Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup — Chicken, tomatoes, corn, black beans, avocado, cheese, and addictively crunchy tortilla strips! Fast, easy weeknight meal, and better than from a restaurant!!
Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
When I see chicken tortilla soup on a restaurant menu, I get excited. There’s something about the slightly spicy broth with tender chicken, the corn and black beans, juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado, and those addictively good tortilla strips on top that I can’t resist.
Rather than making a trip out for it, you can make Mexican tortilla soup with chicken at home in 30 minutes and it’s easy.
So many ingredients get tossed into the pot all at once and before you know it this hearty, comforting soup is ready. And it tastes better than my favorite restaurant version!
My family loved this easy tortilla soup and I love that it’s ready so quickly and with very minimal effort.
It makes enough that I stashed half in the freezer for those nights when I just want to pull something out of the freezer for dinner. And with winter cold and flu season around the corner, soup is perfect.
Classic Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients
To make this easy tortilla soup recipe, you’ll need:
- Corn tortillas
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Yellow onion
- Jalapeño pepper
- Garlic
- Chicken broth
- Diced tomatoes
- Black beans
- Cooked shredded chicken
- Corn
- Lime juice
- Spices
- Fresh cilantro
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
This really is such an EASY recipe for chicken tortilla soup! Here’s a look at how it’s made:
- Sauté the onion and jalapeño in an oiled Dutch oven, then add the diced garlic and continue cooking until fragrant.
- Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and juice, black beans, chicken, corn, lime juice, spices and bring to a boil.
- Let the mixture boil for 5 minutes, then stir in fresh cilantro and boil another minute.
- Ladle the homemade chicken tortilla soup into bowls and top with homemade tortilla strips (I’ve given the recipe in the recipe card below), cubed avocado, shredded cheese, and/or sour cream.
Can I Make This Recipe in the Crockpot?
I’m sure you could, but when a recipe is as quick and easy as this one I’d rather use the stove to avoid dirtying extra dishes.
How to Store Chicken Tortilla Soup
This easy tortilla soup will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Extra tortilla strips will keep in airtight at room temp for up to 5 days.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
Yes! You can freeze the soup (without the tortilla strips on top) for up to 6 months.
What to Serve with Chicken Tortilla Soup
This simple tortilla soup pairs well with crusty bread or a green side salad. Here are a few side dishes to serve with chicken tortilla soup:
- Grilled Mexican Corn
- Homemade Tortilla Chips
- Salsa (Pineapple Chipotle Salsa or Restaurant-Style)
- Guacamole
- Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad
- Mexican Wedge Salad
Pair your bowl of soup with a homemade margarita or refreshing glass of horchata to wash it all down!
Tips for the Best Chicken Tortilla Soup
To save time, use store-bought rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken that you have on hand. Of course you can roast or pan sauté chicken if you’re so inclined.
Salt your soup to taste. I use low-sodium chicken broth and no-salt-added tomatoes and add a bit of salt to my soup so I can control the overall salt level.
The saltiness of low-sodium broth, rotisserie chickens, canned tomatoes, black beans, and personal preferences for salt all vary so salt to taste.
Pin This Recipe
Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken, tomatoes, corn, black beans, avocado, cheese, and addictively crunchy tortilla strips! Fast, easy weeknight meal, and better than from a restaurant!!
Ingredients
Tortilla Strips
- 10 small corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch wide strips
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, peeled and diced small (about 1 medium onion)
- 1 large jalapeno pepper (about 4 to 5 inches long), diced very small (the seeds are where the heat is concentrated; included or discard them based on preference)
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
- 32 ounces (4 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
- two 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes and juice (I used petite diced, no-salt-added)
- one 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (use storebought rotisserie chicken to save time; or roast or cook your own chicken in a skillet)
- 1 1/2 cups corn (I used frozen straight from the freezer, fresh may be substituted)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (regular paprika may be substituted)
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional and to taste
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely minced
- diced avocado for serving, optional for serving
- shredded cheese, optional for serving
- sour cream, optional for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with a Silpat or foil to save cleanup time.
- Loosely scatter the tortilla strips, evenly drizzle with olive oil, evenly sprinkle with kosher salt, toss with hands to coat evenly, and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until crisp and lightly golden brown; set aside.
