This Chicken Tortilla Soup is hearty, full of flavor, and easy enough for a weeknight. It comes together in one pot in about 30 minutes, has just the right amount of spice, and is easy to customize with everyone’s favorite toppings.
Serve it with a side of guacamole and tortilla chips, cilantro lime rice, or Mexican street corn.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Flavor: This soup is savory, smoky, and lightly spicy, with bright lime and cilantro balancing the rich tomato broth and tender chicken.
- Why Make It: Simmering raw chicken breasts directly in the soup keeps prep simple with fewer dishes!
- Serving Suggestion: Create a build-your-own topping bar and set out avocado, lime, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, fresh pico de gallo, and extra tortilla strips.
Total Time: 30 Mins Servings: 6 Cooking Method: Stovetop
Ingredient Notes
- Jalapeño: Remove the seeds to keep the heat mild, or swap in mild canned green chiles for an even gentler flavor.
- Crushed Tomatoes: Add body and richness to the broth, creating a flavorful tomato base that complements the other ingredients.
- Diced Tomatoes with Chiles: Add the tomatoes and their juices to boost the broth with extra tomato flavor and a mild chile kick.
- Black Beans: Drain and rinse canned beans before adding them to the soup, or swap them for pinto beans for an easy variation.
- Chicken Breasts: Cook the chicken directly in the soup, then shred it before serving; boneless, skinless chicken thighs work well too. For a shortcut, use shredded rotisserie chicken and stir it in during the final 5 minutes.
- Corn: Fresh, frozen, or drained canned corn all work well. Add frozen corn straight to the pot without thawing.
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Sauté the onion, garlic, and jalapeno (full recipe below).
- Add the broth, tomatoes, beans, corn, lime, cilantro, and seasonings.
- Add the chicken breasts and gently simmer until cooked through.
- Shred the chicken, return it to the soup, and simmer briefly.
Store, Freeze, Reheat
- Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave until heated through. Add fresh toppings after reheating.
More Tex-Mex Favorites
Did you enjoy this Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 jalapeño seeded and diced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 (15 ounce) can canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 14.5 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 (10 ounce) can canned diced tomatoes with chilies with juices, such as Rotel
- 1 cup corn kernels drained if canned
- 1 lime juiced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts about 6 ounces each
- 1 avocado sliced, for garnish
For the Tortilla Strips
- 6 small corn tortillas cut into ¼-inch strips
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- salt
Instructions
For the Tortilla Strips
- Cut the tortillas into ¼-inch strips. In a small pan, heat ¼ cup of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the tortillas, in small batches to the oil and fry them until they are crisp, about 1 minute per side. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel. While warm, sprinkle with salt to taste.
For the Soup
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño to the pot, and cook until the onion is softened about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add in the chicken broth, black beans, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes with juices, corn, lime juice, cilantro, cumin, and chili powder. Stir to combine.
- Add the chicken breasts and bring the soup to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it with two forks. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot and simmer for an additional 3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon soup into bowls and top with tortilla strips, lime wedges, and sliced avocado.
Video
Notes
Chicken: This recipe uses chicken breasts that are 6oz each. If your chicken is larger or smaller, adjust the cooking time as needed. The chicken is added to the soup raw and simmers in the soup.
Cooked chicken: To replace the chicken breasts with rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken, simmer the soup for a total of 25 minutes, adding 3 cups of shredded chicken during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Tortilla Strips: Tortilla strips can be replaced with tortilla chips or they can be cooked in the air fryer or oven. Toss the strips with 1 ½ tablespoons of oil and salt. Cook in the air fryer at 350°F for 2-4 minutes or until crisp or bake at 350°F for 11-14 minutes. Check the strips early to ensure they don’t burn.
Spice: Reduce the spice by replacing jalapeno with green chiles.
Serving suggestion: Create a fun meal by serving it with a variety of toppings.
Leftovers: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days and in the freezer for 4 months.
