Easy tortilla soup recipe
Smoky, comforting chicken tortilla soup with a rust-colored broth, tender shredded chicken, and crispy homemade tortilla strips plus avocado and lime.
Equipment
- Large pot or Dutch oven
- Frying pan
- Paper towels
- Tongs or slotted spoon
- Two forks
Ingredients
Chicken Tortilla Soup:
- 2 Tbsp light olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 lb chicken breasts (2 medium), or leftover rotisserie chicken
- 15 oz can corn drained and rinsed
- 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/3 cup cilantro chopped, plus more to garnish
- 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice from 1 lime, or to taste
Homemade Tortilla Strips:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 8 corn tortillas (6" tortillas)
Toppings:
- 1 large avocado diced
- 1 lime cut into wedges, to serve
Instructions
Crispy tortilla strips first
- Preheat a pan with 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat.
- Cut tortillas into thin strips and fry them in batches in the hot oil until crisp.
- Remove from the pan and allow them to drain on a paper towel.
- Repeat with remaining tortilla strips, adding more oil as needed then set aside.
Build the aromatic base
- Preheat a pot or dutch oven with olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, garlic, and chopped jalapeño and sauté until veggies soften.
Simmer the soup, then shred
- Add chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, chicken breasts, corn, beans, chili powder, cumin, salt.
- Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until chicken is just cooked through and easy to shred.
- Remove chicken from the pot and shred it using 2 forks.
- Add shredded chicken back to the soup and simmer another 5 minutes.
Finish with herbs, citrus, and toppings
- Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and lime juice.
- Serve the soup garnished with some tortilla strips, diced avocado, fresh cilantro and lime wedges, or use your favorite toppings.
Notes
For best texture, keep tortilla strips and avocado separate until serving. Don’t add lime juice too early—stir it in off-heat to prevent bitterness.
Nutrition information is estimated based on common ingredients and serving sizes and may vary.