Chicken Tortilla Soup – Delicious Homemade Soup Recipe

Here’s our simple recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup, homemade from scratch! Making a delicious soup like this one is a great easy way to use up leftover chicken form a roast chicken, or you can quickly cook some chicken especially for this recipe too.  

Simple + Delicious Dinner Idea: Chicken Tortilla Soup, Homemade from Scratch!

As you might already have guessed, I love soup. Chicken Corn Noodle, Taco Soup, and Ham & Bean Soup are only a few of my faves. Not only is soup easy to make, but it’s also delicious and healthy, too. Today’s recipe is no exception! 

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All About the Ingredients (+ Substitutions!)

• Onion – white or yellow onion, diced into small blocks.
  
• Garlic – fresh minced garlic is best, but today I’m using the canned stuff.
  
• Chicken Broth – I like to use my own homemade chicken stock, but you can totally buy it at the grocery store, too.
  
• Diced Tomatoes – my personal preference is the petite diced tomatoes, though you can use the large chunks just as well.
  
• Black Beans – a can of black beans, drained and rinsed.
  
• Corn – again, I like to use my own preserved sweet corn from my garden, but canned corn from the store works just fine too!
  
• Tomato Paste – if you don’t have tomato paste on hand, no worries! You can substitute with a small can of tomato juice or sauce.
  
• Chicken – cooked, shredded chicken left over from a roast or rotisserie chicken works great; however, you can also cook one or two boneless skinless chicken breasts or several chicken thighs in water and shred it to use in this recipe.
  
• Chili Powder
  
• Salt (and pepper, if you wish!)
  
• Oregano – dried oregano 

And…toppings.

Can’t forget those! Here’s a couple of our favorites:

• Shredded cheese – cheddar cheese, or any of your favorite kinds, really.
  
• Sour cream – regular sour cream is an essential topping, in my opinion. Plain Greek yogurt is a decent substitute, if you’d rather.
  
• Avocado – I’m not a big fan of avocadoes, but diced avocado is actually very good in chicken tortilla soup.
  
• Tortilla chips – for this one you can take the easy route and simply crush some tortilla chips, or you can make homemade tortilla strips by cutting soft tortillas into small strips and frying them in a little bit of oil until they’re crispy. (See Notes section) The homemade fried tortilla crisps are amazing!
  
• Cilantro – fresh cilantro adds a very tasty flavor to the soup.
  
• Lime wedges – each person can then add a squeeze of lime juice to their bowl of soup. MMM!

⬇️ Find the full recipe on a handy printable recipe card at the bottom of this post! ⬇️

Supplies to grab

• Soup pot – a large Dutch oven or large pot of some kind
  
• Wooden spatula – or something to stir with
  
• Strainer – to drain off the juices from the beans and corn
  
• Can opener
  
• Measuring cups and spoons
  
• Kitchen knife and cutting board – or you can use a handy little veggie chopper to dice the onion

How to make our Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe

First of all, you’ll want to cook and shred the chicken if it’s raw. (Click here to see a simple chicken cooking guide!)

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large soup pot on the stovetop. Sauté the diced onions and minced garlic for a few minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients, and simmer for 20-30 minutes, giving the soup a good stir now and then.

Prepare the toppings and serve. Enjoy!

How to store Chicken Tortilla Soup

Store the chicken tortilla soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

When you’re ready to reheat, return the soup to the pot and heat on the stove top or heat in the microwave, stirring frequently, until the soup is nice and hot.

Tips, Tricks + Notes 

Don’t forget to taste! It’s always a good idea to taste the soup once it’s made. Then you can add more salt or whatever ingredient you think it needs.

You can skip ingredients or add any other ingredients you’d like to this soup, like green chilies or hot sauce or cayenne pepper or whatever. Make it perfect for you and your whole family!

Here’s a more detailed description of how we make our own crispy tortilla strips: Lay several of the soft corn or flour tortillas on a cutting board and cut into narrow strips with a pizza cutter. Heat a thin layer of avocado oil in a pan and fry the strips until they turn crispy and golden brown in color. Use a tongs or slotted spoon to transfer them to a paper towel to dry. Serve the crunchy tortilla strips as a topping on your chicken tortilla soup!

Even more soup recipes to try:

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’til next time,

We love you and we’ll be praying for you,

Julie