This easy tortilla soup has been a staple at both of our houses and was in dire need of a makeover so you guys can all see how beautifully delicious it is! This isn’t like the thick chicken tortilla soup that they have at Chili’s; it’s brothier (is that a word?) a la Cafe Rio or Costa Vida. It’s super healthy and low in calories, full of fresh, nutritious ingredients and we actually prefer it to traditional chicken soup at our house when we’re stuffed up because of the garlic, lime, and the spiciness that the jalapenos add, helping clear our heads.
Ingredients Needed
- Taco Chicken
- Chicken breasts or thighs –Boneless, skinless.
- Fresh limes
- Red wine vinegar
- Fresh garlic
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Olive oil
- Soup
- Onion
- Fresh jalapeños
- Fresh garlic
- Chicken broth
- Diced tomatoes
- Fresh lime juice
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Toppings – As desired.
- Tortilla strips or chips
- Guacamole or avocado
- Cotija cheese
- Sour cream
- Cilantro
- Green onions
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
- The directions call for marinating this chicken earlier in the day and then grilling it as you are preparing the soup. I’ve done that lots of times, but I’ve also found that I like this soup even more if I don’t use leftover chicken or bother with thinking ahead to marinade and instead add all the flavors of the chicken marinade right into the soup pot. My trick is to cut up my chicken into bite sized pieces and let it sit in the marinade, which is a flavorful mixture of lime juice and seasonings while you prep other ingredients. I’m going to show you this version.
- So while your chicken is hanging out in those flavors, start by sautéing onion. garlic, and jalapeño. That will cook for just a few minutes and then you add in your chicken that was marinating.
- A quick addition of some canned fire-roasted tomatoes and chicken broth are all you need to finish it up. Let it simmer for a bit for all the flavors to blend together and you’re done! You could easily add additional vegetables if you want, like corn and beans, but simple is totally fine here and it leaves a great canvas for toppings.
- Add some fresh lime juice right before serving and load those bowls with anything you like. We love tortilla strips, cilantro, queso fresco, and avocado. Perfectly easy weeknight meal!
Storing and Other Tips
- A beautifully healthy soup like this is amazing because it leaves so much room for tasty toppings. If you use and love our Taco Chicken recipe, you can easily make that one night and just cook extra to save for this soup.
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 3-4 days for best results.
- Feel free to freeze in individual portions for a quick lunch or dinner on busy days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this in an electric pressure cooker?
You could if that is your only option, but this soup comes together so fast on the stovetop! If you’re looking for recipes designed for the Instant Pot, check out this Easy Pressure Cooker Tortilla Soup.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Sure! This soup reheats very well.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
A simple and delicious chicken soup packed with Latin flavors and healthy ingredients!
Servings servings
Equipment
Ingredients
Taco Chicken
- 1 pound chicken breasts or thighs boneless, skinless
- 2 limes
- 1 splash red wine vinegar
- 2-3 cloves garlic pressed or coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Soup
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 jalapeños membranes and seeds removed if you don’t want it too spicy
- 6 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 58 ounces chicken broth 4 cans
- 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes we suggest fire roasted
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Toppings:
- tortilla strips or chips
- guacamole or avocado
- cotija cheese
- sour cream
- cilantro
- green onions
Instructions
Choose Your Method: Marinate & Grill or One-Pot Method
Marinate & Grill
- Juice the limes and combine with a couple splashes of red wine vinegar. Add garlic. Pour over chicken. This will not completely cover the chicken; just turn it occasionally as needed. Marinate for at least 4 hours, no longer than 8.
- After marinading, combine salt, chili powder, cumin, and black pepper in a small bowl. Remove chicken from marinade and rub the spices all over the chicken.
- Right before preparing soup, heat an outdoor grill (you can also use a grill pan inside. Or your broiler in your oven.) Place chicken on lightly oiled grill over medium heat and close the lid. Cook for 7 minutes, then flip the chicken, close the lid, and cook for another 7 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove from the grill, lightly cover with foil, and allow to stand a few minutes so it doesn’t lose its juiciness. Set aside.
