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)
- 28 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
511kcal Calories54g Carbs30g Protein22g Fat
Nutrition Facts
Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Amount per Serving
Calories
511
% Daily Value*
Fat
22
g
34
%
Saturated Fat
3
g
19
%
Trans Fat
0.01
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
4
g
Monounsaturated Fat
13
g
Cholesterol
48
mg
16
%
Sodium
1083
mg
47
%
Potassium
1386
mg
40
%
Carbohydrates
54
g
18
%
Fiber
13
g
54
%
Sugar
8
g
9
%
Protein
30
g
60
%
Vitamin A
589
IU
12
%
Vitamin C
31
mg
38
%
Calcium
131
mg
13
%
Iron
5
mg
28
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Filed Under
Hi! I’m Natasha Kravchuk, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, food photographer, and writer. Here you’ll find delicious, reliable recipes made with simple ingredients, plus easy step-by-step photos and videos to help you cook confidently at home. 
Fire-grilled my veggies for this and it turned out so good. Also added a red bell pepper and an extra jalapeno!
That sounds amazing, Ed! Thank you for sharing.
So easy and quick, but it tastes like it took all day to make. I’m keeping this recipe! Well done!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Elizabeth!
I made this soup last night and followed the directions to a tee! The only thing I personally would change is to add 1/2 of a lime juice rather than an entire lime. It was delicious!
Thank you for sharing, Liz! I’m glad you loved the recipe.
I really wanted to like this recipe because I made a lot for myself. I had to drain out a lot of the soup and add almost an entire additional carton of chicken broth because it was so tomatoey :/ I had to settle at home point because I feel like i was wasting so much soup. It’s still so tomatoey. I used crushed fire roasted tomatoes from whole foods.
Hi Michelle, that much tomato soup should not overwhelm the soup if all of the same proportions are followed. Fire-roasted might give the soup a more pronounced charred flavor, but I haven’t had the experience of this seeming too tomatoey. Did you possibly change any of the proportions?
Hi! Is there a typo in the recipe? It says a 20 oz can of crushed tomatoes. Is it supposed to be 28 oz.?
Hi Dawn, it’s 20 oz can crushed tomatoes
Natalya & Natasha, What an amazing recipe! This is such a great chicken tortilla soup.
Hi James! So glad you love it, thank you! 🙂
Made this last night and it was wonderful. I did use a can of hominy instead of the corn and used a can of fire roasted tomatoes because that is what I had on hand. It was lovely and crisping the tortilla strips is a must! Delicious and easy recipe. The whole family loved it. Thanks!
So glad to hear that, Christina. Thanks for sharing.
Way too much tomatoes 😫. I’ve had to increase the chicken broth to even out the flavor
Hi Mads, I haven’t had that experience – did you possibly use a different tomato product than what is called for or a different size of can than what is written?
Where do you find a 20 oz can of tomatoes? They only come in 14.5 or 28 where I live.
Hi Mamie, we purchase it at our local grocery store.
Followed the recipe without any alterations (added 1 extra Jalapeno as it suggested if you like it spicy) and it did not taste authentic at all. It wasn’t bad, and was very filling, but didn’t have a strong enough flavour and was too tomato heavy.
Hi Sarah, did you possibly use a different tomato product than what is recommended in the recipe? Also, sometimes jalapenos can be super mild without any heat. It sounds like maybe that was the case for you. I wish jalapenos were more obvious about which ones were spicy and which ones arent!
If you want to ensure that you’re buying an extra hot jalapeño, look for the ones that have the raised brown “veining” on them; this will always be spicier. Also, the inside ribs contain most of the heat so you can include them when you dice up the peppers.
I haven’t tried this recipe but I’m thinking of a tortilla soup from a nearby Mexican restaurant. I don’t know the receipe but I know they make it with chile guajillo or chile chipotle. No beans, no corn, add chihuahua cheese.
I am having 7 people over for lunch. How many servings does this recipe make, and is the serving size 8 oz.’s
Thank you!
Hi Sherry! You’d likely need to increase the recipe since this only serves about 6 bowls. Sorry, I don’t have the exact weight of each bowl. You can change the number of servings in the recipe card and it will convert the ingredient list for you.
Excellent!! I made for lunch today. Will have for supper tonight also. Made it exactly as recipe said but used thighs. Made my own stock first from the thigh bones. Will definitely make again. Thank you!
That’s great, Pam! Thank you for sharing.
This recipe was fantastic. Love following you and your recipes and also love your charisma in your videos. Keep it up!
We appreciate your good comments and feedback. Thank you!
Can this soup be frozen? I’m expecting a baby and making a bunch of dishes to put in the freezer. Any tips welcome.
Thanks!
Hi Sylvia! Yes, see my notes above under “storing leftover soup” for instructions.
Congratulations! 🙂
Hi Natasha, would it be okay to use chicken tenderloins for the soup? Just ran out of chicken breasts but have tenderloins on hand
Hi Ana, I think that should be fine. I hope you’ll love it!
Hands down the best chicken tortilla soup recipe out there! Every single time I make this, everyone begs me for the recipe. I do make a few changes to it to increase the protein (and I don’t like corn so I leave it out). I add an extra chicken breast or two and wind up having to increase the seasonings I put in. I also add extra jalapenos because I like the kick!
Hi Elizabeth! That’s great to hear. I’m glad you love this recipe, thank you for sharing. 🙂
Hello, family was craving a bowl of hot tortilla soup on this cold rainy day and I’m glad I came across your recipe because it was a hit! i substituted hatch green chili for jalapeno and added squash and everyone loved it!
I’m glad too that you chose our recipe to try! Thanks a lot for this review, Matt.
Hello
I really want to make this soup but I don’t have chicken stock and I don’t use ready made ones
Can I just use water?
Hi Corinne! You can but you’ll have to experiment with it and seasoning/salt to taste since it will be missing some flavor.
I made this. 😋
Added a little smoked paprika and it was amazing!!!
Sounds delicious! So glad you loved it.
Needs more salt. Consider condensed chicken broth and replace salt with taco seasoning. I ended up adding 2 extra cups of chicken broth to thin it out.
This soups is easy, fast and delicious! I used rotisserie chicken yum!
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe, Taryn. Thank you for sharing.