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6 Comments

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Kathleen

by Kathleen Pope Mar 19, 2024

Jump to Recipe

This easy recipe for tortilla soup is loaded with chicken and veggies, a little rice and garnished with chunks of avocado, salty queso fresco, crunchy tortilla chips, a touch of cilantro, and finished with a tangy squeeze of lime! A 30 minute meal or throw in slow cooker in the morning! Plus it’s GLUTEN FREE!

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

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What I love about this soup is that it can be ready in a jiffy, or popped in the slow cooker to simmer all day.

Slow Cooker Soup

  • One thing I’ve learned about chicken and the slow cooker is that it should cook less time than you think.
  • So if you need to put it in the crockpot all day long, place your chicken in frozen and uncooked, add all the other ingredients and set on low for 8 hours, then shred it before serving.
  • If you have the luxury of being around sooner, place your cooked chicken in bite size pieces in the crockpot and place on low for 4 hours, then set to warm.

Pour a little olive oil and a pat of butter, saute your onions until translucent and golden.

chopped onions falling into crockpot to be sauted. www.thefreshcooky.com

Add garlic at the last minute or two of your onions sauteing.

Garlic and Onions sauteeing in crockpot with wooden spoon. thefreshcooky.com

Add cumin

Sprinkling in Cumin into sauted onion mixture.

A dash (or more) of cayenne pepper, stir it around to bloom (wake up) your spices.

Sprinkle of cayenne pepper going into crockpot

Now dump in your diced green chilis, no need to drain.

4 oz can of Hatch diced green chiles poured into onion mixture. thefreshcooky.com

And your chicken, give it a good stir mixing those delightful spices in with the chicken and goodies.

Adding diced cooked chicken on cutting board into crockpot. thefrehscooky.com

Pour in chicken stock, I used my homemade bone broth, just replace the beef bones with a chicken carcass, or wings and feet.

Psst, chicken stock is just fine, I know homemade is better for you, but…sometimes boxed is just fine!

pouring in chicken broth from glass jar into crockpot with wooden spoon.

and the tomatoes…

Adding trader joe's organic diced no salt tomatoes.

This is optional, but I like the depth and thickness it gives the soup, pour in a small single serving carton of tomato soup, or a can of condensed tomato soup.

holding a small carton of organic creamy tomato soup from Pacific brand.

Give it all a good stir and if you are eating it right away*, add in corn and rice.

*If you’ve placed your soup in a slow cooker, add corn and rice 15-30 minutes before serving.

Bag of cascadian farm organic sweet corn being poured into crockpot. thefreshcooky.com

If desired, add some cooked rice. I typically make extra rice and freeze it to use in recipes just like this.

White rice in glass bowl being poured into crockpot of tortilla soup.

Simmer for 25-30 minutes or place the soup in a slow cooker and turn on low for 4-8 hours depending on when you need it ready. See notes for slow-cooker instructions.

all-clad crockpot, with 3 hours and 59 minutes on digital display.

Once you are ready to eat the soup, if you haven’t added it, add your corn and rice if desired. Adjust seasonings if needed, adding a little salt and pepper to taste.

Just before serving, squeeze in your lime juice and chopped cilantro and stir to combine.

How to Serve Tortilla Soup

Suggested toppings; I’m thinking if you put them on the bottom they should be called “bottomings?”

  • Tortilla chips (duh, it is called Tortilla soup)
  • Cheese (queso fresco and/or Mexican shredded cheese)
  • Diced avocado
  • Chopped cilantro
  • A slice of lime
  • Sour cream or Mexican Crema
  • Sliced jalapenos or a splash of Tabasco sauce.
large white bowls with corn tortilla chips, chunks fo avocado and a sprinkle of shredded cheese. Ladle , cheese avocado, lime and cilantro in background.

Now you’re ready to pour this delicious soup on top of your “bottomings”

Ladle pouring tortilla soup over top of corn torillas in white bowl

Serve with a few more chips, a sprinkle of cheese, a couple more avocado chunks, a squeeze of lime, and finish it all off with a little fresh cilantro.

Pin for healthy tortilla soup for Pinterest with images of bowls of tortilla soup

MORE HEART-WARMING MEALS

  • Black Bean and Sausage Soup
  • Easy Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya
  • Better-than-Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup
  • Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Like this recipe?

Don’t forget to give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and leave a comment below the recipe!

Recipe Card

Easy Tortilla Soup

No ratings yet
Author: Kathleen Pope
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 -8 servings
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This recipe for tortilla soup is loaded with chicken and veggies, a little rice and adorned with the brightest green avocado, salty queso fresco, crunchy tortilla chips, a touch of cilantro, and finished with a squeeze of lime.

