Mexican Leftover Smoked Brisket Soup

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The flavors of savory Mexican spices, and seasoned smoked brisket, with corn, beans, and chilies will warm your soul along with your tummy in this Mexican leftover smoked brisket soup! Flavors reminiscent of traditional posole using leftover smoked brisket. This is a new soup recipe idea that my family and my daycare kids are loving!

And it’s an easy dinner idea for me!

I LOVE leftover cooking. It saves so much time to take some leftovers that you have and turn them into a new dish in just a few minutes. I love to bulk cook and have things that are ready to go in minutes! When you cook a brisket, you usually end up with a lot of leftover brisket meat. So you need a lot of inspiration on how to make it new again. And for more easy frugal family dinner ideas, check this out.

Leftover brisket

When reheating smoked brisket, you need to be careful not to dry it out too much. You can put the meat on a baking sheet and add a touch of water to the pan. Then cover it with foil and bake it on a low temperature like 350 for about 15 minutes. Make sure it’s not too long.

Another way you can reheat it is in a skillet with a little bit of fat. You can use butter, oil, or even a little bacon fat to add moisture to the meat as it heats. Again, be careful to just warm it and not overdo it.

Also, you can use the microwave, but BE CAREFUL! This is a quick way to dry out meat and make it tough. I would let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes and eat it that way before I would microwave it. I hate rubbery tough meat, so I’m really careful about not over microwaving leftover meat.

Leftover brisket chili

Leftover brisket chili can easily be made using this same recipe. I would just add more chili powder and less beef stock. Then let it go in the crockpot or simmer it on the stove longer to bring out more heat from the chilies.

You can add tomatoes if you’d like as well. Any kind of tomato product like salsa, tomato sauce or paste, or even instead of the green chilies, use Rotel that already has both. I make my own. Many people are sensitive to nightshades such as tomatoes, so I didn’t add them to this soup.

I have had trouble with them in the past, although it seems to finally be clearing up. I’m grateful because it’s really hard to find food without them. I prefer soups without tomatoes in them. But I like them in chili.

Leftover brisket recipes

There are so many things you can make with leftover brisket. Click on the highlighted link for a whole list of things that are delicious and simple to make starting with leftovers.

Some wonderful garnishes for this Mexican leftover smoked brisket soup would be shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped radishes, diced avocados, and chopped cilantro. And obviously, a squeeze of fresh lime makes everything better!

You can also substitute chili seasoning or taco seasoning for the herbs and spices in this recipe for an even faster meal. I make them in bulk and have them on hand all the time. This soup is not spicy since I made it with the kids, so if you want to kick it up, add more chili powder, more green chilies, or top your bowl with some spice peppers like jalapenos.

This soup freezes wonderfully! Just set it in the fridge the night before you want to use it so it can partially thaw and heat it up in a pan on the stove or in the microwave to reheat. Then put on the fresh toppings and enjoy!

For even more make-ahead freezer meals that you can prepare ahead, check out this post.

I can’t wait to hear how much you love this soup and how you make it your own! Don’t forget to review it and tell everyone else how much you like it too.