Chicken tortilla soup pairs crispy home-cooked tortilla strips with a hearty, filling soup. It comes together in under 45 minutes and is absolutely loaded with flavor! Recipe includes a how-to video!
The Coziest Tortilla Soup
My chicken tortilla soup deserves a spot in your dinner rotation this season. It’s hearty, super filling, and has just a touch of cream cheese to make it slightly creamy but not too rich. Crispy homemade tortilla strips (they’re so easy to make, I promise!) add the perfect crunch and make this a complete meal in a bowl!
This soup is loaded with protein from shredded chicken and black beans. It’s a (mostly) wholesome, yet still indulgent meal that is comforting and perfect as a weeknight dinner or cold weather comfort food (like my creamy chicken noodle soup).
What’s to Love About This Recipe
- Fast: just 35 minutes to make. And that includes making the homemade tortilla strips!
- Incredible flavor from a bacon base, fire roasted tomatoes, ancho chili powder, and a few more special ingredients.
- Uses pre-cooked chicken, so it’s great for using up leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken from the store.
- Easy: the ingredient list on this recipe might be long, but the actual process is so simple. We’re really just tossing everything into the pot!
- You can customize your spice level depending on your tastes. As is, this soup is mild. But it’s very easy to spice up; scroll down to the FAQ section for more info.
What You Need
Let’s go over a few of the key ingredients that give this soup its flavor. You can find the full list of ingredients further down into the post in the recipe card.
- Bacon. While it may be an unlikely suspect, this secret ingredient creates an amazingly flavorful base, just like in my potato soup recipe. If you don’t want to use bacon, that’s fine! I provide instructions on how to make this soup without bacon in the recipe notes below.
- Chicken. As in my chicken tortilla soup and white chicken chili, I opt to start with pre-shredded chicken (a rotisserie chicken works great here!)
- Chili powder. Like in my award-winning chili recipe, we are using a combination of regular and ancho chili powder for the most depth of flavor. If you don’t have ancho chili powder, you can just use all regular chili powder instead. The ancho adds a nice smoky element though, which I love!
- Fire roasted tomatoes. If you can’t find fire roasted, plain diced tomatoes work just fine, but I prefer the smoky depth of flavor the fire roasted version offers.
- Sugar. I know, I know–we typically save the sugar for the desserts, but just a teaspoon here really rounds out the flavors. I also use sugar in my sloppy joes recipe and tomato soup recipe, so this shouldn’t surprise you too much!
- Cream cheese. This thickens the soup and adds lots of flavor. You can always skip it for a thinner soup with a more tomato-y base, but I love the creaminess it adds.
SAM’S TIP: I prefer to use rotisserie chicken for this recipe; it’s easy and inexpensive to buy one from the grocery store, shred it, and toss it into the soup. You could also make my easy crockpot shredded chicken and use that instead.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Cook the bacon until crisp, then remove to a paper towel lined plate.
- Cook the onion, pepper, and jalapeno in the bacon grease and until translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Stir in the stock, diced tomatoes, beans, enchilada sauce, corn, chilis, spices, and chicken.
- Let the soup simmer while you prepare your tortilla strips (demonstrated below).
- Add cream cheese and lime juice and stir until the cream cheese is melted.
- Serve topped with tortilla strips and other toppings (suggestions below!)
SAM’S TIP: Preheat your oven before you start the soup, that way it has time to get nice and hot for your tortilla strips!
How to Make the Tortilla Strips
The crispy corn tortilla strips are possibly my favorite part of this soup. While you could just buy pre-made strips, it takes only minutes to make them at home using corn tortillas.
- Cut 10 corn tortillas into ¼” strips (mine usually end up thicker than this, but I always aim for ¼”) and then cut strips to be about 2″ in length. Place on a baking sheet.
- Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss until all strips are lightly coated and spread evenly over the pan.
- Bake until crisp (about 10 minutes) and allow to cool before serving with the soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
This soup is still mild enough for my kids to enjoy despite using a jalapeno, chiles, and enchilada sauce, since we remove the jalapeno seeds and use mild versions of the potentially spicy items.
If you want to make it spicer, toss in a few of the jalapeno seeds and use hot green chiles and hot enchilada sauce.
Toppings-wise, we love avocado, cotija cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and lime juice. A splash of hot sauce doesn’t hurt either!
As for sides, we love serving with my famous cornbread or jalapeno cornbread, though biscuits are always a good option, too.
