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A bowl of chicken tortilla soup with avocado and cilantro on top.
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Chicken Tortilla Soup

Made with simple but delicious ingredients, this Chicken Tortilla Soup comes together in a few easy steps. Even better, it's made in one pot so cleaning up is a breeze.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 498kcal
Author John Kanell

Equipment

  • Dutch oven or large pot

Ingredients

Tortilla Strips:

  • ¼ cup olive oil (60mL)
  • 4 6-inch yellow corn tortillas cut into 1/4-inch strips (95g)
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt

Chicken Soup:

  • 1 medium yellow onion chopped (1 1/4 cups) (160g)
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon seeded, diced jalapeno
  • 4 cups chicken broth (.50L)
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes (794g)(28-ounce)
  • 1 can black beans rinsed and drained (432g)(15.25-ounce)
  • 1½ cups frozen yellow corn (172g)
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (454g)
  • 1½ teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Toppings:

  • shredded cheese
  • sour cream
  • sliced avocado
  • chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

For the Tortilla Strips:

  • In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In two batches, add the tortillas strips and cook until crispy, about 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt.

For the Chicken Soup:

  • Return the pot to medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened, about 4 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, beans, corn, chicken, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue simmering for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Remove from the heat. Remove the chicken and shred.
  • Return the pot to medium-low heat. Stir the shredded chicken back into the pot. Stir in the lime juice. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Serve the soup with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, and cilantro, if desired.

Video

Notes

  • Decrease the amount of jalapeno if you want the soup less spicy.
  • When cutting the jalapeno, make sure to remove the seeds before adding them to the pot. You can wear gloves to avoid your hands feeling tingy. 
  • If you have leftover rotisserie chicken, you can shred it to add to the soup instead of cooking the chicken breasts in the tortilla soup. You will need approximately 3 to 4 cups of shredded chicken. You can even simmer the soup with some rotisserie bones to add more flavor to the soup.
  • If you want to thicken the soup, you can whisk some masa harina with the soup before pouring it back into the soup. Masa harina gives a distinctive corn flavor to the soup. A cornstarch slurry will thicken the soup if you don’t have any masa harina.

Nutrition

Calories: 498kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 1255mg | Potassium: 1055mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 827IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 266mg | Iron: 3mg