Southwest Enchilada Soup

If you knew me, you would know that I absolutely LOVE Mexican food. I try to cook something weekly that encompasses the spicy, mouth watering tastes of this type of food. I am no stranger to authentic Mexican flavors since I grew up in a small border town with friends who would often invite me over for their mama’s or abuela’s home cooked meals. I’m seriously hungry now!

Since I eat primarily plant based, I’ve had to come up with some pretty creative ways of incorporating these flavors into recipes that don’t use any meat, or dairy. Fortunately, many Mexican dishes use beans as a staple so I thought I’d start there. This dish would fall more on the Tex-Mex spectrum rather than authentic Mexican in my opinion, but either way it is a meal that you will be going back for seconds for.

A Healthy Take

I love using pinto beans in this dish but you could sub in any beans you have on hand. While cooking your own beans is best, using canned can be helpful in a pinch. Jalapeño, and canned green chilies give it just the right amount of spice and flavor. The sweet potato gives it a nice, not overly sweet addition. The coconut milk does not give it a tropical flavor at all, but cuts the heat a bit and gives the broth a smooth creamy texture. Yum yum YUM!

No-Meat That Can’t Be Beat

This recipe has two leading roles that both deserve a standing ovation. One is a real flavor enhancer, and the other should receive a texture trophy. For the first, I stumbled across Abbot’s Butcher Plant-Based “Chorizo”. spanish-smoked-chorizo

While I am not always a fan of faux meats, this one seems to have NOTHING bad in it! It even uses olive oil rather than the refined seed oils most faux meats contain. It really gave this soup some serious zip, and with 15g of plant protein you can’t go wrong. Huge fan.

Starring role #2 would be jackfruit. If you’ve never heard of jackfruit before, I’m so glad you are about to hear about it now! Jackfruit is fruit that grows in Southeast Asia. It is antioxidant rich, and has even been used for it’s antimicrobial and anti-fungal properties. It can benefit heart health and decrease inflammation in the body.

As great as all of that is, the reason I love jackfruit, is because it can be shredded and placed in dishes to mimic the look and feel of chicken. The fruit by itself is basically tasteless which means it is a great canvass for spices and seasonings to create any type of flavor profile you would like. In this dish I used chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin to spice it up and make it the perfect addition to pair with the veggies and beans in this soup!

A Quick Fix

Lastly, this meal can be added to your busy weeknight go to routine. A lot of cans and spices and minimal chopping make it a meal you might just commit to memory as a quick go to. Plus this meal is perfect if you need to make food for the meat eaters in your home. Simply bake up two chicken breasts and shred. Make the soup and divide into two pots before adding chicken in one, and jackfruit in the other. Win win!