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A hand holding a spoon and spooning out some chicken tortilla soup from a bowl

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This Chicken Tortilla Soup is a one pot full meal that's so TASTY and delicious! The best chicken tortilla soup recipe with homemade tortilla strips, avocados, sour cream and so much more!

Course Main Course, Main Dish, Soup
Cuisine American, Mexican, South American, TexMex
Keyword chickem tortilla soup, soup recipes, tortilla soup, tortilla strips
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 602 kcal
Author Mahy

Ingredients

Soup

  • 2 teaspoons oil avocado oil or any neutral tasting oil
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 jalapeno diced, optional
  • 3 cloves garlic Minced
  • 1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes and juices
  • 2 1/2 cups Stock chicken or veggie
  • 1 teaspoon salt and pepper
  • 2 teaspoons chilli powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
  • 1 1/2 cup corn kernels frozen corn or fresh
  • 2 cups cooked chicken rotisserie chicken or any leftover cooked chicken
  • 1/3 cup cilantro minced
  • 1 lime squuezed

Tortilla Strips

  • 2-3 flour tortillas cut into thin strips using a scissors : 2 inch by 1/4 inch
  • 3 Tablespoons avocado oil or any neutral oil

Toppings

  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 2 avocados diced
  • 4 tabelspoons cilantro leaves
  • 1 lime cut into wedges
  • 1 jalapeno sliced, optional

Instructions

  1. Make The tortilla strips:

    You'll start by cutting regular flour tortillas into thin strips. We use a scissors for this, and you can decide which size you like. The size here is 2 inches long and 1/4th inch wide.

    A hand holding a plate of tortillas cut into thin strips
  2. You're then going to add oil into a frying pan, you'll need a neutral tasting oil like avocado. Then you'll add the tortilla strips.
  3. Shake the pan and toss the tortilla strips in the oil until they're golden and crisp.
    Golden fried tortilla strips a the frying pan.
  4. Make the Soup

  5. Start by sautéing the onions and jalapeno (if using) together in oil. We use a large heavy pot for the soup.

    One large pot with onions and jalapeños sautéing and a wooden spoon mixing it in
  6. Then we add in the minced garlic and cook that for just 2 minutes.

  7. The canned tomatoes with their juices go into the pot to make the base of the soup, along with the stock.

    A hand adding the canned tomatoes in juices right into the pot
  8. Now you're going to add in the spices and seasoning to flavor up the soup. Cover the soup with a lid and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Then drop the heat to medium low so the soup is simmering and all the flavors are blending in.
    A hand holding the plate of different spices like the oregano, garlic powder, cumin, chilli powder, salt and pepper and adding it into the pot of soup
  9. Let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes before adding in the remaining ingredients. Start with the beans.
    A hand holding in the bowl of black beans and adding it into the soup pot
  10. Then add in the corn and cooked chicken. We used leftover rotisserie chicken, however any cooked chicken that you have will work.
    A hand holding in the cooked chicken and ready to add it into the soup
  11. Cover the pot and again allow the soup to simmer for another 10 minutes or so until all the ingredients and flavors have come together.
  12. At that point your soup is ready, we love to finish it off with a handful of cilantro and a squeeze of lime.
    chicken tortilla soup is ready and a hand is squeezing lime over it in the pot and a added cilantro
  13. This is how easy and simple it comes together! And while your soup is ready to serve as is, we recommend you use some of these toppings for an elevated dish!
    the chicken tortilla soup recipe is ready in the post and a wooden spoon is scooping some soup to show off how it looks
  14. Simply Load up the soup in the bowl with your favorite toppings right before serving.
    A hand holding a spoon and spooning out some chicken tortilla soup from a bowl

Recipe Notes

Tips for Chicken Tortilla Soup

  1. Enjoy the benefits of using leftover chicken. Rotisserie chicken works great, any leftover chicken form our chicken recipes works well too!
  2. Use canned beans as they're more accessible, but make sure you rinse them. 
  3. Likewise, we love frozen organic corn when it's not corn season. Just add them in frozen, no need to that or cook them prior. 
  4. Any type of tomatoes will work, we prefer canned cherry tomatoes as they have a richer flavor. 
  5. The stock you use is completely optional, broth, beef, chicken or veggie. 
  6. Make the tortilla strips in advance, cool them and freeze them in a bag for up to 3 months. 
  7. You can also make extra and use them on salads!
  8. Load the soup toppings right before serving. 

How to Store this soup?

Leftover soup keeps so well in the fridge for up to 6 days. You can also freeze it for 3 months. To reheat the soup, you can microwave it, or reheat it in a pot over medium low heat. If your soup is frozen, make sure to defrost it first.

Can I make tortilla soup in a crockpot?

You can add all ingredients in the crockpot and set on low for 6 hours or medium for 3 hours. 

Is chicken tortilla soup spicy?

We love the spicy version so we added jalapeno with the onions and as a topping. If you don't want a spicy soup, you can actually skip the jalapeños all together and your soup is no longer spicy.

Nutrition Facts
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Amount Per Serving
Calories 602 Calories from Fat 378
% Daily Value*
Fat 42g65%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Trans Fat 0.01g
Polyunsaturated Fat 6g
Monounsaturated Fat 23g
Cholesterol 75mg25%
Sodium 1618mg70%
Potassium 1439mg41%
Carbohydrates 49g16%
Fiber 18g75%
Sugar 13g14%
Protein 31g62%
Vitamin A 1516IU30%
Vitamin C 41mg50%
Calcium 173mg17%
Iron 6mg33%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.