- While strips bake, begin making the soup.
- To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and heat over medium-high heat to warm.
- Add the onion, jalapeno, and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir intermittently.
- Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir intermittently.
- Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and juice, black beans, chicken, corn, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, 2 teaspoons salt, pepper, smoked paprika, optional cayenne pepper, and bring to a boil.
- Allow mixture to boil gently for about 5 to 7 minutes. If at any point the overall liquid level looks low or you prefer your soup to have more broth, add 1 to 2 cups of water; you’ll adjust the salt and seasoning levels at the end.
- Add the cilantro and boil 1 minute.
- Taste soup and add salt to taste. This will vary based on how salty the chicken broth, tomatoes, black beans, and rotisserie chicken are, and personal preference. Make any necessary seasoning adjustments (i.e. more salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, etc.).
- Ladle soup into bowls, top with tortilla strips to taste, optionally garnish with avocado, cheese and/or sour cream; serve immediately.
Make the Tortilla Strips:
Make the Soup:
Notes
- Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Extra tortilla strips will keep in airtight at room temp for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
5Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 737Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 7755mgCarbohydrates: 79gFiber: 18gSugar: 21gProtein: 39g
More Easy Chicken Soup Recipes:
Chicken Poblano Soup — All the familiar flavors of chicken tortilla soup but with the addition of roasted poblanos and tomatillos to give extra heartiness and depth of flavor!
Easy 30-Minute Chicken Enchilada Soup — Don’t have all day for chili to simmer? No problem! This EASY, hearty, healthier chili full of Mexican-inspired flavors is ready in 30 minutes! Perfect for busy weeknights!!
Easy 30-Minute Homemade White Chicken Chili — Hearty, healthy, loaded with tender chicken, and packed with bold flavor!! Fast and easy comfort food that everyone loves!! It’ll be on rotation all winter!!
Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup — Classic, comforting, and tastes just like grandma made but way easier and faster! This soup is amazing and it’ll be your new favorite recipe!
Chicken Tortellini Soup — This chicken tortellini soup has all the comforting qualities you want in classic chicken noodle soup but with the unexpected twist of cheesy tortellini.
Originally posted September 15, 2015 and reposted September 4, 2020 with updated text.
Wonderful Recipe! Just what I was looking for. Excellent combination of spices and bursting with flavor.
I’m glad it turned out excellently and it was just what you were looking for!
SO SO delicious — we love this recipe like crazy. Any idea of the calorie count for a serving? Thanks!
I’m glad this turned out delicious Lee for you!
I’m in the process of updating all of my recipes to include nutritional information, but it’s a big job with almost 3000 recipes. My advice would be to enter the ingredients into an online calculator that you can find and do it that way.
However just common sense my own gut would tell me that this could not be more than 500 cal per normal serving in a bowl.
Very very delicious! Highly recommend!
I’m glad you liked it!
This is a great Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe! I’ve made this recipe for my family a bunch of times and it is always a big hit!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you and your family have been enjoying it multiple times!
Making this for dinner tomorrow night. Any idea on if canned chicken would be okay to use?
I’m not sure because I have never used it before but if that’s all you have, I would throw it in at the very last minute otherwise it will disintegrate I am thinking.
Wow just wow, this soup was perfect! No other words do it justice, amazing!!! Family loved it, kids ate everything in their plate
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that this was perfect and that the whole family loved it too!
What would be the approximate weight of two cups of shredded chicken? Because I cook only for myself, I don’t usually buy a whole chicken, but my freezer is well-stocked with chicken thighs.
I really don’t know the weight off the top of my head. But Google probably does :)
Best soup EVER! I have made this 2 times in the past few weeks. My guys love it!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it’s the best soup ever and you’re making it often!
Thank you ever so much Averie! This soup was by far the BEST Chicken-Tortilla Soup ever tasted ! We love spice, so I added an extra jalapeno, and it made it just perfect! Can you please advise how to save this recipe to my Pinterest? Definitely want to make again & again!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was the best chicken tortilla soup you’ve ever tasted!
All photos have a hovering Pinterest button in the upper left hand corner so just select the photo you like and Pin It to your board.
