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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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 recipe hit the spot this evening! Loved the spice of the soup and the coolness of the avocado. Never going back to any other tortilla soup recipe. This is my new favorite!
Made it just like the directions. It was easy and delicious. Marnie
This has become my go to recipe for my leftovers after taco night or when I have leftover Shredded chicken on hand from my lunches. Love this recipe!
I’ve used this recipe twice in the past two weeks. I started out making just a pot of chicken soup the first time, but then switched & made this instead. So although the chicken was cooked a little differently, it was *really* good! So I made it again tonight, actually using the recipe, for the most part. I didn’t have cumin or jalapeños, and I added more corn & black beans. This is hands down the best soup I’ve ever made. This is now a household staple!
It was good, I wouldn’t say amazing but tasty enough to eat.
This a great tasting recipe, and it’s so easy. Made it 2 times & my husband raves about it every time.
This was restaurant quality! I added 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper in addition to the other spices.
I had flour tortillas so I sprayed each side with cooking spray seasoned both sides with a mixture of garlic powder, salt and cumin, sliced into strips and baked then on a cookie sheet at 375 5 min toss and baked another side.
This soup is delicious! I used rotisserie chicken instead of breasts and added another cup of broth. Also used hot rotel chilis because we like a little heat. I also skipped frying the tortilla strips bc why. Easy and basic recipe that you can tweak to your liking.
I cheat by using a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. I shred that and it’s a great amount! Absolutely delicious and adds great flavor!
Easy, healthy and delicious. I cheated and used store bought tortilla strips that can be found near salad dressing section of grocery story. Also, I had no stewed tomatoes but substituted 1 small can spicy V8 plus some salsa I had in the fridge. I sprinkled a little chihuahua cheese on top when I served/ate it too.
I used the store bought tortilla strips too. Easy Peasy!
Would have been five star easily — it tasted so good, so rich and bright! What dropped it to four stars was that the instructions were minimal. When you say “simmer for 20 minutes,” what you don’t say is that it takes 20 minutes for the soup to reach simmer temperature after you add all the ingredients to the cooked onions/garlic/jalapeno. Further, I did a double recipe, and the chicken needed 30 minutes to get tender enough to shred. I used thighs instead of breasts, and just topped with broken tortilla chips, avocado, and shredded cheddar cheese. It was fantastic and I’m so full after two bowls!
Delicious and so easy.
How did you cook the chicken?
The raw chicken is added to the pot in step 3 and simmers in the broth until cooked.
This recipe was delicious and so easy to make. My husband and I love tortilla soup, and we are both on Weight Watchers. This is meal is full of veggies and we use chicken breast so it was only 2 points per serving. We thoroughly enjoyed ever bite! I did use tomato sauce instead of crushed only because we like more of a thinner broth.
Very excited to make this soup! Thx!
It is so hard to find recipes that everyone in the household loves and this is one! I am so thankful and will make this on a more regular basis! I left the jalapeños out for the kids sake as they are not into spicy foods yet, but other than that it was perfect for us as is! My oldest daughter and my husband are not the biggest fans of tomatoes so I was taking a chance with this one and I’m glad I did!
The jalapenos are mild enough not to be too spicy. My kid likes spicy and asked for habaneros next time!
Turned out great and was easy :). Thank you!
How would I make this in a slow cooker
We follow this recipe for a slow cooker tortilla soup.
The quantities are different for the Slow Cooker version, I understand the broth but doubling the spices? Is that accurate?
The recipes are correct as written. Enjoy!
Delicious! I will make this again and again. I’ve made more complicated recipes for this soup that are apparently unnecessary. I was a little hesitant, worried it might be too tomato – y … but this is perfect!
It turned out soooo delicious.
Thank you!
when do you add cliantro and lime juice? are they just for topping? or do you also add to soup while cooking?
They are added with the ingredients in step 3.
Looks great thank you for your recipes.