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Why You’ll Love My Recipe

Tortilla chips, chicken, corn, and beans all cooked together in a warming tomato broth make for a magnificent comfort food.

For more classic Mexican inspired soup recipes, why not make this Black Bean Soup? Or maybe this recipe for Ham and Bean Soup instead? Try serving a Simple Mexican Coleslaw on the side for even more flavour.

A bowl of tomato-based soup topped with tortilla chips, cheese, and green onions sits on a plate with a lime wedge. Surrounding it are bowls of chips, cheese, sour cream, lime slices, and glasses of water with straws.

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

Skill Level: This is a very easy soup to make.
Total Time: This takes approximately 35 minutes to make.
Variations: Try adding a dollop of sour cream to your bowlful of soup. Use a spicy cheese or some Blackened Chicken in this recipe to add even more heat, or skip the heat by removing the chiles and chili powder. Play with the exact amount of seasonings so that the soup matches your own personal tastes. Make some Cheap and Easy Homemade Taco Seasoning to add.
Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need a large pot, a ladle, a can opener, measuring cups, a cutting board, a knife, and a cheese grater.

A bowl of tomato-based soup topped with shredded cheese, avocado slices, and tortilla chips, with a lime wedge on the side. Bowls of chips, cheese, and lime wedges are in the background.

What You’ll Need For Ingredients

Chicken: This recipe asks for cooked and cubed chicken breasts, but you can use any cooked chicken you like. Why not use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, or some leftover chicken from your fridge?

Chicken Broth: Using chicken broth as the liquid in this soup will impart a lot of flavour. Why not try using one of the broths with roasted garlic, for extra garlic kick? Or make your own Crock Pot Bone Broth to use for this and other recipes.

Vegetables: This recipe calls for canned corn and beans, for the sake of ease. If you prefer to use fresh beans and corn, you’ll need to cook them in advance. You could also try using frozen corn. Remember, canned and frozen vegetables are preserved at their freshest and contain just as many nutrients as their fresh counterparts.

Tortilla Chips: The precise amount and variety of tortilla chips you use to garnish your soup is entirely up to you. Try yellow corn, white corn, lime flavoured, spicy, reduced-salt, or cheese tortilla chips. There are so many options available. Have fun picking.

Assorted ingredients for a Mexican-inspired dish arranged on a white marble surface, including tomato sauce, corn, avocado, tortilla chips, cheese, black beans, chicken, onions, limes, cilantro, and various seasonings.

How To Make Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.

A pot with chopped onions and melted butter sits on a marble surface, surrounded by bowls of various ingredients including beans, corn, chicken, cheese, lime wedges, chips, peppers, spices, and tomato sauce.

A pot with broth, tomatoes, and seasonings sits on a marble counter surrounded by bowls of black beans, chicken, corn, tortilla chips, cheese, scallions, jalapeños, lime wedges, and fresh cilantro. A wooden spoon is nearby.

In a large pot over medium heat, add oil, garlic, and onion. Saute for 5 minutes, or until onions and garlic are soft.
Add chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, oregano, and chili powder. Bring to a simmer and keep it simmering for 8-10 minutes.
Add cooked chicken, beans, corn, chili peppers, and cilantro. Keep simmering for 10 minutes.
Serve with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, lime wedges, and green onions.

A bowl of tortilla soup topped with avocado slices, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips, surrounded by lime wedges, green onions, sour cream, extra cheese, and a striped napkin on a marble surface.

Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Chicken Tortilla Soup

Make Homemade Tortilla Chips: While bagged tortilla chips will work for this soup, there’s something extra special about using fresh, homemade tortillas and then turning them into chips. Buy some Masa Harina and follow the instructions on the back of the packet to make some delicious tortillas, and then deep fry them in cooking oil to make some tasty corn tortillas to use in your soup! You can even season them just the way you like.

Other Seasonings to Try: This soup has a fairly neutral flavour base, focusing on the richness of the tomatoes. if you’d like to boost the Mexican flavours, try making your own Cheap and Easy Homemade Taco Seasoning or adding a bit of whichever seasoning mix you generally use. Something for fajitas would also be delicious in this soup. This Cajun Seasoning has spices that would work well too. Add a dash of cumin to get a smoky flavour.

A close-up of a spoonful of chicken tortilla soup topped with shredded cheese and green onions, held above a bowl filled with soup and garnished with sliced avocado.

Storage Instructions

Fridge: Save the toppings for when you’re actually serving the soup, otherwise your chips will get soggy. Once the soup is fully cooled, you can store it in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or a pot on the stovetop for a few minutes and then add your toppings.

Freezer: Once the soup is cooled, with no toppings/garnishes added yet, put it into either one large freezer safe container or several smaller ones. Individual portions of frozen soup are lovely for the days when you just want to heat up a single serving of soup. You can freeze the soup for 2-3 months. Add toppings and garnishes after you’ve reheated it.

More Delicious Soup Recipes

Are you looking for more easy soup recipes?

Try this classic and simple Tomato Bisque for lunch, maybe with some grilled cheese sandwiches.

Make a Cauliflower, Corn & Bacon Chowder for something hearty a satisfying on a chilly day.

Change up your typical flavour profile with this Curried Sweet Potato Soup With Chicken.

There it is, folks. A quick and simple chicken tortilla soup that you can personalize to your heart’s content. Try out this recipe and let me know what you think.

Happy Cooking!

Karlynn