I haven’t tried freezing this soup, but I would be worried that the cream cheese wouldn’t thaw properly and could make the end result seem “piecey” and separated (though I suspect the taste would still be fine). You could try freezing the soup before adding the cream cheese and stir it in once thawed.
If you try freezing this recipe, I’d love to know how it goes for you!
This soup makes the perfect cold weather meal. I hope you give it a try this season!
Enjoy!
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Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 strips (uncooked) bacon cut into small pieces¹
- 1 cup (115 g) chopped onion about one medium onion
- 1 cup (115 g) diced red pepper about one red pepper
- 1 finely chopped jalapeno seeds removed
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic about 4-5 cloves for me
- 3 ½ cups (830 ml) low sodium chicken stock
- 14 oz (396 g) can fire roasted diced tomatoes undrained
- 14 oz (396 g) can black beans rinsed and drained
- 10 oz (283 g) mild enchilada sauce
- 1 cup frozen sweet corn
- 7 oz (200 g) can diced green chilis
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder I like use ½ Tbsp ancho chili powder and ½ Tbsp regular chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3-4 cups (450 g) shredded or diced cooked chicken I use shredded rotisserie chicken
- 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese² cut into cubes
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
- Optional toppings: avocado, cotija cheese, cilantro, sour cream, etc.
TORTILLA Strips:
- 10 corn tortillas
- Olive oil for drizzling
- Kosher salt for sprinkling
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 415F/215C (this is to cook your tortillas, you want the oven preheating and it can take some time for it to reach this temperature so preheat it now).
- Place bacon pieces in a large heavy bottomed pot (I like to use my Dutch Oven) and cook over medium heat until browned, crisp, and cooked through. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.5 strips (uncooked) bacon
- Add onion, pepper, and jalapeno to pan and cook until translucent (about 3-5 minutes).1 cup (115 g) chopped onion, 1 cup (115 g) diced red pepper, 1 finely chopped jalapeno
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds)1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- Add chicken stock, tomatoes, beans, enchilada sauce, corn, chilis, chili powder, sugar, cumin, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, paprika, black pepper, and chicken. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile prepare your tortillas.3 ½ cups (830 ml) low sodium chicken stock, 14 oz (396 g) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, 14 oz (396 g) can black beans, 10 oz (283 g) mild enchilada sauce, 1 cup frozen sweet corn, 7 oz (200 g) can diced green chilis, 1 Tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¾ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, 3-4 cups (450 g) shredded or diced cooked chicken
TORTILLA STRIPS
- Cut tortillas into strips that are ¼” thick by 2” long. Scatter evenly over parchment paper lined baking sheet, drizzle lightly with olive oil (about 1 Tbsp), sprinkle with kosher salt and use a spatula to evenly coat with olive oil.10 corn tortillas, Olive oil, Kosher salt
- Transfer to 415F (215C) and cook until crisp, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet.
- Meanwhile, once soup has finished simmering, add cream cheese and lime juice and stir well until cream cheese is melted. Return bacon to the pot and stir well.4 oz (113 g) cream cheese², 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
- Serve topped with your crisp tortilla strips and other toppings, as desired.Optional toppings: avocado, cotija cheese, cilantro, sour cream, etc.
Notes
¹Bacon
If you don’t care to use bacon, you can substitute 2 Tablespoons of butter (or even olive oil, but each substitution will result in less flavor) instead. Melt over medium/high heat then proceed with recipe as written.²Cream cheese
If you don’t like a creamier soup you can leave out the cream cheese.Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
I originally published this recipe in March of 2019. Post has been updated to be more helpful, but the recipe remains unchanged.
Michelle
Made this today – It was soo good. I use Thai chicken vegetable stock instead to give extra flavor. Yummy
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy to hear you loved it, Michelle! That sounds delicious 🙂
Marissa
This is the 2nd recipe of yours I’ve made so far (I made the potato soup last week), and what I love most about your recipes is that I can tell you love to eat! A girl after my own heart <3… All your recipes have a little something extra to take them over the top and make them memorable and so flavorful! I followed this recipe almost to a tee, except I used less cream cheese and stuck in my immersion blender for just 15 seconds or so – it created such a beautiful texture.
I'm subscribed and will try out some more recipes this weekend! Thanks 🙂
Sam
Thank you so much, Marissa! I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying everything so much! 🙂
Lauren
Excellent. I can tell you try these recipes many many times before sharing them and it is appreciated. I normally don’t put this much time into a recipe (chopping vegetables takes me forever), but I’m ok to do it when I know the recipe will turn out well.
