There are hundreds of tortilla soup recipes out there. But, this version is texturally (hmm, is that even a real word?) my favortie. It involves pretty much the same ingredients that most recipes include, but it’s blended, giving the soup a creamier and smoother texture than most. And that’s what makes it so awesome…it’s definitely a whole meal in itself.
A must topping for this soup is some black bean salsa (see recipe here). But the possibilities are endless. You can use sour cream, fresh cilantro, jalapeno, avocado, tortilla strips, cheese… or whatever your favorite mexican flavors are. Give it a try and do let me know if you enjoyed this soup recipe, in a comment below.
Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
1 jalapeno/serrano pepper
4 corn tortillas
1 (10oz) can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
5 cups of chicken broth
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder (optional)
1 tsp dried oregano
Big pinch of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 cup of frozen corn
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Salt to taste
Optional Toppings:
Black bean Salsa (see recipe below)
Tortilla strips
Avocados, diced
Sour cream
Cilantro
Jalapenos
Method:
– Start by roughly dicing the onion & garlic. Don’t worry too much about chopping it fine, we’re going to blend the soup up later.
– Heat some oil in a heavy bottom pot, then toss in the onion and garlic and sautee them for a few minutes (3-4 minutes) on medium-high, until they turn soft and translucent.
– Cut up 4 corn tortillas into roughly 1 inch pieces. (Again, don’t worry about being exact) And also cut up one jalapeno/ serrano pepper (de-seeded if you want to cut down on the heat).
– Add the tortilla pieces & jalapeno/serrano to the pot and sautee them for a couple minutes with the onion & garlic.
– Next, pour in a whole can of Ro-tel (diced tomatoes with green chillies) and 5 cups of chicken broth.
– Add some cumin, cayenne pepper and oregano to the pot and bring everything up to a boil. Then turn off the heat, add finely chopped cilantro and allow the soup to cool enough to put in the blender.
– Once the soup has cooled off a little, spoon the soup into a blendee/ food processor in batches and puree the soup until it’s smooth.
– Return the soup to the pot, turn the heat on to medium high and let it thicken.
– Add the corn & chicken to the soup and very gently stir them in. lower the heat to a gentle simmer and let the corn cook through for a couple minutes. Taste and season the soup with salt (keeping in mind the broth was probably salted).
– Lastly pour in the cream and add the cheese to the soup, stir it gently to mix everything together.
– For a topping, you can make your own tortilla strips by cutting 3-4 corn tortilla’s in half and then cut it up into half inch strips. Deep fry the tortilla strips in about an and inch of oil, in small batches until they turn a light golden brown. Scoop them out from the oil and place the tortilla strips on a paper napkin to drain the excess oil.
– Just before you dish the soup out, squeeze in the juice of half a lime.
– Serve the soup topped with some black bean salsa (see recipe below) and the crunchy tortilla strips.(You can also garnish the soup with sour cream, avocados, cilantro, jalapenos…whatever you like!)
Black Bean Salsa Recipe
Ingredients:
1 (15 oz) can black beans,
1-2 tomatoes
1/2 an onion
1 jalapeno/serrano pepper
Handful of fresh cilantro
1/2 a lime
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/3 tsp cumin powder
Salt to taste
Method:
– Drain and rinse a can of black beans.
– Add to it, the finely diced onion, bell pepper, jalapeno/serrano (de-seeded for less heat), tomatoes (de-seeded) and chopped cilantro.
– To season the mix, squeeze in the juice of half a lime, add some cumin and cayenne pepper powder (optional, only if you like it spicy), and salt.
– Toss everything together and taste for seasonings.
– Serve chilled.
Alicia says
Wonderful recipe. The soup was easy to make and very yummy! Thanks and keep up the good work!
Noreen says
Thanks Alicia!
Kelly says
My go to chicken tortilla soup recipe!
Tara says
This is really good! One of my new favorites! Thanks for the recipe!
Abby says
I made this for myself and my husband and we LOVED it! Very easy to make, but make sure you let the soup cool before blending it (I learned the hard way). We opted out of the bean salsa (we are not bean people). This will be our go-to soup from now on! Thanks for the recipe!
kathy hafezi says
this is the best tortilla soup I’ve ever had. I didn’t put it in the blender, and it turned out amazing!!
Kristi | Necessary Indulgences says
I am going to make this tonight! I’ve been looking for a creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup and this looks perfect. Thank you!
Evelyn says
I discovered this recipe on Pinterest last week and made this soup for dinner last night, followed instructions exactly. It was DIVINE. Thank you SO MUCH for posting this recipe. It was the first time I ever made chicken tortilla soup, and I am no longer in need of any other recipes.
I don’t normally post comments for anything anywhere, but I just had to say how delicious this was. My first instinct was to share the soup, but then I thought better of it and decide it to hoard it as much as I can!
Dania says
Just a quick question, how many servings will i get following this exact recipe? Im looking to cook for me and my father
Noreen says
Dania, this recipe serves about four. It’s great as leftover too though 🙂
Amanda says
Could this be made in a crockpot as well?