How To Make Tortilla Soup:
This might not be the most authentic version of tortillas soup, but we love easy. A few minutes of prep, and a quick simmer on the stove is all that this forgiving meal requires. Enlisting some helpthe job of pulling chicken apart is ideal for tiny handsturns prep time into quality time.
- Remove all the meat from the chicken
- Chop the onion, garlic and zucchini.
- Toss everything into a big pot along with the canned tomatoes, chilies and spices.
- Put your feet up and snack on tortilla chips while the soup simmers. .
Super satisfying, healthy, quick and inexpensivewhat more can we ask for in a weeknight dinner? If you’re looking for a vegetarian tortillas soup, go ahead and skip the chicken. The flavor will be just as delicious.
Chicken Enchilada Soup Ingredients
Im all about the quick and easy dinner options. This slow cooker chicken enchilada soup is one of our favorites, it takes just minutes to put together and is the perfect hearty meal to come home to after a long day.
Theres not much better than soup made in the slow cooker, and this enchilada soup is no exception. Its a simple combination of chicken breasts, frozen corn, black beans, enchilada sauce, tomatoes, onions and peppers that meld together into a flavorful combination after cooking all day.
Just like in Chicken Rice Soup, the chicken goes in raw and is shredded before serving.
Serving Ideas For Chicken Tortilla Soup
Each bowl of soup can be made unique and individual for each person!
You can set out all of the toppings and let everyone make their own bowl.
But here are a few ideas for toppings you can set out and offer-theyre fresh and flavorful!
I recommend corn tortilla chips and cheese for the bottom of the bowl. The cheese gets nice and melted and stringy and is just SO delicious.
Chop the avocado into slices or small chunks. Squeeze lime juice over them if they wont be served immediately.
Sour cream is a great option to help cool down a bowl of soup that might be too spicy for some.
Wedges of lime add a fresh bit of zing, and the flavor compliments the chili and spice.
Extra fresh cilantro and chopped green onions can be a nice to have on the side for those who love the flavor.
For extra spice, I love green chilies and fire-roasted tomatoes as an optional topping for anyone who can handle the heat.
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How To Make Chicken Tortilla Soup:
Make-Ahead Tip: the broth gets more and more flavorful the longer it marinates in itself. Can you say delicious leftovers? Make a big batch of tortilla soup and eat it for lunch throughout the week.
Best Tortillas For Chicken Tortilla Soup
The best tortillas to use for tortilla soup are stale yellow corn tortillas. Yellow corn tortillas are sturdier than white corn tortillas and have a richer flavor when cooked. Homemade is best, of course, but store-bought tortillas will also work for this recipe.
The tortillas should be a little stale, or dry they’ll fry up more easily that way. My guess is that tortilla soup was first invented as a way to use leftover tortillas.
Since I don’t usually have dry tortillas sitting around, I put my fresh-from-the-fridge corn tortillas in a 200°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes. That’s just enough heat to dry them sufficiently so they fry easily.
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Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
When I see chicken tortilla soup on a restaurant menu, I get excited. Theres something about the slightly spicy broth with tender chicken, the corn and black beans, juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado, and those addictively good tortilla strips on top that I cant resist.
Rather than making a trip out for it, you can make Mexican tortilla soup with chicken at home in 30 minutes and its easy.
So many ingredients get tossed into the pot all at once and before you know it this hearty, comforting soup is ready. And it tastes better than my favorite restaurant version!
My family loved this easy tortilla soup and I love that its ready so quickly and with very minimal effort.
It makes enough that I stashed half in the freezer for those nights when I just want to pull something out of the freezer for dinner. And with winter cold and flu season around the corner, soup is perfect.
How To Make Tortilla Soup :
Detailed instructions are included in the full recipe below, but here is a brief overview of the process for how to make tortilla soup plus a few helpful tips!
Read Also: How To Make Soup From Scratch
Option 3 Chili Powder + No Blender
This is the simplest option and honestly, it yields delicious flavor. Youll just need to use fresh chili powder with good flavor. Ive successfully used Frontier Co-ops chili powder. This would also be a great time to use a fun specialty chili powder, like chipotle or ancho chili powder. If desired, you can moderate the spice level by using less chili powder in the beginning and adding more, to taste.
