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Home » recipes » Dinner » Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

40 minutes
avocadoblack beanscorngarlicjalapenotomato
Posted:3/13/23
Updated:3/13/23
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Easy to make stove top chicken tortilla soup packed with shredded chicken, beans and corn, cooked in a crushed tomato chicken broth. Recipe based on my favorite NYC Mexican restaurant tortilla soup!

You might also like my Stovetop Taco Soup or Slow Cooker Taco Soup!

creamy chicken tortilla soup in bowl.

Easy to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup

This rich and creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup is easy to make on the stove top, and a personal favorite of mine to have for dinner. Years ago, I would always order chicken tortilla soup from a popular Mexican restaurant in Brooklyn, and after many taste tests, I can finally make it at home!

Made with shredded chicken, tomatoes, black beans, green chiles, plenty of spices, and the secret ingredient, hominy, this soup is a bowl of hearty comfort!

What is Chicken Tortilla Soup made of?

Traditional chicken tortilla soup is made up of shredded chicken in a tomato based chicken broth, seasoned with garlic, chili powder and oregano. Finally, black beans, hominy, corn and chiles are added in.

How to make chicken tortilla soup

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot, sauté the garlic until lightly browned.

Add chicken breasts, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, chili powder, and oregano into the pot and stir everything together. Bring the broth up to a simmer.

Remove chicken from pot, shred and add back into the pot.

Stir in the black beans, hominy, corn, and chopped green chiles. Simmer the soup until all of the ingredients have been heated through. 

Personal Tip: I don’t drain or rinse any of the cans, this is like flavor gold to add to your soup, live a little and just add it all into the pot!

Ladle the tortilla soup into bowls, add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

creamy tortilla soup with tortilla strips and avocado.

Tortilla soup toppings

There’s so many things you can add as a topping for tortilla soup but the most popular are slices of guacamole, strips of tortilla soup, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped cilantro, jalapeno slices and sour cream.

Some less popular choices, but still worth a taste are pico de gallo, lime wedges or a splash of lime juice, chipotle crema, chopped red onion, salsa verde or a dash of hot sauce.

tortilla soup with cilantro, sour cream and tortilla chips

Recipe Help

  • What is hominy? What if I can’t find it? Hominy is the secret ingredient in this tortilla chicken soup! It’s a canned corn product made by soaking whole corn kernels in a lime solution until they turn chewy and plump. The flavor is similar to fresh corn but is more earthy and doughy.

You can usually find it with the cans of beans at the supermarket, or specifically it’s usually always with Goya products. If you can’t find hominy, feel free to omit it from the recipe.

  • Kid Friendly– Although this soup is not spicy, if you want to a toned down version to make sure your kids won’t object, you can skip the can of chiles.
  • Chicken Alternatives – I love the mild flavor of shredded chicken, but ground meat, chorizo, leftover turkey or tofu would all be delicious alternatives.

Sometimes we will even skip the chicken and load up on the beans with a couple extra cans, in this case I like to do a black bean and pinto bean mix.

  • Make Vegan Tortilla Soup – Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and use tofu instead of chicken, or simply skip the tofu and add extra beans.
  • Frozen Corn -In a pinch, you can easily use frozen corn instead of canned.
  • How can I thicken my tortilla soup? You can thicken your soup by either adding in extra beans or making a cornstarch and water slurry, then stir it into the finished tortilla soup.

chicken tortilla soup in red bowl.

Storing Leftover Tortilla Soup

Refrigerator: Store the leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge. It should stay fresh for 3-4 days. Heat up in the microwave or on the stove top.

Freezing: Transfer the cooked and cooled soup to an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months. 

Can I Make This Recipe in the Crockpot? 

You could definitely try, but this recipe is so easy that I prefer the stove top version. For slow cooker mexican soup recipes, try my Taco Soup.

