Chicken Tortilla Soup is the perfect easy weeknight dinner. Full of shredded chicken, corn, beans, and homemade tortilla strips, this soup is a meal in itself. It’s comforting, hearty, and filling.
What’s even better? Just like our Taco Soup and Beef Chili, this Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe comes together in one pot.
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Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup:
Chicken tortilla soup is like a taco in soup form. Its rich tomato and chicken broth pairs perfectly with chunky veggies, shredded chicken, beans and sweet corn.
You can sprinkle some tortilla strips right on top with a healthy handful of cheese, or pair the dish with soft Dinner Rolls.
Tips For Tortilla Soup:
- Use Leftover Chicken. Have a rotisserie chicken hanging out in your fridge? What about some leftover chicken breasts you don’t know what to do with? You can always use leftover chicken to make a fresh batch of Chicken Tortilla Soup.
- Bone Broth Makes All The Difference. Use low-sodium bone broth or easily make your own chicken broth.
- Adjust The Spice. Do you like it spicy? Add some extra jalapeños into the mix.
- Save Time With Canned Corn And Beans. Speed up the cooking time by using canned corn and beans.
- Cut Avocado Right Before Serving. To keep your avocado from browning, cut it right before you serve the soup
- Season To Taste. Depending on the tomatoes and broth you use, you may need to adjust the salt to taste at the end.
To Make Crispy Tortilla Strips:
- Pan Frying: Preheat a pan with 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat. Cut 8 (6″) corn tortillas into thin strips and fry them in a couple of batches, adding more oil as needed. Remove from the pot and let drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.
- To Bake: Toss tortilla strips in a bowl with 2 Tbsp oil until well coated. Bake on a cookie sheet in a single layer at 350˚F for 15 minutes.
How To Make Chicken Tortilla Soup:
- Place a soup pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp oil and sautee chopped onion, garlic, and jalapeno until tender.
- Add chicken breasts and remaining soup ingredients to the pot. Bring to a boil then simmer for 25 minutes.
- Remove the chicken to a bowl and shred it with 2 forks. Return chicken to the pot and simmer 5 minutes then add lime juice.
- Serve the soup with homemade tortilla strips, chopped avocado, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges.
Make-Ahead Tip: the broth gets more and more flavorful the longer it marinates in itself. Can you say delicious leftovers? Make a big batch of tortilla soup and eat it for lunch throughout the week.
Serving Chicken Tortilla Soup:
The only thing that makes Chicken Tortilla Soup taste even better are the toppings. These are our favorites:
- Sour cream
- Homemade tortilla strips
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Cilantro
- Avocado
- Lime wedges
- Jalapeno, sliced or diced
Storing Leftover Soup:
- Refrigerator: Store your leftover soup without toppings in an airtight container in the fridge. It should stay fresh for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: You can also freeze your soup in an airtight container for up to two months. When you are ready to eat it, allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight. Reheat soup by bringing it to a boil in a saucepan.
More Soup Recipes You’ll Love:
- Beef Stew – with tender morsels of beef
- Pasta e Fagioli – easy Olive Garden copycat recipe.
- Loaded Potato Soup – creamy and you’ll love the toppings
- Chicken Noodle Soup – a family favorite
- Cabbage Soup – a soup to warm your soul in winter
- Minestrone Soup – a hearty, tomato-based soup that never gets old.
Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Chicken Tortilla Soup is the perfect, cold weather weeknight dinner. What’s even better? It comes together in one pot.
Ingredients
Servings: 6 servings
Chicken Tortilla Soup
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper , seeded and diced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 lb chicken breasts, (2 medium)
- 20 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 14 oz can corn, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped, divided (reserve 1/4 of it for garnish)
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
Homemade Tortilla Strips
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 8 corn tortillas , (6" tortillas)
Toppings
- 1 large avocado, diced
- 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve
Instructions
Tortilla Strips:
- Preheat a pan with 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat. Cut tortillas into thin strips and fry them in batches in the hot oil until crisp. Remove from the pan and allow them to drain on a paper towel. Repeat with remaining tortilla strips, adding more oil as needed then set aside.
Chicken Tortilla Soup:
- Preheat a pot with oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, garlic and chopped jalapeño and sauté until veggies soften.
- Add whole chicken breasts, corn, beans, chilli powder, cumin, crushed tomatoes, salt, ¼ cup of cilantro and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and let simmer for at least 25 minutes.
- Remove chicken from the pot and shred it using 2 forks. Add shredded chicken back to the soup and simmer another 5 minutes then add lime juice.
- Serve the soup with some tortilla strips, pieces of avocado, fresh cilantro and lime wedges.
Nutrition Per Serving
540kcal Calories62g Carbs32g Protein22g Fat
Nutrition Facts
Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Amount per Serving
Calories
540
% Daily Value*
Fat
22
g
34
%
Saturated Fat
3
g
19
%
Cholesterol
48
mg
16
%
Sodium
673
mg
29
%
Potassium
1368
mg
39
%
Carbohydrates
62
g
21
%
Fiber
15
g
63
%
Sugar
9
g
10
%
Protein
32
g
64
%
Vitamin A
663
IU
13
%
Vitamin C
28
mg
34
%
Calcium
111
mg
11
%
Iron
5
mg
28
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Natalya Drozhzhin
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Awesome recipe! If you like it spicy, use 15 ounce crushed tomatoes and 7 ounce can of Herdez hot salsa casera instead of 20 oz of crushed tomatoes and add a Serrano chili. Also, I like my soup a little more broth so I added more 2 cups chicken broth.
My family and I loved this soup! Made it exactly as recipe called for and with home made chicken broth! Was excellent and so tasty!
So happy to hear that, Donna!
I’m making the tortilla soup! I would love to see a recipe for Greek chix soup . On of my favorite soups. Or you can e-mail me to give me the recipe.
Thank you so much for that suggestion, Robyn! I do not have a Greek Chicken soup recipe at this time, but I will have to look it up. Out of curiously, do you recall any other ingredients in it?
I wonder if it’s avgolemono. Chicken, lemon, egg soup
I’ve made this several times and we love it! I’m making today for a community gathering; have you tried making it in the crockpot?
Hi Audrey! I have not tested it but one of my readers mentioned making this in the slow cooker with good results but they did not share instructions.
I made this tonite & both my husband &. I
Loved it. I did add a couple extra jalapeños.
I have always had great luck with your recipes.
So flavorful!!! Bought tri-color tortilla strips. Other than that followed the recipe exactly. Wow, perfect for a cold day.
Holy mama this is good! I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of after cooking the vegetables and broth and everything I added shredded rotisserie chicken at the end. And I also made rice and poured the soup on top of the rice. I didn’t add cilantro because my husband does not like it. It was absolutely fantastic, this is the only tortilla soup I will ever make again.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, June!