Rotisserie Chickensa Love Story:
Can we talk for a second about how many easy dinners a rotisserie chicken can make? So many. Youre no less of a home cook for relying on the occasional shortcut, and cooked whole chicken is one of the greatest shortcuts of all time. If you dont end up using all of the chicken for this soup, toss the leftovers into a quick chicken salad for school lunches, or save some for tomorrow nights dinner .
But we digress. You get the idearotisserie chickens are great. Dont leave the store without one. Back to this easy chicken tortilla soup.
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Making The Tortilla Strips
The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe Ever
It would seem that everyone has their own version of chicken tortilla soup. Some are thick like gravy. Some thin and watery.
I prefer a thin, but not watery, broth-based chicken tortilla soup with lots of veggies and toppings.
Todays Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe is exactly how I like it. Rich, zesty, and ultra comforting, with a slightly spicy finish.
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Is Tortilla Soup A Mexican Dish
Tortilla soup is a traditional Mexican soup. It contains fried corn tortilla in a broth of tomato, garlic, onion, chile de árbol , and epazote .
Although there are many variations from the traditional soup recipe, all tortilla soups have a mix of chicken broth, tomatoes, and those crispy tortilla strips!
What Is In Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup
Obviously chicken, and obviously tortillas. But the rich, savory flavor comes from a blend of cumin, chili powder, coriander, plus tomatoes, onions and garlic, all of which seasoned the rich broth.
In Mexico whole chilis may be used, often toasted and the crumbled into the soup. I rely on dried chili powder, pure ancho if you can find it, but in this recipe regular blended chili powder also works just fine.
â Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- 4-Quart Dutch Oven this is the perfect size for this soup. This one is high quality and youll have it forever.
- Pinch Bowls for measuring out ingredients ahead of time.
- Box Cheese Grater Shredding from a block tastes and melts much better than packaged cheese.
- Garlic Twister its much more flavorful to mince fresh garlic. This twister does it in seconds and is easy to clean and store.
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Ingredients You Will Need For This Chicken Tortilla Soup
Below is a list of ingredients and some substitutes you can use to make this creamy tortilla soup. The full measurements are listed further down in the recipe card.
- Avocado oil: essentially, any oil you decide to use is fine.
- Onion: we used yellow onion, but purple and sweet onion can be used.
- Bell pepper: any color works, but we used red.
- Garlic cloves: use fresh garlic cloves instead of garlic powder. If you must, you can use garlic pwder.
- Seasonings: cumin, dried oregano, taco seasoning.
- Beans: we used black beans, but any other bean will do.
- Corn: use frozen, canned, or fresh.
- Tomato salsa: if you like your tortilla soup to be more on the spicy side, use spicy salsa.
- Pickled jalapeños: pickled is our prefered choice. you may use fresh.
- Chicken breast: use raw, or to save on time, use shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Broth: chicken broth was used, but you may use vegetable broth
- Cheese: You will need shredded cheddar cheese and one pack of cream cheese
- Additional garnishes: chopped avocado, lime wedges, chopped cilantro, yogurt, or sour cream
Tips To Prepare Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Save time and use rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken. Just roughly chop up the chicken and stir it in at the end!
- Concerned about your salt intake? Use a low-sodium chicken broth or make your own.
- If your soup needs to be thickened add cornstarch, masa, or different types of flour.
- Ensure the tortilla strips are still perfectly crunchy when it is time to serve the soup. You can quickly fry them while the soup is simmering!
- Garnish each individual bowl instead of the pot to avoid toppings being mixed into the soup.
- If youâre worried about this soup being too spicy, simply reduce the amount of cayenne and add an additional tablespoon of heavy cream.
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Don’t Skip Frying The Tortillas
The essential step that distinguishes tortilla soup from other Mexican soups is that you fry strips of corn tortillas in oil first, and then use the tortilla cooking oil to build the soup.
Tortillas chips aren’t merely a garnish for this soup. By using the tortilla frying oil as a base for the soup you infuse the whole soup with the warm flavor of toasted corn tortillas!