More hearty soup recipes:

  • Stovetop Taco Soup
  • Tomato Rice Soup
  • Kielbasa Sausage and Kale Soup
  • Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
  • Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
  • Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Potato Soup

Pin for later:

Easy to make stove top chicken tortilla soup packed with shredded chicken, beans and corn, cooked in a crushed tomato chicken broth.   Recipe based on my favorite NYC Mexican restaurant tortilla soup!
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5 from 2 votes

Chicken Tortilla Soup

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Easy to make stove top chicken tortilla soup packed with shredded chicken, beans and corn, cooked in a crushed tomato chicken broth. Recipe based on my favorite NYC Mexican restaurant tortilla soup!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
serves 6

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pound chicken breasts
  • 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 15 ounce can black beans (no need to rinse or drain)
  • 15 ounce can white hominy
  • 15 ounce can corn
  • 4 ounce can chopped green chilies (can be omitted if you don't want the spice)

Instructions

  • In a large pot, add vegetable oil over medium high heat. Once heated up add minced garlic and saute for 60 seconds, or until garlic lightly browns.
  • Add chicken breasts, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, chili powder and oregano, stirring well. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 25 minutes.
  • Remove chicken from the pot, shred up and then add back into the pot.
  • Add black beans, hominy, corn and chopped green chilies. Stir again and simmer for 20 more minutes.
  • Serve into bowl with optional toppings such as sliced avocado, shredded cheddar cheese, tortilla chip strips or fresh cilantro.

Video:

Course:Main Course, Soup
Cuisine:Mexican
Keyword:chicken tortilla soup
Did you make this?I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @BrooklynFarmGirl and don’t forget to leave a comment & rating below.

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  1. Jersey Girl Cooks says

    March 26, 2015 at 1:56 pm

    I haves soup on the brain today too. Looks delish!

    Reply
  2. Ash-foodfashionparty says

    March 26, 2015 at 12:36 am

    Oh my…love love tortilla soup too. Haven’t made it in a long time. Your version looks absolutely good Pamela.
    Pinning.

    Reply
  3. Anna @ shenANNAgans says

    March 26, 2015 at 12:19 am

    I was talking with a mate last night about Mexican foods, we are thinking of throwing a Mexican Fiesta with traditional foods. Not sure if what we call Mexican in Australia is the real deal or not? Anways, this sounds amaze, gonna throw it into the mix and see how it goes down. Thanks lovely. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Betty says

    March 25, 2015 at 11:10 pm

    I love tortilla soup! This looks so good, especially with all of that avocado on top. There’s still plenty of soup weather left. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Claire @ The Simple, Sweet Life says

    March 25, 2015 at 6:11 pm

    If I said this soup sounded A-MAAAAAZING I would clearly be understating the obvious awesomeness of this dish. It’s still pretty chilly over here in our part of the world (I know, totally surprising that Norway is definitely still nippy this time of year… at least by my warm blooded American standards) so a warm, spicy soup sounds like just the thing we need for dinner tonight!

    Reply
  6. Melanie says

    March 25, 2015 at 1:57 pm

    Yum! This looks incredible!
    Melanie @ meandmr.com

    Reply
  7. [email protected] Riffs says

    March 25, 2015 at 12:56 pm

    Love chicken tortilla soup. And hominy is da bomb, isn’t it? Yours looks great. Congrats!

    Reply
  8. PM @ Simple Beauty Tips says

    March 24, 2015 at 10:56 pm

    I have made tortilla soup many times, but have not used hominy. Will have to use it, next time I make it!

    Reply
  9. mira says

    March 24, 2015 at 2:31 pm

    Love all kinds of soups and this looks so delicious! Need to try it very soon!

    Reply
  10. Susan says

    March 24, 2015 at 10:24 am

    What fabulous flavors in this soup! I’ve never tried making tortilla soup at home and your version sounds delicious. I never knew about the hominy!

    Reply
  11. Monica says

    March 24, 2015 at 9:34 am

    It’s awesome that you created your own better version of the soup. It looks wonderful, perfect “transition” weather soup. I really want to cook with some hominy now.

