Chicken Tortilla Soup - A Delicious And Easy Recipe (2024)

Ingredients/Substitutions

• Olive Oil- You can totally sub this ingredient with another oil of your choice such as avocado oil, canola oil, etc.
• Onion- Onions add an extra kick of flavor to any recipe and this one is no exception!
• Garlic- We cannot live without garlic. Soak in that captivating scent during the first few steps of this recipe!
• Jalapeño- Sliced jalapeños if you want a bit of a kick
• Kosher Salt and Black Pepper- These two are a must in any recipe, they are so simple yet so important!
• Dried Oregano- This spice complements the rest of the flavors beautifully!
• Cumin- Any sort of Mexican dish is not complete without this spice! This is one of the key ingredients to pull all the flavors together.
• Chipotle Pepper- We're adding some spice to this recipe because why not!? If you'd rather keep the spice level mild, you can skip this spice.
• Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Green Chiles- These add SO much flavor to this recipe. It gives a nice smokey flavor without a ton of spice.
• Chicken Stock- If you want to skip the chicken entirely and make this vegetarian - just use vegetable stock and you're in business.
• Black Beans- While black beans are traditional in a Chicken Tortilla Soup, you could use Pinto Beans if you prefer!
• Frozen Corn- I like using frozen corn for convenience but if you prefer to use canned or fresh corn, go for it!
• Rotisserie Chicken- 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!!
• Cheese- 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.
• Cilantro & Green Onion- Fresh herbs like cilantro, scallions or chives add a nice punch of flavor.
• Corn Tortillas- 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 love making my own chips and strips - use this as a guide.
• Limes- Lime juice - adds a little extra oomph
• Avocado- The avocado chunks adds a nice creamy touch to this soup without being overwhelming!

Step 1: Turn on the stove to medium-high heat. Put a large saucepan on the stove and add the onion, garlic and jalapeño.

Step 2: Cook until the onion is see-through and the jalapeño 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.

• ▢ 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

• 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.

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.