Chicken Tortilla Soup
Posted Jan 30, 2023, Updated Feb 14, 2024
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This chicken tortilla soup recipe is easy to make in 40 minutes on the stovetop. Learn how to make chicken tortilla soup that’s even more delicious than your favorite restaurant!
This chicken tortilla soup is one of our family’s favorite soup recipes (along with this taco soup). It’s healthy and easy to make in 40 minutes on the stovetop!
This chicken tortilla soup is loaded with chicken, veggies, and beans, flavorful with herbs and spices and topped with the best homemade tortilla strips.
It tastes even better than your favorite restaurant and is an irresistible soup recipe you will make on repeat.
Chicken Tortilla Soup: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chicken Breasts. I suggest thinly sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts for the best results.
- Onion. Use a sweet, yellow onion or red onion.
- Minced garlic. Fresh or jarred can be used. You can replace 1 tablespoon minced garlic with 1 tsp garlic powder (add with the spices).
- Green Bell Pepper. Any color bell pepper works well.
- Diced tomatoes. fire roasted, with green chilies or just plain diced tomatoes all work well in this taco soup recipe.
- Green Chiles. choose your “heat” preference, we use mild.
- Chicken Broth. Vegetable broth can be used in place of chicken, although I prefer chicken broth.
- Black Beans. Other beans that work well are kidney beans and great northern (white) beans.
- Taco Seasoning. Make your own with this Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe, or use an organic seasoning to avoid unfavorable ingredients. This is a mild chicken tortilla soup, but you can easily increase the heat/spice by adding chili powder, hot sauce, spicy taco seasoning, jalapeño peppers, etc.
- Frozen Corn. You can substitute fresh corn.
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
This recipe is easy to make on the stovetop. We’ll walk through it together, and don’t forget tow watch the video.
Cook olive oil, onion green pepper and garlic over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
Then, add the diced tomatoes, chiles, chicken broth, lime juice, taco seasoning, sea salt, pepper, chicken breasts, beans and corn to the pot and stir to combine.
Next, bring the mixture to a boil. Once it’s boiling, lower the heat, cover and simmer until the chicken is easily shredded with a fork (about 25-30 minutes).
Once the chicken is fully cooked, shred it and then return it to the pot.
Then, add the cilantro and cover and simmer for 10-30 minutes (until ready to serve).
Make the Tortilla Strips
While the soup is cooking (preferably while the chicken is cooking before it needs to be shredded), make the tortilla strips (I have a full post dedicated to making tortilla strips here: homemade tortilla strips)
Begin by preheating the olive oil in a large skillet, then add the tortilla strips and stir to combine
Cook over medium-high heat for 2-5 minutes, stirring often, until crispy. Sprinkle warm strips with salt and set them aside to serve on top of the soup!
Serve
Once the homemade chicken tortilla soup is ready, serve it warm with sour cream, cheese, chopped onion, sliced avocado or homemade guacamole, and homemade tortilla strips. Check out all of our favorite Mexican Recipes.
Store/Freeze
Store leftover chicken tortilla soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe FAQs
This soup isn’t supposed to be very thick, however, you can thicken it in a few ways:
1) At the end of the cook time, simmer with the lid slightly ajar to cook off some of the water.
2) Add some cornmeal to the soup or crushed tortilla strips.
Yes, you can double the ingredients and cook it in a large stockpot.
We prefer a mild soup. Here are some suggested additions to make it spicier:
Jalapeños (dice and cook with the onions/green peppers).
Chili powder
Cayenne pepper
Hot sauce
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Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 green bell pepper finely diced
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes
- 4 ounces mild green chiles
- 4 cups chicken broth (1 quart)
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1 Tablespoon taco seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 pounds chicken breasts sliced thin
- 15 ounces black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- ½ cup Fresh cilantro finely chopped (plus more for garnish)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Homemade tortilla strips
- 4 corn tortillas (6" round) cut into 1” strips (or two 8-10” flour tortillas)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
Make the Soup
- Cook olive oil, onion green pepper and garlic for 3-5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
- Add diced tomatoes, chiles, chicken broth, lime juice, taco seasoning, sea salt, pepper, chicken breasts, beans and corn to the pot and stir to combine.
- Bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat, cover and simmer until the chicken is easily shredded with a fork (about 25-30 minutes).
- Shred the chicken then return it to the pot.
- Add the cilantro, cover and simmer for 10-30 minutes (until ready to serve).
- Serve hot with sour cream, cheese, chopped onion, sliced avocado, and homemade tortilla strips.
Make the Tortilla Strips:
- Preheat olive oil in a large skillet
- Add tortilla strips and stir to combine
- Cook over medium-high heat for 2-5 minutes, stirring often, until crispy.
- Sprinkle warm strips with salt.
Video
Notes
- Chicken Breasts. I suggest thinly sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts for the best results.
- Onion. Use a sweet, yellow onion or red onion.
- Minced garlic. Fresh or jarred can be used. You can replace 1 tablespoon minced garlic with 1 tsp garlic powder (add with the spices).
- Green Bell Pepper. Any color bell pepper works well.
- Diced tomatoes. fire roasted, with green chilies or just plain diced tomatoes all work well in this taco soup recipe.
- Green Chiles. choose your “heat” preference, we use mild.
- Chicken Broth. Vegetable broth can be used in place of chicken, although I prefer chicken broth.
- Black Beans. Other beans that work well are kidney beans and great northern (white) beans.
- Taco Seasoning. Make your own with this Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe, or use an organic seasoning to avoid unfavorable ingredients. This is a mild chicken tortilla soup, but you can easily increase the heat/spice by adding chili powder, hot sauce, spicy taco seasoning, jalapeño peppers, etc.
- Frozen Corn. You can substitute fresh corn.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! Can’t wait to make it again. It was a huge hit with the entire family.
Your recipe sounds good. The pic is amazing. I don’t add taco Seasoning to my recipe. But do add about a cup of my homemade salsa, carrots, celery, serrano & fresh lime juice. Serve with Scoops, cheese, sour cream & green onion.
I made this recipe exactly how it was listed. I add cumin and chopped up 2 Serrano peppers as well. I like it spicy!!! It turn out delicious…very simple and easy to make. My husband loved it 👍🏾 Thanks for sharing!!
I made this soup today & the whole family loved it, even my picky mom! Delicious & easy to make.
DELICIOUS!! My husband and I both enjoyed this very much. this is the best tortilla soup we have tried. thanks!
Such a lovely soup. I never add chilies or cilantro because we never have them, and it always turns out delicious!
would it make a great difference if I left out the cilantro? Also is it okay to use already made tortilla strips?
Thank you, I wrote your recipes down, this is the first time I have a A recipe for pizza crust.I have not made any of them yet, but you betcha I will.