Leftovers & Freezing: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave. To freeze, cool completely, transfer it to a freezer-safe container or resealable plastic bag for up to 4 months.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1.25cup | Calories: 278 | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 671mg | Potassium: 714mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 290IU | Vitamin C: 19.9mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 2.7mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American, Mexican© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
This has become something that I make about every other weekend and have for my hard working wife and college student step daughter to have available when they need it. There are a couple of other soups in the arsenal, but this one is now in the rotation. Thanks!!!
Just need to make clear the the last 3 ingredients are for garnish. Instructions say to put in remaining ingredients after oil, onion, garlic and jalapeño.
Thank you for the feedback! Cilantro and lime do go in the soup although the avocado is garnish. I’ve updated the recipe.
Fantastic! I’ve made this twice and we’ve cleared our pot both times! No left overs!
What part of Mexico have you had this soup? As a Mexican American who has lived many years in Mexico, I’ve never had this in my travels over there… just curious that maybe it’s known under another name.
I have eaten this in Los Cabos as well as learned to make it in a cooking class I took in Cancun at a different location. The preparation in the cooking class was slightly different with charred peppers and tortillas blended directly into the soup itself. Both were delicious! Enjoy the recipe.
I lived in Mexico City for 12 years and it’s found in many informal kitchens. It’s called sopa de tortilla or sopa Azteca.
Love the soup! Super easy to make too. I diced my chicken to avoid it getting dried out. Literally cooked in minutes! Thanks for sharing.
Just yummy!! Wouldn’t change a thing (except I used a Costco roasted chicken!). ❤️❤️❤️
My favorite recipe for tortilla soup. It’s excellent every single time.
I am going to try this recipe tonight for dinner. Tortilla soup
Made this recipe today, but substituded tge chicken with smoked chorizo. Everyone found it delicious!
We purchased a smoked chicken and used that. OMG it was so good. Thank you for sharing your recipe! It was a hit!
Great idea Melissa! Thank you for sharing!
What size can if rotel?
It’s a 10oz can of Rotel.
Love this blog!
I’ve made this soup a few times and it’s always a hit! So good during the cold months! I’m going to make tonight with some chicken thighs I need to use… would you make any adjustments for that or just follow the recipe as is?
I think it should be just fine as long as they’re boneless. They may need a tiny bit less time to cook through if they’re thinner. Enjoy!
Soup is currently cooking!! What is the serving size for the nutrition information you provided! Thank you for that as well!
The nutrition information is for ⅛th of the recipe and can vary slightly based on the size of your chicken breast. One serving is approximately 1-1 ¼ cup.
Why was the chicken so tough? Did I cook it too long. The instructions were very vague and I was a bit confused.
Hmm, I can’t say for sure why Jen. What part of the instructions can we clarify for yuo?
The first time I made this I order Rotel and crushed tomatoes online for grocery pick up. It turned out awesome. Now I’m making it a second time and stepped up the game. I’ve add 3 chicken breasts, 3 Jalapenos, more than a cup of corn and 2 small cans of Rotel, and 1 can of crushed tomatoes. It’s really hard to mess up crock pots if it’s a good recipe. This one is dope but during 2020 it’s actually kind of pricey. I guess not for feed a big family though.
I am making this as we speak and it smells (and tastes, because I’ve been “testing” it) divine, and can’t wait to dig in! I’m sure it will end up in my regular winter soup/stew rotation! Thanks!
I can’t rate this yet because it’s cooking in the crockpot. Question though. Why does the crockpot version say 2 teaspoons of cumin and chili powder and the stove top version says 1 teaspoon? Also one says 3 cups chicken broth and the other says 4?
They’re different recipes. We found that with the extra broth & cook time, the slow cooker version needed more seasonings. Enjoy the recipe.
I made this chicken tortilla soup for dinner last night and it was spectacular! Hubby and I loved it! The fried tortilla strips were a great addition and yummy to snack on too. I highly recommend this recipe!
Thanks for the great recipes.