Sally Vargas
Why Is It So Popular
Our authentic chicken tortilla soup is chunky, perfectly spiced, and so quick to make.
The deep rich essence of the broth comes from sautéing the onions, garlic, and cilantro to release their flavor, before adding the broth and spices.
Cheese is also very important in this recipe for tortilla soupCheese and crushed tortilla chips are added at the end to thicken the soup base and give it a comforting luxurious feel.
There is so much depth and flavor in each bowl of soup, this will quickly become a family favorite!
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How To Make This Chicken Tortilla Soup In The Slow Cooker
- Heat the oil in a dutch oven pot and saute the onion and bell pepper for 3-4 minutes. Add in the garlic and seasonings and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Turn on the slow cooker, add in the sauteed veggies. Then, add the corn, salsa, jalapeño, beans, chicken, and broth.
- Cover the slow cooker and set it on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours
- Open the slow cooker, remove the chicken breast and shred it. Return back the shredded chicken and stir in with the cheeses. Mix well.
- Top with additional garnishes and enjoy!
- Tip: If the tortilla soup is watery, use a spoon and mash some of the beans on the side of the pot, add in some cornstarch or flour
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
To make this soup in the crockpot, either use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs added at the start of the cook time, or add your already-cooked chicken about 30 minutes before the soup is otherwise finished cooking.
Add all your soup ingredients as directed to the crockpot, then cook on low heat for 5-6 hours or until the chicken shreds easily.
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What Salad Goes Well With Tortilla Soup
A simple green salad is the perfect complement to tortilla soup. The crispness of the greens helps to brighten up the soup, and the acidity of the dressing helps to cut through the richness of the soup. I like to use a simple vinaigrette for my salad, made with olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. I also like to add some diced avocado to my salad for a bit of creaminess.
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How To Make Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup From Scratch
Heat the oil in a dutch oven pot and saute the onion and bell pepper for 3-4 minutes. Add in the garlic and seasonings and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
Add the corn, salsa, jalapeño, beans, chicken, and broth. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to a low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it. Return back the shredded chicken and stir in with the cheeses.
Top with additional garnishes and enjoy!
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Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients
What will you need to make this zesty Mexican soup? It only requires 15 simple ingredients 10 of which are pantry staples!
- Olive oil To sauté the veggies.
- Onion The beginning of every great soup recipe.
- Cilantro If you dont love raw cilantro, you may still enjoy this soup, because the cilantro is well-cooked.
- Garlic Fresh is best!
- Chicken broth Use your favorite brand.
- Diced tomatoes Look for a brand of canned tomatoes that offers fired roasted for extra flavor.
- Chicken breasts Cook them whole, right in the broth.
- Ground cumin For deep smoky essence.
- Chili powder Or pure ground chiles.
- Cayenne pepper For a little kick!
- Bay leaves For a deep herbaceous note.
- Carrots If the skins arent rough and fuzzy, theres no need to peel the carrots.
- Monterey jack cheese To thicken the soup and to add as a garnish.
- Avocados The perfect creamy topper.
- Bag of tortilla chips To thicken the soup and to add as a crunchy topping!
What Are Some Chicken Tortilla Soup Varieties
There are a few different popular tortilla soup variations. For example, you can add beans and it becomes Tarasca soup, or if you omit the chicken it is called Azteca soup.
Today, however, I am going to share my recipe for the traditional Chicken Tortilla Soup. It is perfect for cold, rainy days but if you are like me, you will like it year-round.
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More Mexican Recipes To Try
4.9 from 117 reviews
Warm up with a bowl of vegetarian tortilla soup, made with black beans instead of chicken. This soup recipe is so fresh and satisfying! Recipe yields 4 servings.
- 2 mild dried chili peppers* or 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder, to taste
- 1 can diced or crushed tomatoes, fire-roasted if possible
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow or red onion, chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt, more to taste
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained, or 3 cupscooked black beans
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 4 corn tortillas, cut into 2-inch long, ¼-inch-wide strips
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
- 1 to 2 tablespoons lime juice, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Garnish options: Thinly sliced and roughly chopped radish, diced ripe avocado, crumbled feta cheese or drizzle of sour cream
