This Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup is a quick meal that is satisfying and full of flavor! It’s all about the toppings so don’t skip those!
Adding this recipe to my new favorites list! It’s so satisfying and delicious. It’s hearty but light and doesn’t weigh ya down. This soup is quick and easy to make but is full os so much flavor. This bowl is great on it’s own but don’t skip out on those toppings y’all! They are delicious and so easy. We love this better than the restaurants Chicken Tortilla Soup!
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Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup
If you you’ve been around long enough than you know I love spice! I don’t know if it’s the Texan in me or what but I love a little heat in my dishes. I used to love things to be super, super make ya cry spicy but these days I’ve toned it down quite a bit. I still love a heat but more manageable haha.
This big bowl is great with a little spice but you can certainly temper it down if you want. Alternatively, you can add more too! I added one medium sized whole jalapeño, seeds and all, and I would say that this had about a medium spice level. Enough to taste it but still very edible and didn’t make you turn red in the face. You can remove the seeds from the jalapeño if you’d like or add additional jalapeño depending on your preference.
The lime zest tortilla strips are where it’s at y’all! These are what make this Chicken Tortilla Soup… well a tortilla soup after all! Don’t skip on these. Store bought tortilla chips just don’t do this recipe justice. It literally takes about 5 minutes to make these so it’s definitely worth it! The fresh lime zest adds so much zippy flavor I am literally getting hungry just writing this!
Best Chicken Tortilla Soup
I love adding toppings to soup! It makes it feel more like a meal, ya know? BMW loves sour cream. I’ll admit I don’t super love sour cream. It honestly just always seemed a little boring to me. So I figured it was time to change that! So I punched up this sour cream with a bunch of ranch seasoning!
You can save yourself a step and just use the store bought stuff
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried parsley
I opted to leave the beans out of this soup because honestly it just doesn’t need it. If you want to make this recipe vegetarian, add 1 can of black beans in place of the chicken breast and vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. This is an easily adaptable recipe, so make it your own!
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Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
Chicken Tortilla Soup
- 1 whole white onion diced
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 1 whole jalapeño thinly sliced
- 2 tsp kosher salt reduce by half if using table salt
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 15 oz crushed tomatoes approx 1 can
- 8 oz whole chicken breast about 1 chicken breast
- 48 oz low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup sweet corn kernels frozen or fresh
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves chopped
- 1 lime juice & zest
Lime Tortilla Strips
- 6 4in corn tortillas
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 lime zest
- 1 cup Vegetable Oil for frying
Toppings
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 jalapeño sliced, optional
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded
Ranch Sour Cream
- 4 oz sour cream
- 1 tsp ranch seasoning mix like Hidden Valley Ranch
Instructions
- Begin by making the soup. In a large heavy bottom pot, heat to medium high and cook onions with butter for 3-4 minutes until translucent.
- Add garlic, jalapeños and salt and stir until fragrant, another 30-60 seconds. Then add cumin and chili powder, stirring until well coated.
- Add tomatoes to pot, scraping up any brown bits. Place chicken breast into pot and pour chicken broth over. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove breast from pot, shred, and return to pot.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the Ranch Sour Cream by whisking together the ranch seasoning and sour cream. Set aside.
- Next, make the tortilla strips. In a high sided skillet, heat vegetable until shimmering. About 3 minutes on medium high heat. Cut tortillas into 1/2 wide strips. Test oil to see if it's ready by placing one strip in the oil, it should immediately bubble up. Fry tortillas in two batches. Turning once, about 2 minutes per batch. Place tortilla strips on a paper towel to drain.
- While tortilla strips are still warm, toss with kosher and lime zest to coat. Set aside.
- Once the chicken is done cooking, shredded and return to pot with corn. Cook an additional 3-5 minutes until corn is tender.
- Add cilantro leaves and juice and zest of one lime to soup. Divide into bowls and top with all the toppings! Serve hot! If making ahead, wait to add toppings until ready to serve.
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