Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup
This easy, warming chicken tortilla soup is comfort food in a soup bowl. With chicken breasts and loaded with veggies, this chicken tortilla soup recipe will nourish your body and soul.
So many people wanted to help after we found out our devastating news that one of our twin sons had passed away at 32 weeks. I didn’t know what to tell people to do so they brought food. So much food.
The food dropped on our doorstep kept my family going. We didn’t know which way was up while dealing with the height of our grief for our son and the worry of having our other son enduring a month long nicu stay. Dinner was the last thing on our minds. Luckily we had people taking care of it for us.
These meals inspired me. Not only did they feed our bodies in the height of the worst crisis I’ve ever known, but they nourished my soul and helped heal my broken heart. Every meal dropped on my doorstep was a reminder of the love we are surrounded by. So if you know someone going through the unimaginable and you want to help, bring them food. They will appreciate it more than you know because by filling their plates you have just taken something off their plates. So I bring to you the first in a series of feed the soul grief meals. Any meals in the grief meals series would be just the thing to drop off with a loved one when their life gets tough.
My daughter’s preschool teacher gifted us a pot of chicken tortilla soup in the aftermath. She left it on our porch on the last school day prior to Christmas break, along with all the fixings. It was perfect because it was comforting but still nourishing with all the veggies in the soup.
Because she knew she was feeding my 4 year old daughter as well as two adults, the soup was mild. Likewise, the chicken tortilla soup recipe that I’ve created here is light on heat. However, if you want more heat you can easily up the chili powder or forgo seeding the jalapeno peppers. You could also add more chipotle peppers.
Likewise you have options with the chicken. You could chicken breasts like I did in this recipe. Or to save time, you could shred a grocery store rotisserie chicken. Either would work.
The end result will be a delicious pot of chicken tortilla soup with a hint of smoky flavor and a little freshness from some lime. Perfect for cheering someone up.
Tips to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Adjust the heat level to suit your taste. Omit the jalapeno all together if you don’t like heat. If you want a little more, don’t seed the jalapeno or add an extra.
- You could use salsa or taco sauce in place of tomato paste. I prefer the texture of tomato paste and the fuller bodied flavor of tomato paste over either of the other options. If you do chose to use salsa or taco sauce, you can add extra heat with those ingredients.
- Feel free to omit or adjust the veggies to suit your tastes.
- You could absolutely make this in the crock pot instead of on the stove top. To do that, just add all the ingredients except the black beans and frozen corn to a crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours until the chicken can be pulled apart. Add the corn and black beans and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Looking for other chicken soup recipes? Try these:
Ingredients
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 red onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 jalapeno seeded
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- 1 tbs adobo sauce
- 2 chicken breasts*
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 6 ounce can of tomato paste**
- 10 cups of reduced sodium chicken stock or broth
- 1 15 ounce can of black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup of frozen corn
- the juice of 2 limes
For garnish
- corn tortillas cut into strips
- cheddar cheese
- cilantro
- sour cream
Instructions
- Heat a medium soup pot over medium heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. While pot is heating, chop the pepper, onion, and jalapeno. Add to the oil along with crushed garlic, chipotle pepper and adobo sauce. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the veggies begin to soften and get fragrant. Work in the tomato paste with a spoon, stirring to incorporate. Add the chicken breasts, season with salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and can be pulled apart with a fork. Stir in the juice of 2 limes, the drained and rinsed black beans, and the corn. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the veggies are warmed through. Serve hot. Garnish with corn tortilla strips, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.