- In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and minced jalapeño and cook a few minutes more until pepper is softened and garlic is fragrant.
- Add chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer 15-20 minutes.
- While soup is simmering, juice the limes and set aside. Start preparing the toppings as desired.
- Right before serving, add lime juice and chicken to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into the bowls and add desired toppings.
One-Pot Method
- Dice raw chicken into bite-sized pieces and combine in a bowl with marinade ingredients, including all seasonings, but omitting garlic and pepper. Let sit while you prep other ingredients.
- In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and minced jalapeños and cook a few minutes more until pepper is softened and garlic is fragrant.
- Push onion mixture to side of pan and transfer chicken to pot, including all juices/marinade. Stir and cook until chicken is mostly cooked through.
- Add chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer 15-20 minutes.
- While soup is simmering, juice the limes and set aside. Start preparing the toppings as desired.
- Right before serving, give it a try and adjust the seasonings and lime juice to your own liking. If needed, add lime juice to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into the bowls and add desired toppings.
Notes
- Nutritional information was calculated without the use of any toppings.
- A beautifully healthy soup like this is amazing because it leaves so much room for tasty toppings. If you use and love our Taco Chicken recipe, you can easily make that one night and just cook extra to save for this soup.
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 3-4 days for best results.
- Feel free to freeze in individual portions for a quick lunch or dinner on busy days.
Nutrition
Calories: 102kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 14g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 39mg, Sodium: 1065mg, Potassium: 313mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 147IU, Vitamin C: 14mg, Calcium: 28mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 102kcal
Cost: $10
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Questions & Reviews
I should have mentioned the soup is delicious but not spicy at all. In my case, the Serranos would be a better choice.
Ladies, my daughter made this soup the other day and mentioned what you said about Serrano peppers being milder than Jalapenos–seriously incorrect information. You really need to change the statement on the recipe for those who may not know for themselves.
With a ranking of 5,000 to 15,000 Scoville units on the chili heat scale, Serranos are up to five times hotter than their cousin, the Jalapeño.
This is my new favorite soup! I have had a recipe for Chicken Tortilla soup in my recipe stack for literally years that I have been intending to make…but it has like 7537843 ingredients and has to simmer all day and it is just too intimidating so it keeps getting shuffled to the bottom of the stack. Then I found this. This rivals all of the Chicken Tortilla soups I have ever eaten at restaurants and the best part is that it is SOOOO easy! I was scared of the jalapenos at first, but I went for it and they weren’t really spicy at all, just a nice background heat/flavor. My kids ate it up (even the tomatoes, onions, peppers, and avocados from the bottom of the bowl!!). My only complaint was that it did not make enough for leftovers!
are you supposed to drain the canned tomatoes before adding them to the soup or just dump the whole can in?
Nope, just dump in the whole can 🙂
Thank you this soup and many of your other recipes. I have made this soup every week for the past 5 weeks, plus I made it for a Christmas party and friends coming over for dinner and it was a huge hit. I double the batch not and have it all week for lunch. The only I add is frozen sweet corn.
How do you print your recipes?
I made this for the second time last week and I was instantly transported back to Salt Lake City and Cafe Rio. The only thing I was missing was a fresh tortilla. I had plans to make them but ran out of time. This was the recipe that lead me to your site about a year half ago as I was missing Cafe Rio’s soup after moving to Cincinnati. Love it!
Wonderful recipe! Loved it.. Just 1 thing.. Serrano peppers are actually hotter than jalapeños 🙂
is there a way to adapt this recipe for a crock pot?
Hi
I love all the recipe’s on the blog and feel like you guys have totally gotten me out it the cooking rut I was stuck in! So thank you!
I had a problem with this recipe and the zip list option. The toppings (cilantro, avocado, cheese etc) are NOT put through to the zip list and I LOVE being able to use zip list to plan my weekly menu. But unfortunately it has left me toppingless the last two times I made this recipe. Pretty tragic if you ask me! So if somehow this could be fixed it would really improve my chicken tortilla soup experience!
Thanks again for the amazing recipe’s!!!