Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup

Homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup — 🍲🥑🍅🧀 Chicken, tomatoes, corn, black beans, avocado, cheese, and addictively crunchy tortilla strips! Fast, easy weeknight meal, and better than from a restaurant! Made in ONE pot and ready in 30 minutes, this is a fan FAVORITE that will impress your friends and family!

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

When I see chicken tortilla soup on a restaurant menu, I get excited. There’s something about the slightly spicy broth with tender chicken, the corn and black beans, juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado, and those addictively good tortilla strips on top that I can’t resist.

Rather than making a trip out for it, you can make Mexican tortilla soup with chicken at home in 30 minutes and it’s easy.

So many ingredients get tossed into the pot all at once and before you know it this hearty, comforting soup is ready. And it tastes better than my favorite restaurant version! 

My family loved this easy tortilla soup and I love that it’s ready so quickly and with very minimal effort. 

It makes enough that I stashed half in the freezer for those nights when I just want to pull something out of the freezer for dinner. And with winter cold and flu season around the corner, soup is perfect.

Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients 

To make this easy tortilla soup recipe, you’ll need: 

• Corn tortillas
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and pepper
• Yellow onion
• Jalapeño pepper
• Garlic
• Chicken broth
• Diced tomatoes
• Black beans
• Cooked shredded chicken
• Corn
• Lime juice
• Spices
• Fresh cilantro

Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.

How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup

This really is such an EASY recipe for chicken tortilla soup! Here’s a look at how it’s made: 

1. Sauté the onion and jalapeño in an oiled Dutch oven, then add the diced garlic and continue cooking until fragrant.
2. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and juice, black beans, chicken, corn, lime juice, spices and bring to a boil.
3. Let the mixture boil for 5 minutes, then stir in fresh cilantro and boil another minute. 
4. Ladle the homemade chicken tortilla soup into bowls and top with homemade crispy tortilla strips (I’ve given the recipe in the recipe card below), cubed avocado, shredded cheese, and/or sour cream. 

Tips for the Best Chicken Tortilla Soup

To save time, use store-bought rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken that you have on hand. Of course you can roast or pan sauté chicken if you’re so inclined.

Salt your soup to taste. I use low-sodium chicken broth and no-salt-added tomatoes and add a bit of salt to my soup so I can control the overall salt level. 

The saltiness of low-sodium broth, rotisserie chickens, canned tomatoes, black beans, and personal preferences for salt all vary so salt to taste.

Storage Instructions

This easy tortilla soup will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Extra tortilla strips will keep in airtight at room temp for up to 5 days.

Can the Soup Be Frozen?

Yes! You can freeze the soup (without the tortilla strips on top) for up to 6 months. 

What to Serve with Chicken Tortilla Soup

This simple tortilla soup pairs well with crusty bread or a green side salad. Here are a few side dishes to serve with chicken tortilla soup: 

• Grilled Mexican Corn
• Homemade Tortilla Chips
• Salsa (Pineapple Chipotle Salsa or Restaurant-Style)
• Guacamole 
• Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad
• Mexican Wedge Salad

Pair your bowl of soup with a homemade margarita or refreshing glass of horchata to wash it all down! 

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4.56 from 1384 votes

Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup

By Averie Sunshine

🍲🥑🍅🧀 Chicken, tomatoes, corn, black beans, avocado, cheese, and addictively crunchy tortilla strips! Fast, easy weeknight meal, and better than from a restaurant! Made in ONE pot and ready in 30 minutes, this is a fan FAVORITE that will impress your friends and family!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 5

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Equipment

• 1 Dutch oven, about 7 quarts

Ingredients 

Tortilla Strips

• ▢ 10 small corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch wide strips
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

Soup

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 cup sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, peeled and diced small (about 1 medium onion)
• ▢ 1 large jalapeno pepper, about 4 to 5 inches long, diced very small (the seeds are where the heat is concentrated; included or discard them based on preference)
• ▢ 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
• ▢ 32 ounces 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ▢ two 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes and juice, I used petite diced, no-salt-added
• ▢ one 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• ▢ 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, use storebought rotisserie chicken to save time; or roast or cook your own chicken in a skillet
• ▢ 1 ½ cups corn, I used frozen straight from the freezer, fresh may be substituted
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lime juice
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cumin
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, regular paprika may be substituted
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional and to taste
• ▢ ⅓ cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely minced
• ▢ diced avocado for serving, optional for serving
• ▢ shredded cheese, optional for serving
• ▢ sour cream, optional for serving

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Instructions 

Make the Tortilla Strips:

• Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with a Silpat or foil to save cleanup time.
• Loosely scatter the tortilla strips, evenly drizzle with olive oil, evenly sprinkle with kosher salt, toss with hands to coat evenly, and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until crisp and lightly golden brown; set aside.
• While strips bake, begin making the soup.

Make the Soup:

• To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and heat over medium-high heat to warm.
• Add the onion, jalapeno, and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir intermittently.
• Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir intermittently.
• Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and juice, black beans, chicken, corn, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, 2 teaspoons salt, pepper, smoked paprika, optional cayenne pepper, and bring to a boil.
• Allow mixture to boil gently for about 5 to 7 minutes. If at any point the overall liquid level looks low or you prefer your soup to have more broth, add 1 to 2 cups of water; you’ll adjust the salt and seasoning levels at the end.
• Add the cilantro and boil 1 minute.
• Taste soup and add salt to taste. This will vary based on how salty the chicken broth, tomatoes, black beans, and rotisserie chicken are, and personal preference. Make any necessary seasoning adjustments (i.e. more salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, etc.).
• Ladle soup into bowls, top with tortilla strips to taste, optionally garnish with avocado, cheese and/or sour cream; serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Storage: Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Extra tortilla strips will keep in airtight at room temp for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 485kcal, Carbohydrates: 55g, Protein: 28g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 1873mg, Potassium: 878mg, Fiber: 12g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 979IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 117mg, Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Originally posted September 15, 2015 and reposted September 4, 2020 with updated text.