Equipment

  • White Soup Mug, Bowl with Handle, Dinnerware Kitchen Essentials, Set of 4
  • All-Clad SD700450 Programmable Oval-Shaped Slow Cooker with Black Ceramic Insert and Glass Lid, 6.5-Quart, Silver
  • All-Clad Brushed 18/10 Stainless Steel Soup Pot with Lid Cookware, 4-Qt

Ingredients 
US Customary – Metric

  • 2 large chicken breasts skinless, boneless breasts (turkey or rotisserie chicken may be substituted)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • ยฝ-1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1-3 shakes cayenne pepper
  • 4 oz diced green chilies undrained
  • 15 oz diced tomatoes undrained
  • 32 oz chicken stock or broth
  • 1-2 cups cooked rice optional
  • 1 cup frozen corn optional
  • 1 can tomato soup single serving carton or can
  • 1-2 limes juiced
  • 2-3 tablespoons cilantro chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

SUGGESTED TOPPINGS/BOTTOMINGS

  • Tortilla Chips
  • Avocado
  • Queso Fresco
  • Jack or Cheddar Cheese shredded
  • Fresh chopped cilantro
  • Jalapenos
  • Tabasco sauce
  • Sour cream or Mexican Crema
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

  • If using uncooked chicken; rinse chicken and cover with water, cook until tender about 10-12 minutes, shred or dice.
  • Or use leftover turkey, chicken or rotisserie chicken, about 2 cups worth, shredded or diced.
  • Heat a medium sized pot over medium-high heat, pour in olive oil and butter.
  • Toss in minced onions and saute until translucent and golden (6-7 minutes), in the last minute or so toss in the minced garlic, saute for 1 minute. Add in spices and saute for 1 minute.
  • Pour in canned chilies, diced tomatoes, diced chicken and chicken broth. Stir and bring to simmer. Simmer for 25-30 minutes. If adding corn and rice, add at the end, simmer additional 4 minutes or so. Before serving stir in lime juice and cilantro.
  • Serve hot over crushed tortilla chips, crumbled or shredded cheese, avocado chunks and a squeeze of fresh lime.
Last step! Leave a RatingRate this recipe here. This helps other readers and helps support this website.

Notes

SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS | If you have all day, saute your onions and garlic, then add all other ingredients to a slow cooker, including chicken (raw or frozen is fine if you have at least 8 hours) make sure your chicken is cooked if you have 4 hours or less). Shred chicken and add corn, rice, lime juice and cilantro just before serving.
© 2018 | This recipe for Easy Tortilla Soup was featured first on The Fresh Cooky.

Nutrition

Serving: 11 serving | Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 477mg | Potassium: 874mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 459IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2mg
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easy healthy tortilla soup pin for Pinterest with two images, one of a bowl of prepped tortilla soup, the top image with all of the toppings to go into tortilla soup (lime, cheese, avocado, cilantro and chips.

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Kathleen Pope

Meet Kathleen

Recipe Innovator | Food Photographer | Food Writer

Hi, Iโ€™m Kathleen Pope. Here at The Fresh Cooky you will find easy, mostly from-scratch, trusted recipes for all occasions. From speedy dinners to tasty desserts, with easy step-by-step instructions. I am here to help teach you how to make mouthwatering recipes without spending hours in the kitchen.

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  1. Radha

    Sun, Jan 2, 2022 at 6:36 pm

    So many things in this healthy soup! Love it! A bowl of this soup is always comforting!

    Reply
    • KathleenKathleen Pope

      Tue, Jan 4, 2022 at 2:42 pm

      Thank you! It is really a delicious soup!

      Reply
  2. Kimberly Lefever

    Fri, Dec 28, 2018 at 8:38 am

    Made this last night, it was so yummy! Even my husband loved it and he doesn’t really like soup!

    Reply
    • KathleenKathleen

      Fri, Dec 28, 2018 at 8:41 am

      Thank you Kimberly, so glad to hear your family enjoyed this soup! It’s a chilly day winner that’s for sure!

      Reply
  3. Ledia

    Sat, Apr 14, 2018 at 8:23 pm

    Live this one! We tried it tonight!

    Reply
    • KathleenKathleen

      Sat, Apr 14, 2018 at 8:24 pm

      Wahoo!! So glad you did Ledia!! ?

      Reply

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Kathleen Pope

Meet Kathleen

Hey there! I'm Kathleen Pope, a proud wife, mom of two awesome college boys, and recipe nerd. Welcome to my world of easy recipes with a healthy twist! Join thousands who trust The Fresh Cooky as their go-to recipe source. Let's cook up some magic!

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