This Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup is creamy and comforting. It will be your new favorite version of chicken tortilla soup!
If you are still making all the soup recipes, you’ll want to check out this Chicken and Gnocchi Soup (a family favorite!), my super popular Crock Pot Chili, or this great weeknight Lasagna Soup! Or try this Pozole Verde for another Mexican inspired soup.
For the longest time, I didn’t have a Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe here on the blog.
Which is such a shame, because it is one of my favorite soups.
So now I am not only sharing a chicken tortilla soup recipe with you, but I’m sharing the *best* chicken tortilla soup recipe with you.
Seriously – this is so, so good. My daughter wasn’t even interested in it at first. But then she had a bowl. And then another. And then went back for a third.
When I shared a batch with my neighbor, she later texted me and said that her husband said it was the best chicken tortilla soup he had ever had.
So you don’t have to take my word for it.
This is so delicious. And pretty easy. It does take some time because you are baking the chicken first, but that step can always be done ahead of time. Or you can use cooked, shredded chicken that you already have on hand. If you are doing that, then dinner can be ready in about 30 minutes.
Sounds pretty amazing to me!
Ingredients
The ingredient list looks long, but most things you should already have on hand!
- Chicken Breasts – you could save some time and effort and use rotisserie chicken, or if you have any cooked, shredded chicken on hand that will work, too. Most of the cook time for this recipe comes from cooking the chicken.
- Salt and Pepper – always!
- Chicken Broth – I like to use low sodium broth when I can.
- Vegetable Oil – any neutral cooking oil will work here. You could even use extra virgin olive oil.
- Yellow Onion – I always have these on hand!
- Jalapeno – the second time I made this, my jalapeno was really hot so I was a little worried, but the final soup was still not overly spicy at all. So I wouldn’t cut back on this!
- Garlic – another one I always have on hand.
- Chili Powder – the book says that you can use regular or chipotle chili powder. I just used regular.
- Ground Cumin – one of my favorites.
- Smoked Paprika – the original recipe just calls for regular paprika, but I almost always swap in smoked paprika because I love it so much.
- Fire Roasted Tomatoes – I swap these in for regular diced tomatoes with peppers because I love the added smokiness.
- Masa Harina – to make masa harina, they take dried corn and treat it with solution of water and lime. Then it is finely ground. You should be able to find this in the Mexican aisle at your grocery store very easily. It often comes in a bag that looks like a bag of flour.
- Milk – I use 2% because that’s what I keep on hand.
- Black Beans & Pinto Beans – these are both rinsed and drained. You can use all black beans or all pinto beans, but I like the combination.
- Corn – I always prefer frozen corn. Fresh corn will work, though, and canned will in a pinch.
- Heavy Cream – this is just the regular Heavy Whipping Cream you find in the dairy section.
- Sour Cream – I use just regular, full fat sour cream. You could probably use low fat if that is what you have on hand.
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
Cook the Chicken: To cook the chicken, you are simply going to combine the chicken with some broth, cover it, and bake it until it is cooked through. This will be easy to shred once it’s done, as well.
Make the Soup: To make the soup, cook the onion and jalapeno in some oil in a large Dutch oven, then add the garlic. In next goes the chicken broth, including the leftover liquid from when you cooked your chicken. Season it all with chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika, then add your fire roasted tomatoes.
Thicken the Soup: The soup is then thickened with a mixture of masa harina and milk. Make sure you whisk this in well.
Add the Good Stuff: Add in the cooked chicken, black beans, pinto beans, and corn. Turn the heat down, then add your cream and sour cream. You don’t want it to boil from this point, but you do want to heat it through.
Serve It! Once it is heated through, it’s time to serve it! And while this soup is delicious on its own, read below for some suggestions on toppings to take it over the top!
Chicken Tortilla Soup Toppings
This is my favorite part of soups like this Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup! Here are a few ideas of what you can top your soup with:
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
- diced avocado
- cilantro
- lime wedges
- tortilla strips
- tortilla chips
- hot sauce
- chopped green onion
- jalapenos
More Can’t Miss Soup Recipes to Try
Ham and Bean Soup
Chicken Stew
French Onion Soup Recipe
White Bean Chicken Chili
Homemade Bean and Bacon Soup
Creamy Turkey Noodle Soup
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Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 1-1/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 jalapeño seeded and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes undrained
- 1/3 cup masa harina
- 1-1/3 cups milk
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (16 oz) can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- desired toppings (optional): shredded cheese, sour cream, diced avocado, cilantro, lime wedges, tortilla strips or chips, hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Season the chicken with the salt and the pepper. Place in a baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Pour one cup of the chicken broth over the top of the chicken and cover the dish with foil. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the dish, reserving the cooking liquid. Let the chicken cool slightly, then shred the meat with 2 forks.
- In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil. Add the onion and jalapeño and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, another 30 seconds. Add the remaining 3 cups of chicken broth as well as the reserved cooking liquid, the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and fire roasted tomatoes. Stir to combine.
- Whisk together the masa carina and the milk. Stir the mixture into the soup. Continue to cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture boils and thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken, black beans, pinto beans, and the corn. Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the heavy cream and the sour cream.
- Serve the soup with your desired toppings.
Laura says
My husband and I really enjoyed this soup. The chicken was so velvety! Thank you for the recipe!
Marilyn Larson says
YUM!!!
Danijela says
The colors!