This simple and satisfying Chicken Tortilla Soup is just what you need for your weeknight dinners. Filled with shredded chicken, crispy tortilla strips, beans, and corn, this comforting soup is a crowd favorite!
Table of Contents
Sometimes simple is better, and this chicken tortilla soup is no exception. Most chicken tortilla soups are made with a mixture of dried spices, but I’ve added some dried pasilla chiles for a more authentic Mexican flavor.
The dried chiles give the broth an incredible flavor that is so satisfying and will make you want to drink the broth straight from your bowl!
Ingredients Needed
- Roma tomatoes, dried pasilla peppers, onions, and garlic: These key ingredients make the base of the soup broth and give it an extra and unexpected burst of flavor!
- Chicken: I like to cook my chicken in the broth itself so it can infuse some more flavor into it, but if you want to save some time, you can use shredded rotisserie chicken or my easy shredded chicken recipe.
- Broth: I highly recommend using chicken broth, but you can also use vegetable broth or even water in a pinch.
- Corn and black beans: Corn and black beans give the soup extra flavor and texture in addition to making each serving a little more filling.
- Crispy tortilla strips: I like to cut tortillas into strips and fry them myself, but you can also crush up some regular tortilla chips or buy fried tortilla strips.
- Toppings: I like to top my bowl with queso fresco, cilantro, avocado, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
Step 1: Make the base of the broth by adding the roasted Roma tomatoes, toasted pasilla peppers, and cooked onions and garlic to a large blender. Blend everything until it’s completely smooth.
Step 2: Heat some oil in a large pot or Dutch oven and then pour in the tomato-chile puree. Cook it for about 5 minutes to really meld all those flavors together.
Step 3: Add in the chicken, broth, and salt. Bring this to a boil and then cover and reduce to simmer for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through.
Step 4: While the soup is cooking, make the tortilla strips by cutting corn tortillas into small strips and lightly frying in them in oil for a few minutes. Set aside.
Step 5: Remove the cooked chicken and carefully shred it with a fork.
Step 6: Add the shredded chicken back into the pot along with the corn and black beans. Cook everything for an additional 3 minutes.
Step 7: Last but not least, serve the soup in a bowl topped with tortilla strips, fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, queso fresco, and a big squeeze of lime juice.
Helpful Tips
- The toppings add so much flavor to this soup and compliment the broth very well. Don’t forget to add them in, especially the lime juice!
- Save some time by using shredded rotisserie chicken or any leftover shredded chicken you have in the fridge.
- To make this even more filling, add a few scoops of Mexican rice into each bowl before serving.
Substitutions
- Dried peppers: If you can’t find any pasilla peppers near you, you can use dried ancho chiles since they have about the same heat level or scoville units.
- Tomatoes: If you don’t have fresh tomatoes on hand, you can use 1 ½ cans (about 22 ounces) of fire-roasted diced tomatoes instead.
- Chicken: You can use chicken thighs (bone-in or boneless) for an even better flavor. The chicken would be a little juicier and the broth would be extra flavorful thanks to the bones.
Storing & Freezing
To store, place the soup in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
To freeze, cool the soup in the fridge. Once chilled, scoop into freezer-safe storage bags or containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, let the frozen container thaw completely in the fridge or defrost in the microwave. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave until completely warm.
Ingredients
Chicken Tortilla Soup
- 6 large Roma tomatoes
- 2 dried pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ½ large white onion, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup yellow corn kernels
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
- queso fresco, for topping
- avocado for topping
- chopped cilantro for topping
- lime wedges, for topping
Tortilla Strips
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 6 corn tortillas, sliced into ¼-inch strips
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler. Line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange the tomatoes in a single layer on top. Broil for 8 to 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the skin is blackened and blistered. Set aside.
- Carefully toast the pasilla peppers over an open flame for a few seconds on each side until very fragrant. Alternatively, toast the peppers in a small skillet over medium-high heat for 10 to 20 seconds, until fragrant. Be careful not to burn the peppers. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- Add the cooked onion, garlic, toasted peppers, and roasted tomatoes to a large blender. Blend until completely smooth.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the same large pot of Dutch oven. Pour in the blended tomato mixture and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken breast, broth, and salt. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until chicken is tender and cooked through.
- While the soup is cooking, make the tortilla strips by heating ¼ cup vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add in a handful of the tortilla strips and fry for about 60 to 90 seconds, or until golden brown and crispy. Transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels and repeat until all the tortilla strips are fried. Set aside.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the pot and transfer to a plate. Shred with 2 forks.
- Add the shredded chicken back to the pot along with the black beans and corn. Cook for 3 more minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the lime juice. Serve in bowls topped with tortilla strips, queso fresco, avocado, cilantro, and more lime wedges.
Isabel’s Tips:
- Dried peppers: If you can’t find any pasilla peppers near you, you can use dried ancho chiles since they have about the same heat level or scoville units.
- Tomatoes: If you don’t have fresh tomatoes on hand, you can use 1 ½ cans (about 22 ounces) of fire-roasted diced tomatoes instead.
