Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

This easy, hearty chicken tortilla soup recipe is made with black beans, corn, peppers, and homemade crispy tortilla strips, the perfect weeknight meal.

It's soup time in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen, my friends. It's pretty cold at the moment where I live, and there's nothing like a hearty, chunky soup to warm the bones. To be honest, though, this soup is great for any time of year.

We're talking Chicken Tortilla Soup, and it is basically the perfect soup. It's filled with loads of chunky chicken, black beans, lots of peppers and onion, tomatoes, corn, and lots of my favorite seasonings.

And topped with crispy tortilla strips! I'll show you how you can make them at home very easily from fresh corn tortillas, though you can easily skip that step and just use your favorite bag of tortilla chips.

Either way, this is one of those very quick and easy soup recipes that you can have on the table pretty quickly. There isn't a ton of cooking, and most of the time is letting everything simmer on the stove or in the crock pot until you are ready to serve.

Like any one pot meal, it's really just tossing ingredients into the pot and letting them do their thing.

This comfort food will certainly fill your belly.

Let's talk about how to make chicken tortilla soup, shall we?

Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients

• Boneless Chicken. Use chicken breast or chicken thighs, or a combination.
• Oil. For cooking and for frying the tortilla strips.
• Chili Peppers. I'm using jalapeno peppers, but if you want some REAL heat, add in something super spicy, like ghost or scorpion pepper - use bell pepper or other mild green chilies for a no heat version.
• Tomatoes. Use large tomatoes, though 1 can of diced tomatoes, chopped tomatoes or fire roasted tomatoes is good, too.
• Other Vegetables. Onion, garlic, corn, chili peppers. 
• Black Beans.
• Chicken Broth. Or chicken stock.
• Seasonings. Use chili powder (I'm using a combination of ancho and Spanish paprika, though you can use your favorite blend), cumin, and salt and pepper, cilantro.
• Corn Tortillas. For the tortilla strips.
• For Serving. Use your favorite toppings, like diced avocado, jalapeno slices, hot red pepper flakes, fresh chopped parsley or cilantro, crumbly white cheese, hot sauce, or more.

How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup - the Recipe Method

FOR THE CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

Cook the Peppers and Onions. First, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot to medium-high heat and add the onion and peppers. Cook them down for 5 minutes to soften. They will release their juices and start to brown.

Cook the Chicken. Next, chop the chicken and season it with a bit of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, to get a nice sear on all of the sides. I have made this with chicken breast, chicken thigh, and a combination of both and love them all.

Garlic and Seasonings. Add the garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook another minute, until you can smell that gorgeous garlic. This also lets the seasonings bloom a bit.

Remaining Ingredients. Next, add in the corn, tomatoes, chicken broth, black beans and 3 of the chopped corn tortillas. Stir to incorporate.

Simmer the Tortilla Soup. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the pot for at least 20 minutes to let the flavors develop. 30 minutes is ideal, though you can simmer longer if you'd like to develop even more flavor.

The tortilla strips will thicken the soup up a bit, making it even heartier. Be sure to save the other half of the tortilla strips for your crispy tortilla strips topping.

FOR THE CRISPY TORTILLA STRIPS

Prep the Fry Oil. Add 1/2 cup olive oil to a separate wide pot or pan to medium heat. Do not let the oil boil.

Fry the Tortilla Strips. Add the tortilla strips and lightly fry them a few minutes per side, until they become a golden brown. Flip to fry both sides.

Drain and Salt. Remove the fried tortilla strips and set them onto paper towels to drain. Lightly salt them. They will crisp up nicely.

Serve the Chicken Tortilla Soup. Serve the soup into bowls and top with your crispy homemade tortilla strips and other favorite toppings.

You'll enjoy the crunch, but it also looks extra delicious.

Boom! Pretty easy, right? Chicken tortilla soup is ready to serve. Looks wonderful, doesn't it? Nice and chunky and hearty and filling, and tasty! And just the right amount of spice for me. Such delicious soup!

Recipe Tips & Notes

• Heat Factor. My recipe calls for jalapeno peppers for a nice level of every day heat, but you can easily add in other hotter green chiles if you're looking for a spicier version. Try it out with serrano peppers for a nice level, habanero peppers for an even hotter version, or go with ghost peppers to really put it over the top. Want even hotter, my wild chilihead friends? Scorpion peppers or Carolina reapers will nail it for you!
• Time Savers. Save time by using chopped rotisserie chicken or cooked shredded chicken for this recipe. You can also chop the onion, peppers and garlic ahead of time to save time when you're ready to cook.
• Toppings. You have so many topping options. Use whatever you like. Try adding onion, green onion, pico de gallo, crema/sour cream or shredded cheese like Monterey jack or cheddar if you’d like. I always love fresh cilantro or other chopped herbs, pepper slices, spicy chili flakes and a bit of fresh lime juice. The crispy tortilla strips are a must!
• Baked Tortilla Strips. You can bake the tortilla strips instead of frying them if you prefer. For baked tortilla strips, toss the strips with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake at 375 degrees F (185 C) for 15 minutes, or until they turn a golden brown and crisp up. Set them aside until you are ready to use. Learn how to make crispy tortilla chips (baked or fried).

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

If you'd prefer to make this recipe in your slow cooker or crock pot, or even your Instant pot, just cook down the chicken, onion, peppers and garlic first in a hot pan, then add them to your crock pot along with the remainder of the ingredients. Cook the soup on low for 4 hours, or on high for 2-3 hours.

Serve it into bowls and top with your favorite toppings!

Freezer Friendly Chicken Tortilla Soup

Homemade chicken tortilla soup is very freezer friendly. To freeze it, transfer the soup to freezer safe containers, seal them up, and freeze them for up to 6 months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator when you're ready to enjoy them again. Heat it up in a pot and you're good to go.

That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my favorite chicken tortilla soup recipe. Just how I like it! I hope you enjoy it as well. Family loved for sure!

Patty's Perspective

This is more of a rustic style of the chicken tortilla soup you might find in restaurants, which is more creamy. This is a healthier version that you can just gobble up, a lot like a white chicken chili. It's always fun when we try different variations of certain types of dishes.

There are so many ways you can go with all of these ingredients. I love this recipe way more than any restaurant version I've ever tried. Mike, make this more for me, please!

Try Some of My Other Popular Soup Recipes

• Albondigas Soup (Caldo de Albondigas)
• Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Chunky Southwest Chicken Soup
• Easy Taco Soup
• 30-Minute Sweet Potato Soup
• Roasted Poblano Soup
• Spicy Thai Curry Chicken Soup
• Cheesy Guajillo-Potato Soup
• Sweet Pepper-Sweet Corn Chowder
• Spicy Sausage Soup
• Chicken Tortellini Soup
• Black Bean Soup
• See all of my Spicy Soup Recipes

If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.

NOTE: This recipe was updated on 4/12/22 to include new information and photos. It was originally published on 12/4/15.