Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe (2024)

Here’s a fantastic way to use leftover chicken: Mexican chicken tortilla soup.This famous south-of-the-border soup uses leftover shredded chicken for a flavor-packed soup in 30 minutes. The best part is the garnishes, like Cheese, avocado, herbs, crispy baked tortilla strips, and a tart squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Why You'll Like This Recipe

If you love a good soup with chicken recipe, here's another one to fall in love with; a Mexican chicken soup. Plus, it's an easy tortilla soup recipe because of using leftover chicken and basic pantry ingredients.

This Mexican-inspired soup recipe:

• Is a great use for leftover roast or baked chicken, or rotisserie chicken.
• Has big flavors, colors, and customizable tasty garnishes.
• Is easy to make.
• Pinto beans add substance, protein, and healthy fiber.
• It's the most loved soup of Mexico, for good reason.

For another chicken soup recipe, try this chicken vegetable soup. It's warming and comforting.

Recipe Ingredients

• Cooking fat: Choose olive oil, avocado oil, or try this new healthy oil.
• Onion: The flavorful aromatic backbone of soups, choose yellow, brown, or white.
• Carrot: Many tortilla soup recipes don't include carrot but I do for color and flavor.
• Celery: Part of flavor trio of onion, carrot and celery (mirepoix) for soup bases.
• Chili pepper: If you like heat, go Jalapeño pepper. For little heat but good flavor, buy an Anaheim pepper. (See what one looks like in this post).
• Garlic: Use fresh garlic cloves and finely chop or use a microplane zester. In a pinch, use granulated garlic powder.
• Spices: Ground cumin, ground coriander, ground chipotle peppers (powder), and ancho chili powder. It's the ancho chili powder that gives tortilla soup it gorgeous red color.
• Herbs: Dried oregano and either fresh cilantro or fresh Italian parsley (for garnish)
• Diced tomatoes: Use canned and don't drain them, use the juices too. Get the fire-roasted.
• Pinto beans: A traditional Mexican bean, also called red Mexican beans. Use canned for speed.
• Broth: Use low sodium chicken broth or try turkey broth. Homemade chicken broth is easy and freezes. Rich broth equals rich flavor.
• Chicken: Use shredded baked chicken or rotisserie chicken, homemade is best but store bought is fine too, it's up to you.
• Tortilla strips: Corn tortillas, either golden or blue, oil and salt.

Pleas see recipe card for measurements.

Substitutions and Variations

• Substitute Anaheim pepper (very mild) for Jalapeno pepper.
• No fresh jalapeños? Use part or all of a small can of green chiles.
• Substitute canned black beans for canned pinto beans, or small white beans.
• Add corn kernels if you'd like for more color and texture.
• Don't like cilantro? Use fresh chopped parsley as an alternative garnish.
• If you can't find pure ancho chili powder use chili powder (which is a blend). Smoked paprika is another option for flavor and color.
• Bell pepper is a terrific addition to chicken tortilla soup. Choose red, yellow or orange.
• Swap regular diced tomatoes for the fire-roasted tomatoes.

Chef's Tip: Be careful when handling andchopping hot peppers. It protects your hands to wear disposable food handling gloves. Do not touch your eyes or face after handling fresh chilies and wash them well. The heat of peppers is in the inner membrane, the veins (or ribs) of the pepper, not the seeds.

Recipe Instructions (soup)

Chicken tortilla soup is based on classic Mexican flavors, ingredients, and spices, using ground cumin, coriander, ancho chili pepper, and dried oregano. It's similar to chicken taco soup but lighter and more brothy. It's the most loved of many famous Mexican soup recipes.

Garnishes: Homemade Tortilla Strips

While you could use lightly crushed, fresh corn tortilla chips from a bag, they pale in comparison to the homemade version.

These baked tortilla chips (or strips) are crisp, lightly salty and hard to stop eating. Make the homemade baked tortillas strips while you're working on the soup.

Recipe Instructions (strips)

Cut the tortillas in half (corn tortillas, not flour tortillas), then cut the halves crosswise into thin strips. Toss with a tiny bit of olive oil and bake in a 350°F degree oven until golden and starting to crisp, about 15 minutes. Season with salt when you remove them from the oven.

See Also

Low Carb Guacamole – Vegan Recipe – Diet DoctorPico De Gallo Recipe (Video) - The Girl Who Ate EverythingRoasted Chicken Thighs With Tangy Apricots and Carrots RecipeLow Carb Guacamole – Vegan Recipe – Diet Doctor

Serving Suggestions

The best part of chicken tortilla soup is the garnishes, or as I call them, the goodies. Placing bowls of goodies on the table allows everyone to customize their soup. Offer:

• Lime wedges for fresh squeezed lime juice.
• Chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley).
• Sliced or diced avocado.
• Grated cheese.
• Fresh jalapeno slices.
• A dollop of sour cream adds a nice cool tang.
• Chopped green onions.
• Thinly sliced or grated fresh radishes.
• Wedges of refreshing limes.
• And to top it all off, those crispy tortilla strips.

Chicken tortilla soup isa meal in a bowl. You don’t really need anything else to complete dinner. If you want to, add a tossed green salad with a citrusy vinaigrette. Make one with a lime olive oil like this.

Leftovers and Freezing

Leftovers keep 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container, labeled and dated. Can you freeze this soup? Yes, freeze it without any garnishes for 2-3 months.

Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and finish thawing and heating in a pot on the stovetop over low heat, covered, for best results. Then add fresh garnishes to serve.

Recipe FAQs

More Mexican-Inspired Recipes

Need more fiesta flavors? Another Mexican inspired recipe that's quick and easy if this super easy taco meat filling recipe. And be sure to make a jar of my homemade taco seasoning blend. It works for more than tacos.

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