- Chicken: You can use chicken thighs (bone-in or boneless) for an even better flavor. The chicken would be a little juicier and the broth would be extra flavorful thanks to the bones. You could also use shredded rotisserie chicken to save you some time!
Nutrition Information
This chicken tortilla soup recipe was originally published in September 2016. It was retested, rephotographed, rewritten, and republished based on reader feedback in February 2023.
Could I substitute dried ancho chilie powder,and what would be the amount?
Hi Delores! Yes you can, and you can use the same amount.
Thanks so much for this recipe.
Hello
Wondering why folks following your blog are simply told ( after asking ) why your original recipe for your chicken tortilla soup no longer has the spices that were called for in your original recipe?
Responding with “because you’ve updated and revised your original recipe & you and your team think it’s a better recipe” doesn’t really cut it, especially with the people who’ve been making your original recipe and enjoyed it.
It would have been more prudent to keep your original recipe as it was and supply a link to the recipe changes (you and your team think/decide ) is a better version of your recipe ) and let your followers decide on their own
Hi Joycelyn! Thank you for your feedback and we appreciate your response. Since we’ve updated this recipe and since I’ve responded to other blog followers, we’ve received numerous comments regarding the old recipe and we have been trying to figure out the best way to approach this. When considering which recipes to update, we take many factors into consideration such as the age of the post, popularity of the recipe, ranking, research, etc. We meant no harm by updating this recipe and are currently working on a solution to provide that information to our followers. We appreciate your feedback and ask for your patience.
What happened to the previous recipe for chicken tortilla soup…the one with all the spices??? That was my family’s favorite.
Hi Jenn! We’ve retested and updated our Chicken Tortilla Soup to give it some more simple and authentic flavors. We hope you enjoy this new one!
Hi there, I used to use this recipe but noticed that I don’t see any of the seasoning ingredients on the recipe list such as the garlic powder, cumin, paprika, chili powder, etc. am I missing something?? Where did this go? I thought there was a spice mix that was rubbed on the chicken first but I don’t see it. Please advise thank you!
Hi Sari! We’ve retested and updated our Chicken Tortilla Soup to give it some more simple and authentic flavors. We hope you enjoy this new one!
Yes, and absolutely delicious! My go to web site for authentic recipes. Thank you
Hi Isabel,
If using a rotisserie chicken, should I mix the shredded meat with the chicken seasonings or omit them?
Hi Michelle! I would still use the seasonings!
HI Isabel,
Just wondering if you cook the chicken before adding it to the slow cooker? Thanks, making this today!
Hi Tammy, you can add the chicken raw when making it in the slow cooker. Then when the cook time is up, remove it from the slow cooker, shred it, and then put it back in with all the broth. Hope you love it!
This has become my go-to recipe for chicken tortilla soup! I’ve tried many other recipes over the years (I’m old!) and this is the best! It takes time, but well worth the effort! Even better the next day and freezes beautifully! A definite winner! And I NEVER bother with reviews! Yum!!
Thank you Jan!
Delicious. This is the second time I have made this soup. So good.
Love Your Recipes, keep em coming Please
Can I use masa to thicken soup? Thanks!
Hi! Yes, you can mix a masa and water mixture into the soup to achieve your desired thickness.
Hi
Do I need to use the seasoning ingredients for the chicken if I am doing the soup In my crockpot
Thanks
Hello! Yes, you will need to use the seasoning ingredients for the chicken.
I made this receipt last night and it was SO GOOD!!! It a slight kick to it (I may have added too many pepper or too much seasoning, I don’t know) but I loved it! I froze some of it and will have the rest for dinner tonight.
*recipe
This soup is awesome! I topped it which a dollop of crema that I had left over from your enchilada suizas recipe.. so good!! I immediately shared the recipe with all my friends. Thank you!
This is a delicious soup! So full of beans, corn & chicken; it’s almost like eating a stew. We served it for dinner with Isabel’s jalapeño corn bread (a treat in and of itself). Nourishing and filling with relatively easy prep and clean-up. Oh, and for desert there was Isabel’s flan, which we had made a few nights before.
My six year old daughter loved this and that says a lot. She’s so picky with her food. She even ate the tomatoes. I did add a little salt because we didn’t have any tomato paste so we used crushed tomatoes and added another full can of black beans. Delicious!!!
Holy Guacamole! 😀 Just made this soup…deeeelicious! I used skinless boneless thighs and marinated them in the spices overnight. I may add a little more chicken stock to stretch the servings. Great recipe, thank you!
I’m so happy you loved it, Stephanie!
This soup is absolutely delicious!! I’ll definitely be making it again and again. Instead of chicken, I made dried pinto beans which also replaced the black beans. I replaced half of the chicken stock with the broth from the beans. I also had some leftover cole slaw (from making fish tacos!) and used that as a garnish too. Thanks for the wonderful recipes!
Love this soup! This will be a frequent menu item as we love all things Mexican! Thank you for such a great meal, easy and using the slow cooker.