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.
Cooked this recipe for the first time and I’m over the top happy with the final results!!!
I actually had a question, I have been looking for the recipe I have used for a couple of years. I think it is yours, only thing is a see it’s been revised. The one I was looking for required Roma tomatoes. Is this the same recipe? Thanks
Hi Amanda, while the write-up has been revised this recipe is exactly the same as when originally published. Sorry, this one didn’t turn out to be the one.
I struggled with this one. Mine came out too tomatoey/limey tasting. I added more broth and spices but that only helped a little. Doctored with extra toppings (avocado, cheese & sour cream).
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you Jeanne. This is a tomato based soup so the tomato flavor is prominent. You could certainly leave out the lime or just serve with wedges for each to squeeze on their own if you prefer.
Just wanted to pop by and leave a review because this dish is DELISH. It’ll be a regular in my rotation from now on. I did modify a few things, basically because of what I had on hand. The toppings MAKE this soup. I didn’t homemake tortilla strips, only used crushed up tortilla chips.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Delicious!! I love this, will definitely make it again!
This sounds amazing! Could I use bone in chicken breasts?
Hi Chloe, Bone-in chicken should work fine just be sure to remove all the bones once done cooking.
Thanks so much!
Y.U.M. Every time I make tortilla soup, I try a new recipe. I think I’ve found the one to stop the madness. Love it.
Family likes spice, so despite that it tasted delicious as is, I added about 1/2 tsp more cumin and a 1/2 of paprika. I squeezed a bit more lime (my lime was small), and added about 1/2 cup of cream cheese (in small spoonfuls) after microwaving it then stirred until it was fully mixed in. Served with tortilla chips, sour cream and avocado. Family LOVED it. Thank you!
Those sound like delicious additions Trish! Thanks for sharing.
My family loves this soup. It’s a winner in my house.
Made this for dinner tonight, and WOW!! I used pinto beans instead of black beans, because it’s my preference, but HOOOOOT BOY this is YUMMY!!!!
I made this recipe yesterday and was so happy with how it turned out. I topped with tortilla chips because that is what I had on hand.
Thanks for having such great recipes!
You’re so very welcome Katherine!
Amazing!! BY FAR THE BEST TORTILLA SOUP!
I also did not have fresh jalapeños, I used canned. Diced up what I thought would be 1 whole jalapeños.
I don’t have a jalapeño pepper on hand but I do have canned diced jalapeños. Can I substitute that and how much would you recommend? Thanks
Canned jalapenos can vary in their level of spice. Since they don’t require much cooking, you could add them a bit at a time, and do a taste test until you achieve the flavor that you’d like. I’d let it cook a minute or so between each addition to let the flavors meld together. Enjoy Jen!
It was delicious. Thanks.
Yay! Glad to hear that Jen!
It was good but I would only put coriander leaves at the end as a garnish. I would definitely make it again.
Using a WHOLE chicken makes it even better! I’ve made Holly’s recipe several times and wonder….how can something so simple be this good!?!
I boil a whole chicken the night before and leave it in the pot, put in fridge. The next day I skim the fat off the top, remove whole chicken (need to debone), then put pot on the stove to start heating up. Add the ingredients as directed, plus the deboned chicken. Also add a can of diced green chiles bc man they are so good! Top with store bought tortilla strips and lots of cilantro and lime. Aaaahhhmazzing ❤️
That does sound amazing Emily! Thank you for sharing that great idea!
This has become our family favorite! All year round we enjoy this recipe. Making it today in preparation for second COVID vaccine. Comfort food at its finest:)
This is a great recipe. Thank you, Holly! I made a few changes. Since I love cumin I used 2 t. instead of 1 t. I also added 1/2 t. of smoked paprika. I cooked both chicken breasts in the pot as directed, but I only shredded/chopped 1 and put it back in the pot. I thought it was too meat heavy to put them both back, but I thought cooking them both would give more flavor. I also added 1/3 to 1/2 C polenta or corn meal and let it cook about 5 or 10 minutes. This gives the soup a little more body. Don’t leave the lime juice out–it gives it some zing! I didn’t use the tortilla strips, just added corn chips, but I’m sure they would be good if you wanted to make them.
Try a little sour cream like my taqueria and you will taste even more heavenly.
Thank you. Simple, straightforward and delicious. I wouldn’t fry anything in olive oil, sauté: yes. I used an air fryer. I drizzled some olive oil on the sliced tortillas, fried them for 5 mins at 370 and they came out perfectly (shake once or twice to make sure it fries evennly). Be careful if you make it ahead, you might end up finishing them because they were a delicious light snack :)
I was worried it’d be too spicy for me but it wasn’t.
I’m serving it with avocado slices and a dollop of sour cream.
You’re welcome Yas! Sounds amazing!
I have made this several times so I think it’s only right that I mention how delicious and easy it is.
Thank you for leaving your comment Kirk! So glad to hear that you love the soup!
Made this soup with some leftover chicken. It was a perfect use for it. It was very simple process to make. I had all the ingredients on hand so I was able to put this together quickly.