly, and that you loved this soup! I hope you’re having a wonderful week and find more recipes to enjoy!