Tex-Mex Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken breast seared with cumin, chili powder, and paprika, then sliced into a broth loaded with black beans, corn, whole wheat noodles, and half a jalapeño. One pot, twenty minutes, no fuss.
The bowl lands at 688 kcal with 39 grams of protein and 13 grams of fiber from that combination of chicken, black beans, and whole wheat noodles. The Tex-Mex spice blend works double duty: seasoning the chicken before the sear and flavoring the broth through the ten-minute simmer.
There is a quiet pairing in this soup that most recipes never mention. The capsaicin from the jalapeño and the beta-carotene from the carrot arrive in your gut at the same time. Research found that capsaicin enhanced beta-carotene absorption by 44%, partly by increasing bile secretion that dissolves carotenoids into absorbable form. A spicy bowl that does more than warm you up.
Ingredients
- olive oil 15 ml
- chicken breast 84 g
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- carrot, diced 1
- jalapeño, seeded and diced 0.5
- bell pepper, diced 0.5
- red onion, diced 0.25
- garlic, minced 5 g
- ground cumin 1 g
- chili powder 1 g
- paprika 1 g
- water 415 ml
- bouillon cube 1
- canned black beans, drained and rinsed 56 g
- corn 56 g
- whole wheat noodles 84 g
Method
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Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken breast with salt, pepper, and a pinch of each spice. Cook the chicken for 3–4 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
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In the same pot, sauté the carrot, jalapeño, bell pepper, and red onion for 3–4 minutes until slightly softened.
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Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, and paprika. Stir for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
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Pour in the water and crumble in the bouillon cube. Stir to dissolve.
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Slice the cooked chicken breast and return it to the pot along with the black beans, corn, and whole wheat noodles.
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Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are tender.
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Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve hot.
Keep the jalapeño in the pot with the carrot during the sauté in step 2 and through the full simmer. Capsaicin from the jalapeño boosted bile secretion in research, which is how your body dissolves beta-carotene from the carrot into absorbable form. Researchers measured a 44% increase in beta-carotene absorption when capsaicin was present (Veda & Srinivasan, 2011).
Capsaicin does not just boost absorption. It also inhibits the enzyme that converts beta-carotene into vitamin A by 20%, leaving more intact beta-carotene circulating as an antioxidant. A separate line of research confirmed the mechanism in human intestinal cell models: capsaicin switches on a specific transport receptor (SR-B1) that pulls carotenoids across the gut wall (Shilpa et al., 2021).
Capsaicin × Beta-Carotene Absorption · DOIWhy This Works
Behind this recipe
Can I leave out the jalapeño if I do not like spice?
You can, and the soup will still taste great. But capsaicin from the jalapeño does more than add heat. Research found it enhanced beta-carotene absorption by 44% by increasing bile secretion, which is how your body dissolves the carrot's carotenoids into usable form. Reducing to a quarter jalapeño keeps the pairing alive with less burn. That said, the finding comes from animal research, so the exact number in humans is still an open question.
Why whole wheat noodles instead of regular pasta?
Whole wheat noodles contribute to the 13 grams of fiber in this bowl, alongside the black beans. They also carry more iron and zinc than refined noodles, which matters here because the garlic and red onion in the broth contain sulfur compounds that research found increased iron bioaccessibility from grains and pulses by up to 73.3%.
Read the full evidence reviewCan I use a different protein instead of chicken breast?
Turkey breast or firm tofu would both work in this soup. The capsaicin-protein thermogenesis pairing is not specific to chicken. Research found that combining capsaicin with a high-protein meal pushed diet-induced thermogenesis to 16.3%, compared to 10% without capsaicin. Any protein source that keeps the bowl near 39 grams preserves that effect.
