Name: Best Chicken Tortilla Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon oil ((for stove top version only)); 1 small red onion (chopped); 2 cloves garlic ( minced); 1 medium carrot ( chopped); 1 large bell pepper (chopped (optional)); 1 stalk celery (chopped); 1 whole jalapeno (or red chili pepper finely chopped (optional or use less as more as desired for level of heat)); 1 pound chicken breasts; 28 ounces canned tomatoes (fie roasted (I puree mine in blender)); 4 cups chicken broth ((gluten free and low sodium)); 2 whole bay leaves ((optional)); 1 teaspoon oregano (dried); 2 teaspoons cumin (dried ground); 2 tablespoons chili pepper (dried ground); 1 teaspoon sugar ((or sugar substitute)); Salt and pepper ( to taste); 12 ounces corn (frozen canned or fresh cut off the cob); 12 ounces black beans (canned (drained and rinsed)); 3 whole Tortilla soft ((regular, gluten free or lower carb soft flour or corn tortillas all work well)); Olive oil spray ( or ¼ cup oil if you wish to fry tortillas); 1 teaspoon chili powder (for tortillas); 1/2 cup cheddar cheese ( shredded (optional)); 1/4 cup cilantro (fresh chopped (optional)); Lime zest and lime juice (optional); Avocado ((1 sliced optional))

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Best Chicken Tortilla Soup is a super easy dump and go time saving recipe made in the pressure cooker (instant pot), slow cooker or stove top. Chock full of chicken, vegetables paired with delicately spicy tomato-based broth and topped with homemade crunchy baked tortillas and cheese. Serve with a side of air fryer cornbread for the ultimate dinner.

Bowl of Chicken Tortilla soup topped with baked tortilla strip with a wooden spoon grabbing a bite.

What's to Love

Easy dump and go recipe
You can make this recipe low carb by skipping the black beans and tortillas and adding in a few more veggies
Burst of flavors
Not too spicy (you can adjust the spice level to your preference)
Recipe frees you up to perform other tasks around the house
Can make homemade crispy tortillas toppings using gluten-free or lower carb soft tortilla wraps
Perfect recipe for game day tailgating and trick or treating warm up

Spoonful of soup with chicken, corn, black beans, tomatoes and celery.

Mexican Fiesta

Do you like Tex – Mex recipes? Then, you are going to love our Best Chicken Tortilla Soup. This soup has a lot going on from both a flavor and a texture perspective. It is both savory and slightly spicy just like our Sopa de Fideo (Mexican Noodle Soup ).

This tortilla soup has fresh veggies, hearty chicken in this delicious slightly spicy tomato-based broth. Topped with creamy cheese and the crunch of the baked tortillas. Garnished with cilantro, avocados and a little squeeze of lime.

Craving more Tex Mex? Try our carnitas burritos for dinner or try our Tex Mex bowl for breakfast.

Two bowls of chicken tortilla soup with a lime and bowl of crispy tortilla strips

It’s SOUP SEASON!

Cooler nights, changing leaves and warming nourishing soup is just what you need to stay warm and cozy this season. Warming broth, a little spice, healthy vegetables with cooked veggies is just what your body is craving. You need to be extra good to your body in the change of seasons.

This is the time when we are most apt to be out of balance and most likely to fall under the weather. One way to keep healthy is by eating easy to digest foods to get the nutrition your body needs, If you want to learn more about how to eat to support your body, check out our post on Feed your Spleen: Nourish your body.

9 step by step process to make chicken tortilla soup

Pressure Cooker - Slow Cooker - Stove Top

Whether you have a pressure cooker (instant pot), slow cooker (crock pot) or just a stove top, we have you covered with directions.

If you have an instant pot, you can put everything into the instant pot, set it for 14 minutes on high pressure, perform a quick release. Top with grated cheese, cilantro, lime juice and crispy baked tortilla chips, if desired and enjoy.

For slow cooker options, you can put everything into the slow cooker (crock pot) and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low heat for 8-10 hours. Garnish as desired.

Stove top directions are very similar but we add the items in at different times. We first add the olive oil, onions, carrots, celery and garlic and sauté until aromatic. Then, we slice the chicken into thin slices and add with the spices and sauté until cooked through. Next we add the tomatoes, broth and simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are cooked through. Garnish as desired.

Hand holding up over the baking sheet 2 perfectly crispy baked tortilla strips.

Homemade Crispy Tortillas Strips

Do you like texture in your soup? We sure do. These little crispy tortillas are the perfect contrast to the chunky vegetable soup. Either baked or fried, they are delicious. In addition, you can use gluten-free wraps, low carb wraps, corn soft tortillas or regular flour tortilla wraps. We used Mission Gluten-free flour Tortillas and they were delicious.

Baked

We actually do prefer them baked as they are lighter and crispier. You just preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and cut your tortillas in to slices. Then, we spray the lined baking pan with a little oil spray and place the tortillas single layered on the baking tray. Just spritz the tortillas with a light spray of olive oil and sprinkle on chili powder, salt and pepper and you are good to go. Bake for about 5-10 minutes and then toss. Bake for another 5-10 minutes until golden brown.

Pan Fried

We also tried a batch pan fried and they are delicious too but you must keep a close eye on these tortilla ss they can burn. Instead of seasoning the tortilla strips before you cook, you wait until after they are done frying. We do not have a deep fryer so we did a pan fry in shallow oil.

Place oil in pan and add your cut tortilla strips to the pan and fry over medium low heat for about 5-6 minutes or until golden brown. After you remove them from the pan, place them on an absorbent paper towel lined dish and season with chili powder, salt and pepper.

2 bowls of chicken tortilla soup with limes and garnishes.

Soup for Dinner

This is a busy time of the year and with a little planning you can have some wonderful dishes for those busy work weeks. We double up on soup and stew recipes and freeze half for later. When you have had the world’s worst day at work, you can get dinner on the table in a flash. You may want to give these healthy and quick less than 30 minute soup recipes a try...

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Instant Pot Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

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Cozy Chicken Curry Soup

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Best Chicken Tortilla Soup