    Reply
  12. Melanie says

    March 23, 2015 at 10:16 pm

    Yum, this looks amazing!
    Melanie @ meandmr.com

    Reply
  13. Carol at Wild Goose Tea says

    March 23, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    I love tortilla soup. Boy Howdy I think you did a bang up job with this version.
    Looks luscious!!!

    Reply
  14. Mary // chattavore says

    March 23, 2015 at 9:48 pm

    I’m making a vegetarian tortilla soup for dinner tomorrow! 🙂 This looks delicious. I love eating lighter soups when the weather starts to turn warmer.

    Reply
  15. marcie says

    March 23, 2015 at 8:59 pm

    Tortilla soup is one of my favorites, and I totally agree about adding San Marzano tomatoes — they’re the best! I never think to add hominy, and I really need to try that! 🙂

    Reply
  16. Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps says

    March 23, 2015 at 8:50 pm

    Love tortilla soup! I feel like a lot of recipes don’t include hominy which is sad, because I LOVE it! Looks so good Pamela!

    Reply
  17. Dee @ The Kitchen Snob says

    March 23, 2015 at 5:16 pm

    I’m definitely going to make this – looks delicious! I’ve never tried hominy (to my knowledge). Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  18. Ashley says

    March 23, 2015 at 4:18 pm

    I LOVE that you included hominy! It’s a must for me in tortilla soup! This looks absolutely wonderful!

    Reply
  19. Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says

    March 23, 2015 at 3:49 pm

    YUM. I am pinning this to my soup board!

    Reply
  20. Brett says

    March 23, 2015 at 2:16 pm

    YUM! This is one of my favorite soups and looks so easy to make. Pinning 🙂

    Reply
  21. Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti says

    March 23, 2015 at 2:04 pm

    This looks fabulous! I’m pinning this to my soup and Mexican food Pinterest board. Visiting form your link on BlogHer facebook!

    Reply
  22. Anna says

    March 23, 2015 at 1:00 pm

    Delicious, I’m a vegetarian and you still caught my attention with this recipe! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  23. Kelly says

    March 23, 2015 at 12:07 pm

    Oh man, I can just imagine the disappointment. I love that you you set out to recreate your own. It looks absolutely amazing and probably way better than that local restaurant!

    Reply
  24. Suzanne says

    March 23, 2015 at 12:02 pm

    Oooohh, really love this soup. Outside of Pozole I haven’t used hominy, this is a great idea. That soup, every component looks amazing.

    Reply
  25. Melanie @ Carmel Moments says

    March 23, 2015 at 11:50 am

    I love chicken tortilla soup! Your version looks so scrumptious!
    pinned
    Have a great week!

    Reply
  26. Shashi at RunninSrilankan says

    March 23, 2015 at 11:29 am

    Thanks so much for posting this Tortilla soup recipe, Pamela! I love love love Chicken Tortilla soup too – but have had a hard time getting it to taste as good as some of the restaurant ones I have had – looks like I skipped quite a few steps -AND ingredients!

    Reply
  27. Jen @ Baked by an Introvert says

    March 23, 2015 at 9:58 am

    This soup looks delicious! This would be a great alternative to the packaged soups I eat for lunch!

    Reply
  28. Sues says

    March 23, 2015 at 8:02 am

    What a delicious-looking soup! I’ve never cooked with hominy before, but might have to change that!

    Reply
  29. Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says

    March 23, 2015 at 7:20 am

    This is hands down one of my favourite soups to make. Obviously, because it’s Mexican, but it’s really filling too.

    Reply
  30. Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says

    March 23, 2015 at 7:19 am

    i have been eating soups on a weekly basis…and chicken noodle is getting a little boring. I will definitely have to try this one out.

    Reply
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Hi! I'm Pamela, an artist Mom who shares family recipes. My farm is a 1,000 sq ft apartment in NYC. Let's make dinner together.

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