Sam
Thank you so much, Lauren! I hope you love it! 🙂
Tracy
Made this soup for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious! Extremely flavorful!!
I’ve tried many of your recipes and honestly love them all! Thank you for the mix of both sweet and savory recipes!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Tracy! I’m love hearing that all of the recipes have been a hit. 🙂
Rachel
Me & my bf made this last night & loved it! Soups & stews aren’t usually his thing, but he went back for seconds 🙂 Just the right amount of spice. I added a good bit of garlic powder, but that’s just personal preference. Will make again!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Rachel! 🙂
Janet
can you freeze this soup? before or after the cream cheese?
Sam
Hi Janet! I haven’t tried freezing the soup. I would be worried that if it was frozen with the cream cheese you could run into some texture changes.
Lori
This is the best chicken tortilla soup recipe I’ve used. I omitted jalapeño and lime because I forgot to Buy at the store, it was still delicious. My husband even said this was the best one I’ve ever made. I will definitely be making again.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Lori! 🙂
Jillian Smith
SO yummy! This is only one of 3 kinds of soup I like and its the best version I’ve had of it
Sam
I am SO happy to hear you liked it so much, Jillian! Thank you so much for commenting, it means a lot to me 🙂
Elena
Hi Jennifer, I used a enchilada sauce recipe from another source. Not sure if I can post it here but I’m sure this soup will come out great with whatever enchilada sauce you use.
Elena
Love your web site and this recipe is amazing! I used your Crock Pot Shredded Chicken recipe and homemade enchilada sauce and it came out perfect! Just let it simmer in the crock pot until we were ready to eat. It had the right amount of spice for a cold winter day. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that the chicken tortilla soup was such a hit, Elena! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and for commenting. I hope that you stay warm. 🙂
Jennifer
Where is the homemade enchilada sauce recipe? I looked and can’t find it- thx
Jeanne Mason
Hello , what’s your homemade enchiladas recipe? I am going to make your chicken enchiladas soup and saw the awesome reviews! My dad absolutely loves this type of soup. My mom passed ams she was an incredible cook and would makes delicious soups. My dad is spoiled and I cook for him. Thx so much for your great and delicious recipes.
Sam
Hi Jeanne! I am actually working on an enchilada recipe. I don’t currently have one on the site. I hope your dad loves this soup! 🙂
Ami
Made this tonight, it was delicious! The family loved it.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that everyone enjoyed the chicken tortilla soup, Ami! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Priscilla
The chicken tortilla soup is excellent. I should have held back a little on the lime juice – maybe half instead. Anyway, a wonderful soup for a cold day.
I also made the Corn Chowder soup that was even better. I took some to work and it was such a hit that a co-worker went home that night to make it for her family.
I am really enjoying your website.
Priscilla
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you very much, Priscilla! I am so glad you have enjoyed my recipes. Thank you for trying them and for taking a comment to leave such a sweet comment. I can’t wait to hear what you try next! 🙂
Melanie
This was delicious!! I left out the bacon and used ground chuck because I didn’t have a rotisserie.
My family devoured it. Thanks for the recipe!!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the soup, Melanie! 🙂
Kara
Does the bacon actually get added or do you just use the grease?
Sam
Sorry about the confusion, Kara! Add it in once the cream cheese is melted into the soup. I hope you love it!
Kara
I made this and a few other soups including your potato and they were a huge hit at my party. I had 50 high school kids over for Halloween and it was 30 degrees out so these were exactly what they wanted. I think kids are picky and these kids were coming back for seconds and thirds, thank you for the bomb recipes that made me look good haha. Bookmarking your page! Hope you add more soups in the future and I look forward to trying other items, FYI you use a lot of bacon I see so that made me know I was gonna love your recipes.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you, Kara! I am so glad that the Chicken Tortilla Soup and Potato Soup were such a hit at your Halloween Party. Bacon adds so much flavor so I do use it often, plus it’s my husband’s favorite as well. Thanks for bookmarking my page, I hope that you continue to try more of recipes and find them just as enjoyable! Thanks again. 🙂
Kara
Hi there is this a recipe that works if I make a day in advance and reheat?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Kara! Yes, that will be fine. I hope that you enjoy the Tortilla Soup! 🙂