This is so delicious! We omitted the jalapeno, but followed the rest of the recipe and it had amazing flavor, and there is plenty for more meals! Thanks!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this turned out with amazing flavor and you have leftovers for a few more meals!
This is a great recipe and came together quickly! This will definitely be a staple I make regularly. I’ve tried to find the nutrition information and have failed. My daughter and I keep food journals and the information wound be extremely helpful. Thank you.
It’s coming shortly for this recipe, within the next couple weeks. I’m in the process of updating all of my recipes.
Glad this will be a staple for you!
Unbelievably good! I’ve been cooking for many years, this is now my favorite soup recipe. I was skeptical about the short cook time but the flavors were complex and delicious. I usually poach a whole chicken at least once a week so I already had that plus the broth. Also used San Marzino tomatoes chopped up – they seem to add a richness that I can’t get from plain diced tomatoes.Thank you for the recipe!
Glad to hear this is now your favorite soup recipe and that it turned out unbelieveably good for you!
I agree, San Marzano tomatoes have such a lovely flavor, I need to try them in this soup!
I always order tortilla soup when I see it on a menu so and I have tried many since I live deep in Texas. This is absolutely delicious! I will defenitly keep this receipe. I was actually looking for a slow cooker recipe when I found this but happy to know I don’t have to wait a few hours to enjoy this soup. Thank you for sharing this with us, now I Dont have to wait until I am at a restaurant to enjoy one of my favorite soups. I did use store bought whole baked chicken and tortilla strips for salads already made so it made it even easier.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you will keep the recipe! I agree, 30 minutes is much better than a slow cooker when you don’t want to wait hours to enjoy it!
This was easy to prepare and the flavor was delicious! I chose to add the optional cayenne which made it a little spicy, which was great for me and my family because we take spice well! Topping with the avocado calmed it down a bit with each bite….Great recipe, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this turned out delicious for you!
Delicious and easy! My whole family enjoyed this, even my picky eater. This will go into our regular rotation. Thanks for a great recipe!
Glad it was delicious, easy, and will go into your regular rotation!
Averie,The 30-Minute Tortilla Soup is Marvelous. My wife said that it is definitely a ‘keeper.’ So it is now in my recipe folder with the appropriate credit to you! (In fact, I’m making it tonight. :-))
Glad this is a definite keeper and it’s now in your recipe folder and you’re making it tonite!
Can this be made without beans? If so, do you add more of something else instead? (my husband hates beans!)
Yes you can really do anything you want to to a recipe BUT it won’t taste like mine tasted. Since I haven’t experimented without using beans, not sure what else you would want to add to bulk it up. Perhaps nothing – noting it will be brothier. Or add more chicken. Or tortilla strips. Whatever you think it needs.
We ended up adding more chicken and a little extra corn…turned out great. This recipe was a winner and will be a staple in our rotation! Thank you!
Glad it turned out great and will be a staple in your rotation!
Made this for my fiancée and she said it was the best chicken tortilla soup she has ever eaten, and I agree! And we live in an area where it is everywhere.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that your fiance said it was the best chicken tortilla soup she’s ever eaten, and that you think so as well!
Making a grocery list.Me: Would you eat that tortilla soup again?Husband: Oh absolutely, everyday for the rest of my life. Hahah! Thank you for this amazing recipe!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that your husband would eat it every day forever! What a huge compliment and thank you!
Thank you for such an awesome recipe! Made a few personal preference tweaks so that all of my family would eat it…green chilis instead of jalapenos, replaced 1 can of tomatoes with a can of Rotel w/lime juice & cilantro, did not add cilantro, used 48oz of broth + 1 cup of water, not sure exactly how much of the spices & salt, but probably just under double the recipe & just used store bought restaurant style white corn tortilla chips! So very good!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it was perfect for your family with the tweaks you made!
Made it for the first time tonight. My husband and I both loved it. This recipe is a keeper!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this is a keeper for you!
My family loves this soup! I made it to add something new to our meal rotation and it is definitely a keeper! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was perfect and a keeper for you!
This is, an amazing receipe! Super easy and super delicious!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was easy and super delish for you!
Would it be as tasty and if so can you covert it to a crock
Pot? Thank you
You probably could but for me when something is ready from start to finish in 30 minutes, I don’t see the point of a Crock Pot and it would just unnecessarily lengthen and complicate a fast and easy recipe. But of course feel free to experiment with what’s best for you!
