This chicken tortilla soup combines common pantry staples for an amazingly flavorful soup that comes together in under an hour! It's one of my most requested soups, a family favorite, and an incredibly easy dinner to make when I haven't planned ahead! In fact, it's a comfort food must-have!
Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
I am very picky about soup but this is, by far, my best chicken tortilla soup ever! There are a few canned ingredients in this version, but the more fresh ingredients you use the better the results.
Fast forward a few years since originally publishing this recipe and my daughter now makes this soup on her own! I'm always so proud of her, but I'm totally loving the fact that she REALLY enjoys being in the kitchen with me!
Jump to:
Back to the soup. No, it's not a 30-minute soup recipe but I think the extra bit of time is what totally makes this soup!
The foundation of a lot of great dishes is layering the flavors as you make the recipe. It's kind of like building a house. Start with a strong foundation!
🥘 Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients
It might seem like a lot of ingredients but this crave-worthy soup is completely worth it!
- Olive Oil - 4 tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil. Separate it into a 2-tablespoon portion and two 1-tablespoon portions.
- Chicken Thighs - 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Alternatively, you can use 2 chicken breasts.
- Onion- 1 small white onion that has been chopped.
- Garlic - 2 tablespoons of minced garlic.
- Tomatoes- 4 medium-sized tomatoes that have been chopped.
- Jalapeno- 1 finely diced jalapeno with the seeds removed.
- Red Bell Pepper- 1 chopped red bell pepper.
- Green Chiles- 3 tablespoons of finely diced green chiles. You can use canned chiles.
- Green Onion- 2 green onion stalks that have been chopped. Save some for the garnish, too!
- Sweet Corn- 10 ounces of frozen sweet corn. You can also use fresh or canned corn!
- Black Beans- One 15-ounce can of black beans. Make sure to drain and rinse them!
- Cilantro - ½ cup (plus 2 tablespoons for garnish) of chopped cilantro.
- Chili Powder - 2 teaspoons of chili powder.
- Cumin - 2 teaspoons of cumin.
- Oregano - 1 teaspoon of oregano.
- Salt & Pepper - Adjusted to taste.
- Chicken Broth - 6 cups of chicken broth.
- Lime- The juice from 1 lime.
- Corn Tortillas - 3 corn tortillas that have been cut in half and then sliced into strips.
- Shredded Cheese (optional) - Some shredded cheese as garnish, if desired.
- Avocado (optional) - Some chopped avocado for garnish, if desired.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
This soup may have a long list of ingredients, but it is easy to prepare! Just make sure you have a large stock pot and a knife for chopping veggies!
This soup will make about 6 servings, so you can have some tasty leftovers!
- Brown the chicken. Preheat a large stock pot and 2 tablespoons of olive oil (or vegetable oil) to medium-high temperature. Sear both sides of the 4 chicken thighs (or breasts) until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Saute onion & garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or vegetable oil) and cook the 1 chopped onion for about 1 minute before adding the minced garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes until turning translucent.
- Add some veggies. Add 4 tomatoes, 1 red bell pepper, 1 jalapeno, 3 tablespoons green chiles, and 2 green onion stalks. Stir to combine and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Then, add corn, beans, and seasoning. Add 10 ounces of corn, 15 ounces of black beans, and ½ cup of cilantro. Stir to combine. Then add the seasoning (2 teaspoons chili powder, 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano).
- Next, add broth and chicken. Stir, then add the 6 cups of chicken broth. Return the chicken thighs to the stock pot, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove and shred the cooked chicken. Remove the chicken thighs from the soup, and shred the pieces using a couple of forks. *Taste the soup after cooking with the chicken and add salt & pepper as needed (to taste).
- Add and pan-fry tortilla strips. Add 2 tablespoons of cilantro, and freshly squeezed lime juice, and return the shredded chicken to the soup. Stir to combine and turn the heat off of the soup while you pan-fry the tortilla strips (optional step, see below).
- Serve the chicken tortilla soup with fried tortilla strips and optional garnish. We used cilantro and green onion reserved for cooking the soup, plus avocado and shredded cheese.
Cooking Your Tortilla Strips (Optional Step)
- Heat. In a medium frying pan or skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or vegetable oil) to medium-high heat.
- Cook until lightly browned. Add the cut tortilla strips and brown slightly, turning frequently, for about 2-3 minutes.
- Set aside. Remove from the frying pan once browned and getting crispy. Place on a paper towel-lined plate.
I like to top my chicken tortilla soup with tortilla strips, cilantro, green onions, avocado, and shredded cheese. My daughter loves a small spoonful of sour cream to make her soup creamier! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- In this case, when you sear the chicken it leaves tiny bits of seared chicken on the bottom of your pan. This is called 'fond'. You want fond, in fact, I'm really fond of fond. 🙂
- Fond is what makes the base of really stellar soups and gravies. So grab your ingredients, sear some chicken and make this amazing soup. It's worth every minute of the wait!
- Store any leftover chicken tortilla soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Keep your tortilla strips separate and reserved for adding at serving.
❓ Recipe FAQs
If you leave the tortillas in your soup, they will become incredibly soft and begin to dissolve. I like to pan-fry my tortilla strips to make them wonderfully crisp and then add them when serving so they stay crunchy!
