Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup is my favorite comforting chicken soup. It's loaded with flavor and spices, the broth is part creamy and part chunky and topped with an assortment of goodies. Bonus, it can be batched ahead for any days you need a comforting lunch or dinner!

Why I love Chicken Tortilla Soup

There was one restaurant in Tucson, AZ where I grew up called Café Terra Cotta and they had the most epic tortilla soup in the city. It's since closed but during the good old days of high school (when we literally didnt have a care in the world) we’d go out for lunch or a girls night out and without fail, each and every one of us would order tortilla soup. It was equal parts smoky and spicy and I made sure to add extra cheese once it arrived to the table. It's a memory that I'll forever have and being able to recreate that magical soup in my own kitchen brings me great joy!

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• Onion
• Garlic
• Jalapeno
• Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
• Dried Oregano
• Cumin
• Chipotle Pepper
• Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Green Chiles
• Chicken Stock
• Black Beans
• Frozen Corn
• Rotisserie Chicken

How to make this Chicken Tortilla Soup

1. Turn on the stove to medium-high heat.
2. Put a large saucepan on the stove and add the onion, garlic and jalapeno.
3. Cook until the onion is see-through and the jalapeno is soft. Then add salt, pepper, dried oregano, cumin and chipotle pepper. Stir until it is all mixed together and cook for 1-2 minutes more.
4. Add fire roasted tomatoes and chicken stock to the pan and wait until it boils. Then turn down the heat so it is just simmering and let it simmer for 30 minutes without stirring.
5. After 30 minutes, use an immersion blender to make the soup smooth before adding black beans, corn and shredded chicken into the pot.
6. Once everything is added, taste it to see if you need to add more salt or pepper before dividing into 4 bowls equallyToppings: cheese, avocado , cilantro , crisp tortilla strips , lime juice , jalapeno slices

Tip and Tricks

• When you shred your own chicken - use a stand mixer to do it in 15 seconds!! It's my favorite hack!
• The flavor starts at the very beginning of this recipe - so be sure to sweat the onions and jalapeños to really start developing flavors at the early stages.
• After step 2, I like to use an immersion blender to blend the base of the soup. A lot of tortilla soups are SUPER chunky but I prefer a blended base and then add some chunks from the chicken, corn and black beans

Substitutions / Variations

• While black beans are traditional in a Chicken Tortilla Soup, you could use Pinto Beans if you prefer!
• Any sort of shredded poultry works in this. Chicken is my favorite but if you're making this and have leftover turkey - be my guest!!
• If you want to skip the chicken entirely and make this vegetarian - just use vegetable stock and you're in business.

Toppings

• Freshly shredded cheese - I always opt for freshly shredded over the pre-shredded. It melts better and it's just more flavorful as it's freshly grated.
• Fresh herbs like cilantro, scallions or chives add a nice punch of flavor.
• Crispy tortilla strips or crumbled up tortilla chips are the secret ingredient when it comes to chicken tortilla soup. The crunch really levels up the dish - I love making my own chips and strips - use this as a guide.
• Lime juice - adds a little extra oomph
• Sliced jalapeños if you want a bit of a kick
• Cubed avocado

Tools Used to Make This

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Author: Gaby Dalkin

4.9 from 72 votes

The most perfect chicken tortilla soup you'll ever make! Inspired by Cafe Terra Cotta (who used to make the most perfect tortilla soup in Tucson, AZ), you'll never make another recipe ever again!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Review Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Soup, Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Mexican, Tex Mex, Southwestern

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 teaspoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 onion roughly chopped
• ▢ 3-4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
• ▢ 1 jalapeno pepper stem and seeds removed and roughly chopped
• ▢ kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
• ▢ 1 14- ounce can fire roasted tomatoes and green chiles
• ▢ 3 cups chicken stock
• ▢ ¾ cup black beans
• ▢ ¾ cup frozen corn
• ▢ 1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken

Toppings:

• ▢ shredded cheese - colby jack / monterey jack / pepper jack your choice
• ▢ quartered limes
• ▢ cubed avocado
• ▢ cilantro
• ▢ sliced green onions
• ▢ 2 small corn tortillas cut into thin strips
• ▢ sliced jalapenos

Instructions

 

• Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion, garlic and jalapeno and sauté for until the onion is translucent and the jalapeno softens. Season with the salt, pepper, dried oregano, cumin and chipotle pepper. Stir to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes until the spices toast.
• Add the fire roasted tomatoes and the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Using an immersion blender, blend the soup ingredients until smooth. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Add black beans, corn and shredded chicken.
• Divide the soup into 4 bowls and top with cheese, avocado, cilantro and crisp tortilla strips. Add extra lime juice if desired and/or jalapeno slices. Serve immediately.
• To make the tortilla strips: In a small skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Once hot, add the tortilla strips in a single layer, frying quickly for about 30-45 seconds, flipping them once to ensure both sides get crisp. Remove the tortillas once crisp with a pair of tongs and transfer them to a paper towel lined plate to dry.

Notes

Tip and Tricks

• When you shred your own chicken - use a stand mixer to do it in 15 seconds!! It's my favorite hack!
• The flavor starts at the very beginning of this recipe - so be sure to sweat the onions and jalapeños to really start developing flavors at the early stages.
• After step 2, I like to use an immersion blender to blend the base of the soup. A lot of tortilla soups are SUPER chunky but I prefer a blended base and then add some chunks from the chicken, corn and black beans

Substitutions / Variations

• While black beans are traditional in a Chicken Tortilla Soup, you could use Pinto Beans if you prefer!
• Any sort of shredded poultry works in this. Chicken is my favorite but if you're making this and have leftover turkey - be my guest!!
• If you want to skip the chicken entirely and make this vegetarian - just use vegetable stock and you're in business.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 554mg | Potassium: 589mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 557IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 2mg

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @WhatsGabyCookin or tag #whatsgabycooking!