During the winter months, soup is an awesome choice for lunch or dinner! Not just because it warms us up as we eat it, but it gives the whole house the most wonderful aroma. Jeff’s Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe is one of our go-to’s in this house!
The reason I like chicken tortilla soup so much is that it has a deep rich flavor and everyone in the family loves it!
Chicken tortilla soup is surprisingly easy to make and you can customize the amount of ingredients to match your taste. Maybe more chicken for really hungry kids, or add more beans and corn to emphasize vegetables! You can make it spicier by adding more chipotle pepper powder (or cayenne pepper). Have fun making this delicious soup and customizing it to make it your own.
Personally, I love to make this recipe in my dutch oven. It’s easy to simmer over a long period of time in a piece that is classic!
Jeff’s Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
- 2 breasts chicken – roasted chicken breasts work best
- 2 oz olive oil
- 1 1/4 cup onion – finely diced (about one small onion)
- 2 cloves garlic – minced
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 10 oz canned black beans – drained and rinsed (about 2/3 of a can)
- 1 1/2 cups corn – frozen works great, no need to defrost
- 4 oz can diced green chiles
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground chipotle pepper powder
- 2 tbsp corn starch – optional, this will thicken the soup if you like it that way
- Salt to taste
- 1 oz tortilla chips – break into small pieces
- 1/4 ripe avocado
- small amount of thinly sliced red onion
- small amount of shredded cheese – Use your favorite!
- small amount of finely diced red pepper
- small amount finely chopped cilantro
- 1 small spoonful of sour cream
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Using a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat, cook the chicken breasts with a small amount of oil. Browning the outside of the chicken will help enhance the flavor. As a faster option, I use the breasts from an already roasted chicken which gives the soup a richer roasted and smoky flavor. Even when I use the roasted chicken, I still cook it again in the pot to help it pull apart easier.
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Remove the chicken placing it into a bowl and shred into small bite size chunks and set aside. You can move on to the next few steps to let the chicken cool down before shredding!
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Add the diced onion, garlic and a small amount of oil to the pot and cook until soft – about 2 minutes.
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Add the remaining ingredients (except chicken), and bring to a gentle boil for about 2 mins. Reduce temperature to simmer.
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Add the shredded chicken, cover the pot and allow to simmer for 25 minutes or more stirring occasionally.
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Salt… About half way through the simmering time, taste the soup and add salt as needed. The reason I do it this way is because I use roasted chicken which typically has been brined and is quite salty and the chicken broth has salt in it as well. I generally don’t have to add much more, but the saltiness of the soup is a personal preference so adjust as desired.
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Garnishes: Add as many or few as you like. Personally I like them all and I double up on the avocado! Fun serving tip – Place garnishes in small bowls and allow everyone to chose their own!
The soup can continue to simmer for several hours if needed before eating, just keep stirring occasionally. If it reduces too much you can add more chicken broth.
Have fun with the garnishes adding whatever you like (or have available in the house already). I usually add a little of each of the items I listed in the recipe and then double up on the avocado, my personal favorite!
I hope you enjoy making my version of chicken tortilla soup. Let us know in the comments if you made this recipe & your thoughts.
To try more of my recipes click here.
All the best,
-Jeff
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Can’t wait to make this …. looks so delicious especially on a rainy cold day! Btw, the picture turned out great even with the big dark cloud (ha!).
So proud of you Jeff… I know how difficult it is to start measuring things when you’re not used to cooking that way. I made a soup a month ago and I had people ask me for the recipe… And it was so difficult for me to write it up because I don’t cook that way . I just put things together and season and put it on the table . So I had to really work at figuring out the recipe to give to a couple of people online in Instagram. Wow… You did a phenomenal job and I’m thinking they probably were never able to make my soup ??lol
Thanks Jeff. Been waiting for this one. We’ve got snow and ice in Rhode Island. So…I’m looking forward to making this!
Looks so yummy!
Thank you sooo much for this recipe !
I am
Pretty sure my hubby will love it!
Thanks for sharing! I will be making this AND the fudge on the weekend!!!!
Hands down, the BEST chicken tortilla soup! It was such a hit – My husband’s a big foodie and quickly asked me where I found the recipe. THANK YOU so much for sharing!!! This will definitely become a staple in our household. :) ?????
I made this for dinner last night – YUM!!!!!!!!!! Loved the spicy chipotle chili powder. Thank you so much for posting, Jeff. Now, I’m eyeing up the monkey bread :)
Thanks for the recipe Jeff! I made this for a bunch of teenagers today and they all loved it!