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!

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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
- Turn on the stove to medium-high heat.
- Put a large saucepan on the stove and add the onion, garlic and jalapeno.
- 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.
- 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.
- After 30 minutes, use an immersion blender to make the soup smooth before adding black beans, corn and shredded chicken into the pot.
- 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
What you’ll need:

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 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.
This is my tortilla soup to go! I am from Texas and know all the variations of this soup but Gabys is my favorite! I always make a double batch because it freezes so well for meals down the line. Thank you ❤️
Amazing! This was so easy to make that I was shocked by how flavorful it was. The best chicken tortilla soup!!! I did not have pre-cooked chicken, so I started the onions, garlic, and jalapeño in the instant pot, then added the seasonings, diced tomatoes, and broth and blended them with my immersion blender. Then I added my chicken breast and quickly pressure cooked.
This is fantastic!! My only regret was not doubling the recipe. I used a can of mild Rotel for the tomatoes and questioned if a whole jalapeño was going to be too hot but it was not. The initial sauté definitely mellows it a bit. I added 1 extra cup of broth just to finish the box but other than that made as directed. This is for sure going on the rotation. I may try it with Chipotle peppers next time as I usually have some in the fridge from other recipes. Husband brought this to work and was immediately asked for the recipe. Thanks Gaby for another hit!!
I made this tonight with all the trimmings and it is AMAZING! Thanks, Gaby!
This was great! I doubled it (the rotisserie chicken was enough for a double batch), and used the immersion blender to blend in a few torn up corn tortillas into the soup for a little extra body and corn flavor.
I think I could eat this every darn day!!!
Yummy, sounds delicious and simple to make! What can we do if we don’t have an immersion blender? Can we blend half of it in a blender?
yes totally!
Will this recipe hold well /taste the same if you freeze after making?
yes it will!!
I make this soup constantly! We love it.
Do you drain and rinse the black beans?
yes!
So delicious! We love this soup. Is there a way to make this a day or a few hours ahead?
So good and easy! I added a quarter cup of rice in the last thirty minutes to make it a little heartier for my kids.
Can I cook/boil boneless skinless chicken breasts in the soup instead of using pre-cooked chicken in this recipe?
sure can!