I’ve made this exactly as described except not using low sodium broth and it was one of the best soups I’ve ever had. Have made it using vegetable broth, flavored tomatoes or beans and it’s such a great recipe it always turns out delicious!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad to hear it was one of these best soups you’ve ever had!
This is my go to soup for neighbors who are sick or who have had surgeries. Everyone absolutely LOVES it!! Thank you so much!!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and great to hear this is your go to soup for neighbors who are sick or on the mend. How nice of you to cook for them when they need it most!
I realized too late that I didn’t have any diced tomatoes like I thought I did. I subbed in mild salsa and my goodness it was incredible!!! I think I’ll always make it with salsa, and everything else as the instructions say. Incredible flavor and consistency!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it turned out great with the mild salsa and you’ll do it from now on!
Outstanding ! So filling yet not heavy. My boyfriend delivers freight all day in chilly Buffalo NY and he will absolutely love coming home to a bowl of this! Or two! Yum. 5 huge stars! Will make again!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it’s outstanding for you! I can only imagine how much this hits the spot after working a hard job in the winter in Buffalo!
I finally found a recipe for this soup and it was actually DELICIOUS. Thank you so much! I threw in a couple dashes of Cholula – just the right amount of spiciness!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you loved the soup!
The soup was great, we all loved it. I used leftover Turkey from Thanksgiving.
I am glad you loved the soup and that your leftover turkey came in handy!
The smoked paprika is a must and added a lot of flavor depth. Would definitely make again!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad you will make this again!
This soup was delicious. It’s a keeper. I made this soup but without the tortillas and cilantro. I had roasted a whole organic chicken a couple of days ago and used the leftover chicken which was more than the recipe called for. In addition to the 3 cups of chicken broth I added the juices that remained after roasting the chicken. I left some of the jalapeño seeds, but not all, when I chopped the jalapeño and added it. It is delicious, great flavor and spices.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad it was delicious and that this is a keeper!
FANTASTIC AND EASY!!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was fantastic and easy!
Very good. I usually use a recipe that calls for using green chili’s and enchilada sauce, I had neither. So used yours I will continue to use your and share it. I’ve already facebooked it and sent to my kids as an easy yummy, quick dinner. You did a good job.Thanks
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you enjoyed my recipe and will continue to use and share it!
This chicken tortilla soup is amazing! Everyone raved about it! I’ll definitely be making this on a regular basis. I made it exactly as is except I used one can of regular and one can of fire roasted diced tomatoes and I added the cilantro in with the garlic to open up the flavor. I used better than bouillon base to make my broth, which is more flavorful, so I didn’t need as much salt. Thanks for this fantastic recipe!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad this will be made regularly!
Tried this recipe last night. Loved how cheap and quick it was to fix and the soup was amazingly delicious. My whole family loved it, even my picky eater ate 2 bowls. Will definitely make this again😊❤
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad that even the picky eater ate 2 bowls! Glad you’ll definitely make it again!
Nutrition Facts?
What can I use in place of the tomatoes? I don’t really care for diced tomatoes
Well if you tend to like tortilla soup, then you probably like them in this fashion because all tortilla soup recipes will generally have them. There is no substitute here for tortilla soup if that’s what you want it to taste like.
The soup was delicious. I added chili style diced tomatoes and it added a kick to it. Yummy!!!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it was delicious!
This is officially my favorite Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe and all within 30 minutes! It is absolutely delicious. Thank you!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it’s your favorite chicken tortilla soup!
I have made this soup multiple times and we absolutely love it! Have you ever tried making it in the crockpot? I am thinking of doing it for a get together on Halloween but wasn’t sure of the time… Thanks again for a great recipe
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad to hear you love it!
For me, when something is less than 30 minutes, I would always opt for the stove rather than a CP. So you could always make on the stove and then transfer to a CP to keep warm. Or you could just make it in the CP. It would probably take a couple hours to heat through, depending on the intensity of your CP. Although the onion, jalapeno, and garlic will never get the same flavor in a CP as they would on the stove unless your CP can sear things. Some of the new ones can.