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Enjoy the flavors of a taco in this easy chicken tortilla soup – preps in minutes and simmers all day for a comforting and easy dinner!
Grandma’s Recipe
My grandma Luna loved making chicken tortilla soup and my mom continued the tradition making it a long-time family favorite. Although my grandma’s soup used more fresh ingredients, we’ve simplified it over the years so that it can come together in minutes.
Now, we make this soup all fall long and even the kids will throw it together because it’s that easy. We love to serve it with Cornbread or Cornbread muffins – or even fresh Homemade Tortillas.
This chicken soup recipe tastes like Chicken Tacos in a bowl – the same delicious flavors and even more simple to make!
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- So easy – so yummy! This easy soup recipe takes 15 minutes to prep and the flavor is incredible.
- Crockpot or stove. Simmer all day in the slow cooker or make it in minutes on the stove.
- Toppings galore. Top with your favorite fixings like tortilla strips, sour cream, tomatoes, avocado, fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and more.
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 4 HOURS
- 6 cups chicken stock or chicken broth – Both work great!
- 2 cups Shredded Cooked Chicken – Cook the chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs and shred or cube. You can also buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it.
- 1-2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes – or canned fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can of corn
- 1 (15.25-ounce) can of black beans – or use pinto beans or kidney beans
- 1 (4-ounce) can of diced green chiles – Mild or hot work, but we typically do mild.
- ½ cup chopped onion (optional) – You can mince the onions or use onion powder. For a different flavor, try chopped bell peppers.
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic – Use 2 garlic cloves and learn How to Mince Garlic.
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoons chili powder – Add cayenne pepper for more spice.
- toppings – more shredded cheese, sour cream, queso fresco, diced avocado, chopped green onions, cilantro and limes
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
- COMBINE. In a slow cooker, combine 6 cups chicken stock, 2 cups Shredded Cooked Chicken, 1-2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, 1 (14.5-ounce) can of corn, 1 (15.25-ounce) can of black beans, 1 (4-ounce) can of diced green chiles, ½ cup chopped onion, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, 1½ teaspoons salt, ¾ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, and ¼ teaspoons chili powder. Stir to combine.
- COOK. Cook on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 3–4 hours.
- GARNISH. Add cheese, tortilla strips, and other favorite toppings right before serving.
Stovetop Directions
- Combine all chicken tortilla soup ingredients (minus the cheese and toppings) into a large pot, and cook on medium-high heat to bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
- Dish into bowls. Add cheese just before serving, and top with your favorite toppings!
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Chicken Tortilla Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken stock, or chicken broth
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1-2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can corn, drained
- 1 (15.25-ounce) can black beans, drained
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
- ½ cup chopped onion, optional
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
Toppings (Optional)
- corn tortilla strips (store-bought or homemade), sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, chopped avocado, cilantro
Instructions
- Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 3–4 hours.
- Add cheese, tortilla strips, and other favorite toppings right before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Place this chicken tortilla soup recipe in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Let the tortilla soup recipe cool first, then freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for 3-4 months.
Yum. I used your recipe as a base and as always I can’t leave anything in the original form. :). I used two cans drained of fire roasted tomatoes and also added cilantro in the mixture. Because of time I pulled apart a rotessiere chicken. Other than that I followed the recipe and it’s delish.
Hi, I’m planning on making this for my husband n his family, we’re a total of 5, and I was wondering how many servings does this recipe call for?
Made this soup on Sunday and it was really good, my daughter took it back to school with her. This was a big hit, yesterday made it again but used a large can of crushed tomatoes instead of the diced tomatoes. Totally changed the soup up a bit.
SO glad you guys liked it! I’m curious… which did you like better? The can of crushed tomatoes or the diced tomatoes?
We preferred the crushed tomatoes. There is a difference in the thickness of the broth. The next time I fix this I am going to double the recipe and try one can of diced tomatoes and 2 cans of crushed tomatoes. Also wanted to mentioned that the avocado really topped this soup off, will try sour cream on it.
Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Made your chicken tortilla soup for dinner tonight. SO GOOD!!! I made a couple of minor tweaks because we were snowed in today – I had to add some dried Georgia Flame chile peppers and some pickled poblano & jalapeño peppers from our garden in place of canned chili peppers. I also added a can of crushed tomato in place of the diced because it was on the shelf. I tweaked the spices a bit to taste – added a dash of smoked paprika, a dash of Badia Sazon and some extra cumin. By the time we had dug out and the storm had passed, the soup was ready. We hit the store for the toppings – avocado, diced fresh tomato, low fat monterey jack, diced red onion, tortilla chips and some fresh cilantro. Added a little dollop of sour cream and baby, that was some good eats! Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe! Sue
Hi there, just made your recipie today and I used diced tomatoes and habanero for extra kick to the soup. They were 10 oz cans so I used two since your two ingredients were mixed. Turned out great. I only wish the chicken stock would be a little bit thicker. Any advice?
Paulina, I didn’t have any diced canned tomato, so I added a large can of crushed tomato. I think that helped to thicken the soup. We also topped it off with a dollop of sour cream, which also added thickness and richness when served. Delish!