Chicken Tortilla Soup

You are going to love our easy Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe! It’s richly flavored and loaded with onion, garlic, fresh vegetables, chicken, cilantro and lime juice. We think it rivals any restaurant tortilla soup out there! 

This chicken tortilla soup is cluttered with chopped chicken and fresh vegetables, and it’s seasoned with delicious authentic Mexican flavors (cumin, oregano and fresh cilantro) that will have you hooked at first bite!

Many Mexican Tortilla Soup Recipes call for adding a lot of shredded cheese, which in my opinion ruins the soup, makes a mess of the spoon, and stifles the flavors of the other ingredients.  Most of the time, we serve this chicken tortilla soup without any cheese at all, but if we do add any cheese, we’ll use Pepper Jack cut it into little cubes to add to individual bowls.  My family loves the tortilla soup served at El Torito Grill restaurant.  This easy Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe is our riff on their soup.

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

This easy Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe is made with lots of fresh wholesome ingredients. 

• Oil. We use a good quality extra-virgin olive oil.
• Chicken. We use about 1-1/2 pounds cooked chicken breast or thighs (or a combo of both).
• Aromatics.  We use yellow and green onion, and a couple of cloves of garlic. 
• Seasoning. We use a mix of dried oregano, cumin and adobo powder to season this soup with. 
• Canned tomatoes.  We add canned tomatoes which adds a richness to this soup.
• Fresh vegetables. Chopped zucchini and yellow squash adds a lot of flavor, color and nutrition to this delicious soup.
• Chicken broth. Use a low-sodium or sodium-free chicken broth and so you can season with as much or little salt as you like.
• Cilantro. Fresh cilantro adds a lot of flavor to this soup.
• Lime Juice.  After the soup has finished cooking, we stir in fresh lime juice which adds a nice perky flavor.

Find printable recipe with measurements below.

Chicken Tortilla Soup Toppings

• Cheese. Pepper Jack cheese is a great cheese to garnish this soup with.  It adds another layer of flavor to this already richly-flavored soup.  I highly recommend! But nine times out of ten, I don’t add any cheese to this Easy Tortilla Soup at all.  Instead I garnish the heck out of it with lots of avocado, freshly baked tortilla strips (seasoned with chili powder) and a heap of fresh cilantro.
• Tortilla Strips. These Homemade Tortilla Strips
• Cilantro. Fresh cilantro added to bowls filled with piping hot soup adds so much flavor.
• Avocado. Fresh avocado also adds a lot of flavor, healthy fats and a creamy texture to this soup.
• Lime. Serving this soup with lime wedges so people can add as much or little fresh lime juice as they like. It adds a fresh perky flavor to this soup.
• Red Onion. Adding a little minced onion to the soup adds a bold flavor to this soup.
• Tomatoes. Add finely chopped tomatoes or a spoonful of pico de gallo to this soup for added flavor.

How to Make Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup 

This healthy tortilla soup recipe comes together in about 40 minutes (start-to-finish).

1. Cook Chicken. Add the chicken to a stock pot.  Cover with just enough water to cover the chicken and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. After it has cooled, cut the chicken and discard the skin and bones. If you are using rotisserie chicken, then remove the meat from the bone and discard skin and bones, and shred or chop chicken meat.
2. Saute aromatics. In a large Dutch, heat oil over medium heat add onion, green onions, cilantro, garlic, oregano, cumin and adobo powder. Sauté for 8-10 minutes or until onions are translucent and tender.
3. Simmer soup. Add tomatoes and chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
4. Chicken and Vegetables. Add the chopped chicken,  zucchini and yellow squash and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until zucchini and yellow squash is just softened.
5. Lime juice. Stir in the lime juice.
6. Add seasoning. Add freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
7. Serve. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with cubes of Pepper Jack Cheese, tortilla strips, chopped cilantro, diced avocado and lime wedges.

Taco Soup vs Tortilla Soup

Both taco soup and tortilla soup are richly flavored Mexican soups, but there are a few differences between the two. Taco soup often has a thicker consistency, more calories, protein and fiber, and it contains many of the same ingredients that you’d find in a taco meal like ground beef, chicken or turkey, beans and corn kernels. Tortilla soup usually has more broth, fewer calories and its made with shredded chicken, canned tomatoes, fresh cilantro, lime juice, and it’s garnished with avocado and tortilla strips.

How To Store Leftovers 

Store leftover Tortilla Soup in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. It’s best to cool and refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking to prevent or minimize the possibility of any microbial growth.

Can You Freeze Leftover Soup?

Divide the soup into meal size portions in air-tight containers or freezer bags, leaving just enough room for the soup to expand. Store in the freezer for up to 6 months. To defrost, remove the soup from the freezer and defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Or you can defrost the soup on the stove top by adding the soup and a little water or broth to pot over medium-low heat. 

More Soup Recipes

• Vegan Tortilla Soup
• Mexican Chicken Soup
• Taco Soup
• Black Bean Soup
• Chicken Chili Without Beans

This post has been updated since it was originally published on May 25, 2018.

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Yield: 6 servings

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

You are going to love our easy Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe! It's richly flavored and loaded with onion, garlic, fresh vegetables, chicken, cilantro and lime juice. And we think it rivals any restaurant tortilla soup out there! 

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds shredded chicken (you can use rotisserie if you like)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 - 5  green onions, finely sliced (white and light green parts only)
• 1-1/4 cups finely chopped cilantro
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoon Adobo powder (optional)
• 1 14½-ounce can low-sodium diced tomatoes (regular or fire roasted)
• 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 medium zucchini, cut in half lenghwise and sliced
• 1 medium yellow squash, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

1. Add the chicken to a stock pot. Cover with just enough water to cover the chicken and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink inside.
2. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. After it has cooled, cut the chicken and discard the skin and bones.
3. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.
4. Add onion, green onions, cilantro, garlic, oregano, cumin and adobo powder.
5. Sauté for 8-10 minutes or until onions are translucent and tender.
6. Add canned tomatoes and chicken broth and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
7. Add the chopped chicken, zucchini and yellow squash and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until zucchini and yellow squash is just softened.
8. Stir in the lime juice.
9. Add freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
10. Serve bowls of soup topped with cubes of Pepper Jack Cheese, tortilla strips, chopped cilantro, diced avocado and lime wedges.

Notes

Chicken Tortilla Soup Toppings

• Cheese. Pepper Jack cheese is a great cheese to garnish this soup with.  It adds another layer of flavor to this already richly-flavored soup.  Regular Jack, and cheddar also work.
• Tortilla Strips. These Homemade Tortilla Strips add flavor and crispiness to this soup.
• Cilantro. Fresh cilantro added to bowls filled with piping hot soup adds so much flavor.
• Avocado. Fresh avocado also adds a lot of flavor, healthy fats and a creamy texture to this soup.
• Lime. Serving this soup with lime wedges so people can add as much or little fresh lime juice as they like. It adds a fresh perky flavor to this soup.
• Red Onion. Adding a little minced onion to the soup adds a bold flavor to this soup.
• Tomatoes. Add finely chopped tomatoes or a spoonful of pico de gallo to this soup for added flavor.

How To Store Leftovers 

Store leftover Tortilla Soup in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. It’s best to cool and refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking to prevent or minimize the possibility of any microbial growth.

How To Freeze Leftover Soup

Divide the soup into meal size portions in air-tight containers or freezer bags, leaving just enough room for the soup to expand. Store in the freezer for up to 6 months. To defrost, remove the soup from the freezer and defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Or you can defrost the soup on the stove top by adding the soup and a little water or broth to pot over medium-low heat. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 417Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 113mgSodium: 643mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 47g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.