Chicken tortilla soup is one of my favourites soups for cold winter days, or hot summer days, or any days in between for that matter! It’s basically a Mexican style chicken soup that uses tortillas in two ways, fresh tortillas in the sauce as a thickener and crispy fried tortillas served on top as garnish! (The fresh tortillas are simmered in the broth and melt or dissolve into it, thickening it!) In addition to the chicken and tortillas, this soup contains tomatoes, beans, and corn and I often like to throw in even more veggies like zucchini, bell peppers, etc. so it’s nice and healthy, not mention hearty! The chicken can be done in a number of ways and if you have some already cooked chicken, say leftover rotisserie chicken, you can use that and it’s super easy! Otherwise, you can poach some chicken breast or thighs in the soup as it simmers, remove it, shred it and return it to the soup. My favourite part of this soup might just have to be the garnishes and in addition to the crispy fried tortillas I like to add some of my favourite taco toppings like cheese, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, onion, radish, etc.
Updated: 2021/01/07
Chicken Tortilla Soup
An easy homemade chicken tortilla soup (a Mexican themed soup where tortillas are used as a thickener) that’s just packed with healthy and tasty ingredients!
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
- 4 small corn tortilla, sliced
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup corn (fresh, frozen or canned)
- 1 zucchini, diced (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped (optional)
directions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and cook until tender, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and taco seasoning and cook, until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the broth, chicken, tortillas, tomatoes and beans, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and shreddable, about 20-30 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and shred before returning it to the soup along with the corn and zucchini and cook until the zucchini is tender, about 5 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, mix in the cilantro and enjoy!
Option: Use pre-cooked chicken (sliced or shredded) and cut down on the simmer time!
Option: Add extra vegetables like diced bell peppers!
Option: Serve topped with tortilla chips or home made crispy fried tortillas!
Option: Serve topped with your favourite taco topping such as cheese (crumbled or shredded), sour cream, avocado, radish, lime wedges, etc!
Taco Soup
Chicken Fajita Soup
Mexican Vegetable Soup
Pozole Verde de Pollo (Green Mexican Hominy and Chicken Soup)
Mexican Street Corn Soup
Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Chicken Noodle Soup
Aztec Soup
Avgolemono Soup
Black Bean and Quinoa Chili
Corn Chowder
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Chipotle Chicken and Corn Bacon Chowder
Colombian Chicken and Corn Soup (Ajiaco)
Creamy White Chicken Chili
Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Kevin, it sounds like a very yummy soup. Wish I could have some!
looks delicious, Kevin! One of my favorite kinds of soup.
This is similar to the recipe I use. One thing I like to add is either a spoonful of honey or, if I have it, a spoonful of hot pepper jelly. I find the sweet stuff brings out the flavor of the tomatoes. It’s interesting how many variations there are on tortilla soup. We tend to order it wherever we go just to get a sampling of how other people make it. I like your version because it seems relatively light and healthy. I’m not fond of the ones with cream or too much melted cheese.
Your soup looks great. This is one of my favorite soups and I’ve seen many different recipes for it. I made a batch back in November. Yum!
This looks really good. I’ll have to try it.
Very interesting, and those tortillas around the soup look very nice!!
Margot
Great shot Kevin. Sure could use some of that soup for my lunch today. I decided to take a tetra pack soup to work…can’t you FED-Ex me some of yours?
YUM! That sounds delicious! We had Mexican yesterday, too! 🙂
Lots of ingredients but simple enough, pefect for this cool, windy day.
Kevin, Looks good! I was comparing your recipe with what I did, and I see you increased the spices. I’m going to try that next time too.
I adore chicken tortilla soup. This sounds like a great recipe for it!
This looks great, Kevin 🙂
Hi Kevin,
I’ve not heard of tortilla soup before, so this is great that I am learning something new. I like soup with a bit of kick, so I know I will like this soup.
Nora
Kevin, your tortilla soup looks great, would love to have a bowl right now!!
This soup looks great, must try it someday soonish.
Great photo of the soup, and it looks just delicious. One of my favorite soups for a long time!
This soup was delicious. What better time of year to have soup than January. It’s Nine degrees in Utah right now.
this is the best tortilla soup i have made n a really long time! me and my wife made this this weekend from the food we ordered from and it was perfect with the mood of the day. We might even cook it this weekend when we watch the mighty Chargers defeat the weak Patriots! GO CHARGERS!!!
I came down with an itchy throat cold and decided to run through your archive to see what sounded like a healing remedy. This one did it. I love that it is so tasty, so many flavors from the oregano, tomatoes to the salsa verde.
Thanks for the cure…
made this last night and YUMMO!!!! best ever soup i've made. love your site 🙂
This has been printed and added to my recipe book – I have made several times and each time I love it! Thanks for sharing!! I now have a go to tortilla soup!!!
How many servings is this?
Anonymous: This makes 4 servings. Enjoy!
Did you change the recipe? I should’ve printed it. Didn’t it used to have more ingredients, like a jar of salsa, jalapenos…and itemized seasonings instead of just “taco seasoning”? Do you have the original?