Hey! I'm Des!
Welcome to Life’s Ambrosia where Dinner is served and memories are made. Here you will find over 1000 tried and true recipes for every possible occasion. In the last 10 years, this blog has helped millions of families put dinner on the table and create food memories. Let me help you too.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup is a classic for a reason. This soup is loaded with tender chicken, beans, corn and fire roasted tomatoes. Sure to warm you up on a cold winter’s day!
When the first rains (or snows) of winter start, the first thing that I want to do besides fly to somewhere sunny, is to cook a big batch of soup. Sometimes it will be chicken noodle or hearty beef chili. And sometimes it will be a steamy bowl of Chicken Tortilla Soup.
I remember making this soup on a cold winter’s day here in Seattle where we had several inches of snow. We never get several inches of snow so the city was pretty much shut down. Thankfully, all of the ingredients are staples in my home so it was pretty easy to throw it together.
Using rotisserie chicken is a great trick to make this Chicken Tortilla Soup really easy to make. Rotisserie chickens always make soup making so easy. I usually buy mine at Costco and get several different meals out of them. I make chicken salad sandwiches, this chicken tortilla soup and chicken tacos. Because tacos.
When I made this soup, I didn’t happen to have tortilla chips to add to the soup. Instead, I made my own tortilla strips with corn tortillas and oil. They were perfect in a pinch. If you’ve got tortilla chips on hand, they would work too!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 jalapeno diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 1 15 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 14.5 ounce can tri-bean blend, drained and rinsed (or a can of kidney, black or pinto beans)
- 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 4 small corn tortillas
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and jalapenos. Cook 3 - 4 minutes or until slightly softened. Stir in cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper. Cook 1 more minute.
- Pour in roasted tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low to simmer. Stir in beans, kosher salt, chicken, corn, lime juice and lime zest. Allow to simmer 10 - 15 more minutes. While the soup is simmering prepare your tortilla strips.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle remaining olive oil over the corn tortillas, cut into strips and bake for 5 - 7 minutes or until crispy.
- Ladle soup into bowls, top with corn tortilla strips and cilantro.
Notes
Hey! I'm Des!
Welcome to Life’s Ambrosia where Dinner is served and memories are made. Here you will find over 1000 tried and true recipes for every possible occasion. In the last 10 years, this blog has helped millions of families put dinner on the table and create food memories. Let me help you too.
Ann
December 5, 2012 at 2:56 pmMy favorite soup.. I have 3 different recipes for this soup none call for beans..I think this recipe will be my only recipe for this soup. Can’t wait to make it!! Thank you for sharing!!!
Leena
November 12, 2011 at 8:51 amVery good! I added some garlic powder, coriander and black pepper to the mix for more flavor. I also used a poblano pepper instead of a jalapeño. Thanks for the recipe!
Aleah
December 9, 2010 at 10:26 amI also live in Seattle and have been making what I call, “Mexican Soup” lately to combat the cold and snow! I LOVE it when it snows in Seattle! You have a couple different variations in your soup that I might try on mine so thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas!
Diana Drexler
December 7, 2010 at 9:12 amMade this last night and my husband said, “This is really good, did you change your recipe?” hahaha, oh well, we try don’t we?
making this for a soup swap party in two weeks, thanks so much.
tlhughes03
December 7, 2010 at 2:09 amThanks for this! It was perfect for todays chilly weather. My kids loved it & we’ll be adding it to our meal rotation! The tortilla chips are great too! Better than store bought.
Denise Michaels @ Adventurous Foodie
December 5, 2010 at 10:55 pmI’m not much of a Chili’s person (baaaaby back ribsss!!) but they have a Chicken Tortilla soup that’s been pureed. It’s silky smooth, spicy, creamy and really good – with a few chunks of chicken and a garnish of crispy tortilla strips on top.
grace
December 5, 2010 at 9:34 ami love tortilla soup–it might be my favorite soup of all. yours looks particularly lovely–i heaved a sigh of contentment upon just seeing the photo. :)
Diana
December 4, 2010 at 6:52 pmthanks so much, I will for certain be trying this recipe this week. YEA!
Jenn's Food Journey
December 3, 2010 at 5:18 pmI love tortilla soup too and don’t have a recipe for it either! I’ll definitely be trying this one!
Sorry to hear about the snow…gotta say that it might suck to have 115 degree summer, but at least I don’t have to deal with that white stuff!! :) Be safe out there!
StephenC
December 3, 2010 at 8:54 amGood for you. Drop back 10 yards and punt I always say. Sounds like you had a tough day, but as the old saying (sort of) goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough go to the kitchen.”