I think this soup is a perfect consistency as is! However, you can thicken your soup in a couple of ways.
First, you can mix together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water to make a slurry and then add it to your soup while it simmers.
Additionally, you can just add some sour cream to make it thicker and creamier!
Sure! If you want to save some time and skip cooking the chicken, you can always use a cooked rotisserie chicken. However, I do think that searing the chicken in the pan first adds some great flavor to the soup!
🥣 More Great Soups
- Hamburger Soup - This one-pot dinner features ground beef, potatoes, and veggies!
- 4 Ingredient Potato Soup - This warm and cozy comfort food is perfect for cool weather!
- Albondigas Soup - Mexican meatball soup is incredibly delicious and includes ground beef and rice meatballs!
- Creamy Roasted Tomato Basil Soup - This classic soup is perfect for any time of the year!
- Italian Chicken Pastina Soup - This twist on chicken noodle soup uses orzo pasta and is loaded with veggies!
- Benihana Onion Soup - A classic hibachi recipe, this yummy soup is incredibly delicious and easy to make!
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📖 Recipe Card
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon olive oil (divided - 2 tablespoon & 2, 1 tablespoon portions - or vegetable oil)
- 4 chicken thighs (boneless, skinless - or 2 chicken breasts)
- 1 small white onion (chopped)
- 2 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- 4 medium tomatoes (chopped)
- 1 jalapeno (finely diced, seeds removed)
- 1 red bell pepper (chopped)
- 3 tablespoon green chiles (finely diced, we use a portion of canned green chiles)
- 2 stalks green onion (chopped - reserve some for garnish, if desired)
- 1 10 oz bag sweet corn (frozen - canned or fresh can also be used)
- 1 15 oz can black beans (rinsed and drained)
- ½ cup + 2 Tbsp cilantro (chopped, divided into 2 portions - ½ cup and 2-3 tablespoon depending on if you will use some as garnish)
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 6 cups chicken broth (1 ½ 32 oz cartons)
- 1 lime (fresh squeezed juice)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
- shredded cheese (optional, garnish)
- 3 corn tortillas (cut in half, then sliced into strips)
- avocado (optional, garnish)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat a large stock pot and the first portion of olive oil (or vegetable oil) to medium high temperature. Sear both sides of the chicken thighs (or breasts) until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Add second portion of olive oil (or vegetable oil) and cook onion for about 1 minute before adding the minced garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes until turning translucent. Add tomatoes, bell pepper, jalapeno, chiles, and green onion. Stir to combine and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add corn, black beans, and the first portion of cilantro. Stir to combine. Then add the seasoning (chili powder, cumin, oregano). Stir, then add the chicken broth. Return the chicken thighs to the stock pot, cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the soup, and shred the pieces using a couple of forks. *Taste the soup after cooking with the chicken and add salt & pepper as needed (to taste).
- Add the second portion of cilantro, fresh squeezed lime, and return the shredded chicken to the soup. Stir to combine and turn the heat off of the soup of while you pan fry the tortilla strips.
- Serve the chicken tortilla soup with fried tortilla strips and optional garnish. We used cilantro and green onion reserved from cooking the soup, plus avocado and shredded cheese.
Cooking Your Tortilla Strips
- In a medium frying pan or skillet, heat the third 1 tablespoon portion of olive oil (or vegetable oil) to medium high heat. Add the cut tortilla strips and brown slightly, turning frequently, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the frying pan once browned and getting crispy. Place on a paper towel lined plate.
Notes
- In this case, when you sear the chicken it leaves tiny bits of seared chicken on the bottom of your pan. This is called 'fond'. You want fond, in fact, I'm really fond of fond. 🙂
- Fond is what makes the base of really stellar soups and gravies. So grab your ingredients, sear some chicken and make this amazing soup. It's worth every minute of the wait!
- Store any leftover chicken tortilla soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Keep your tortilla strips separate and reserved for adding at serving.
Anonymous says
i want to make this but I see no mention if it is mild, medium or hot using your recipe? That should be mentioned somewhere and was the first question when I read the whole thing.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Great question! Generally speaking, unless I note that a recipe on BIWL is super mild or spicy, it is family-friendly. In the case of this soup it is a wonderfully tasty mild to medium, without being spicy. Thanks for asking!
Kirsten says
This was an easy tortilla soup to make and I added a few other canned beans and started with canned chicken. The spices were just right to take what could have been bland to simple and tasty. Thanks for a great recipe!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Awesome! So glad it worked out for using up canned goods!!
Julie says
I'm making this now and I don't see where we add the red pepper and green chilis. I added them before adding the chicken back. I also am doing this in my instant pot, which has a saute setting and slow cooker setting. I sauted everything in the instant pot and have now set it on slow cooker as dinner will be about 6 hours from now. I am using left over chicken breast which were marinated in a chili lime combination
Shelby says
This was delicious! My family loved it. I didn't have cilantro so that was left out but I am sure it would be even more amazing with it. Was easy and spice was just right! Thanks for posting.
Gloria says
Best chicken tortilla soup ever!! Thank you for a great recipe
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Thank you, we think so too! Thanks for sharing your feedback!!