This chicken tortilla soup is budget friendly, easy to make and it’s delicious! Cut down the cooking time by using leftover chicken or store bought rotisserie. Or, poach some chicken breasts, it only takes about 25 minutes – either way it's simple.
Add the tortilla chips to the soup right before serving and you have an amazing, hearty meal your family will love.
Chicken tortilla soup ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Canola Oil
- 1 Medium Onion, finely diced
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper, or to taste, optional
- 14 ounce Can Whole Tomatoes, chopped
- 6 cups Chicken Broth
- 15 ounce Can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups Fresh Corn Kernels or use frozen corn
- 1 pound Cooked Chicken, boneless, skinless, diced, sliced or shredded (poaching instructions below)
- Salt, to taste only if needed
- Corn Tortilla Chips, for serving
- Cilantro, chopped, for garnish
How to make poached chicken
If not using store-bought or leftover chicken
- 1 pound Chicken Breast, boneless, skinless
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 2-3 Sprigs of Thyme
- Pinch of Salt
- Place the chicken in a medium saucepan that is large enough so that they fit side by side without overlapping. Cover the chicken with chicken broth.
- Add the thyme and a pinch of salt. Start the chicken on high heat; bring the broth to a boil. As soon as it starts boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and cover.
- Simmer gently for 20 minutes. Make sure the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken breast is at least 165°F.
- Remove the chicken breast from poaching liquid and set on a cutting board to cool. Strain the cooking liquid using a fine sieve and set aside. When the chicken has cooled enough to handle, shred, slice or cut into bite-sized pieces.
Cook’s Notes: Don’t discard the chicken broth after poaching the chicken, use it for the soup. That’s some concentrated chicken broth goodness you have there!
Make the chicken tortilla soup
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, add the onions and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin and crushed red pepper (if using), stir to mix well. Cook about 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and chicken broth to the pot, stir. Raise the heat to high, bring to a boil, lower heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the black beans, corn and cooked chicken to the pot, raise the heat to medium and stir. Cook the soup, covered, for 10-15 minutes to cook the corn and allow the flavors to come together, stirring occasionally.
- Uncover the pot and cook an additional 5-10 minutes to allow the soup to thicken a bit, if desired.
- Taste the chicken corn tortilla soup and add salt to taste, only if needed. Serve the soup into individual bowls and add the corn tortilla chips right before serving, garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!
You may also like these Southwestern inspired recipes:
- Southwestern Steak Soup
- Shredded Beef Tacos
- Beef and Bean Burritos
- Southwestern Pasta
- Shredded Chicken Tacos
📖 Recipe
Chicken Tortilla Soup
This chicken corn tortilla soup is budget friendly, easy to make and it’s delicious! Cut down the cooking time by using leftover chicken, store bought rotisserie, or poach some chicken breasts, either way, super easy.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Canola Oil
- 1 Medium Onion finely diced
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper or to taste, optional
- 14 ounce Can Whole Tomatoes chopped
- 6 cups Chicken Broth
- 15 ounce Can Black Beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cups Fresh Corn Kernels or use frozen corn
- 1 pound Cooked Chicken boneless, skinless, diced, sliced or shredded (poaching instructions below)
- Salt to taste only if needed
- 12 ounces Corn Tortilla Chips for serving
- Cilantro chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- If you're poaching the chicken: place the chicken in a medium saucepan, large enough so that they fit side by side without overlapping. Cover the chicken with chicken broth. Add the thyme and a pinch of salt.
- Start the chicken on high heat; bring the broth to a boil. As soon as it starts boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer gently for 20 minutes. Make sure the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken breast is at least 165°F. Remove the chicken breast from poaching liquid and set on a cutting board to cool.
- Shred, slice or cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat the canola oil in a large pot over medium heat, add the onions and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin and crushed red pepper (if using), stir to mix well. Cook about 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and chicken broth to the pot, stir. Raise the heat to high, bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the black beans, corn and cooked chicken to the pot, raise the heat to medium and stir. Cook the soup, covered, for 10-15 minutes to cook the corn and allow the flavors to come together, stirring occasionally.
- Uncover the pot and cook an additional 5-10 minutes to allow the soup to thicken a bit, if desired.
- Taste the chicken corn tortilla soup and add salt to taste, only if needed. Serve the soup into individual bowls and add the corn tortilla chips right before serving, garnish with cilantro.
Notes
If you're poaching the chicken: Don’t discard the chicken broth after poaching the chicken, use it for the soup. That’s some concentrated chicken broth goodness you have there!
Nutrition
Calories: 611kcalCarbohydrates: 64gProtein: 30gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 1543mgPotassium: 1000mgFiber: 10gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 480IUVitamin C: 29.7mgCalcium: 180mgIron: 5.5mg
The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
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