This Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of our most highly-rated recipes on the blog! Delicious and healthy, loaded with chicken and veggies, this soup will warm you to your bones! Make it in an Instant Pot, on the stovetop, or in a slow cooker! Video. Plus 40+Best Chicken Breast Recipes and 50 Easy Dinner Ideas!

This Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of BEST recipes on the blog and hands-down one of our favorite dinners. Delicious and healthy, loaded with chicken and veggies, this soup will warm you to your bones! Make it in an Instant pot, on the stovetop, or in a slow cooker!

Hey friends, I’m so excited to share this Chicken Tortilla Soup with you! Full of flavor, this Mexican Soup is made with chicken, veggies, chicken stock, tomatoes, chilies, black beans, lime, and cilantro. Delicious and hearty, it is nourishing, comforting and soul-warming! Perfect when feeling under the weather.

Why I love this recipe!

  • I love how adaptable this recipe is. Make it with chicken thighs or chicken breast. Use dry black beans or canned beans; for a low-carb version, use no beans at all; it’s totally up to you.
  • Use your Dutch oven on the stovetop, or make it in your instant pot or slow cooker. The flavorful base of this soup is what makes this recipe shine. Once you nail that, the recipe is so versatile. We think it’s the best recipe for Chicken tortilla soup out there!
  • It’s EASY! The best part is after you saute the veggies for a few minutes, you can dump everything else in the pot, and just let it cook and be totally hands-off.

Chicken Tortilla Soup Video (Instant Pot)

Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients

Chicken tortilla soup ingredients.

Ingredients Notes

  • Tomatoes – use canned diced tomatoes, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, or use fresh diced tomatoes w/ their juices
  • Chilies -For ease, we use canned mild green chilies , but feel free to use a fresh poblano chili
  • Chicken – boneless chicken thighs offer up great richness, while boneless chicken breast keeps this light and lean; both work great.
  • We love using dry black beans if using the instant pot or canned black beans in the stovetop version, but both work in either instance. You can also leave the beans out completely or sub corn.
  • Fresh Lime Juice and cilantro elevate.
  • Spices: in addition to the Mexican seasonings, adding a little chipotle here elevates. Use ground chipotle or the adobo sauce from the can for a delicious smoky heat!

How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup (Stovetop)

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot,  saute onions, garlic, carrots and celery, in olive oil, for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the chicken (whole), tomatoes, black beans, and chilies.

Add chicken stock, water, salt and all the spices.  Give a good stir, and bring to a simmer. Cover, and gently simmer until chicken pulls apart easily, about 30 minutes.

Shred the chicken with two forks, either right in the pot or on a cutting board.

Season with lime juice and cilantro.

Squeeze with a generous amount of lime juice and taste for salt, adding more if necessary. Garnish with cilantro.

How to make homemade Tortilla Chips:

For the healthiest, tastiest tortilla chips, spray strips of fresh corn tortillas with olive oil spray and a sprinkle of salt, and bake until crisp, or feel free to use store-bought tortilla chips or leave them off entirely for a low-carb version.

Homemade tortilla strips on a sheet pan.

Expert TIPS

  1. Use flavorful chicken stock and enough salt to ensure your soup has good flavor. You can always add a chicken bouillon cube if it tastes bland. Conversely, if your soup is too salty, add a little water.
  2. Add chipotle, whether ground or from the can, it really elevates the soup, adding a smoky heat. Add gradually to taste, remembering that the toppings will help moderate or mute the heat. If you are sensitive to heat but love the smoky flavor, add a little smoked paprika to taste.
  3. Fresh Lime enhances the soup. Start with a squeeze of half a lime, then add more to taste. If you added more tomato than the recipe called for, this will add acidity to the soup, so you’ll need less lime.
  4. Never cook jalapenos in the soup unless you like your soup extra spicy! I always add as a garnish at the end of cooking to moderate the heat better.

Chicken Tortilla Soup Toppings

These toppings elevate the tortilla soup- and ding flavor and texture. You don’t need all, but pick a few!

  • Shredded Mexican cheese, or cheddar (or crumbled cotija)
  • Sour cream- (or Mexican Crema) adds a nice creaminess and is especially lovely if your soup is tastes too spicy.
  • Avocado– if going dairy-free, avocado adds a nice richness!
  • Cilantro– it just belongs here. If you can’t tolerate it, scallions work too!
  • Tortilla chips- homemade or store-bought, add a great texture!
  • Fresh jalapeño- thinly sliced, or add hot sauce for heat.
  • Lime wedges
This Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of BEST recipes on the blog and hands-down one of our favorite dinners. Delicious and healthy, loaded with chicken and veggies, this soup will warm you to your bones! Make it in an Instant pot, on the stovetop, or in a slow cooker!

Serve the chicken tortilla soup in bowls with a few of the toppings.

How to store Chicken Tortilla Soup

The soup will keep up to 4 days in the fridge or freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. Leave all the toppings off when storing, and add right before serving.

 Chicken Tortilla Soup in a bowl with all the toppings.

Chicken Tortilla Soup Faqs

How do you thicken Chicken Tortilla Soup?

Chicken Tortilla Soup can be thickened in two ways- add soft corn tortillas, torn into small pieces, into the simmering soup; they will dissolve and thicken it. You can also use corn meal; create a slurry, whisking a few tablespoons of corn meal with water, then whisk this paste into the soup, simmering it for 15 minutes, thickening the soup, and giving it a beautiful corn flavor.

Is Chicken Tortilla Soup Healthy?

Chicken tortilla soup is very soothing for a sore throat or cold and healing and nourishing to the body. It is low in carbs, high in protein and nutrients while being low in calories. Black beans add good healthy fiber to the soup.

How do you add flavor to soup?

Find the balance between salt, spicy heat, and acid, in this case, lime. If the soup tastes bland, try adding more salt and lime.

Can Chicken Tortilla Soup be made vegan?

Absolutely! Use veggie broth instead of chicken broth, and replace the chicken with pinto beans and corn. Feel free to add other veggies like bell pepper and zucchini.

What to serve with Chicken Tortilla soup?

We love this soup and hope you do too. ❤️

⭐️ Please rate it for us and share your adaptions or your thoughts in the comments below!

xoxo

Sylvia

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Chicken Tortilla Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 395 reviews
  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine | Feasting at Home
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 12 cups 1x
  • Category: soup, dinner idea,
  • Method: stovetop, pressure cooker
  • Cuisine: mexican

Description

Our Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe is highly rated- it’s a fast and flavorful soup that can be made on the stovetop or in an instant pot! ⭐️ Please rate it for us and share your adaptions or what you think of it in the comments below!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 12 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 5 garlic cloves, rough chopped (or sub 12 tablespoons granulated garlic)
  • 12 cups carrots, diced
  • 1 cup celery, diced
  • 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes and juices (or fire-roasted) or 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes w/juices
  • 4ounce can, mild green chilies (or sub a poblano chili, diced)
  • 2 lbs chicken (boneless, skinless, thighs or breasts) left whole -see cooking notes
  • 1 cup dry black beans ,or sub 1 to 2 14-ounce cans black beans (or sub corn) see notes
  • 4 cups chicken stock or broth (or water with 4 chicken bouillon cubes)
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 teaspoons salt, more to taste
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • lime juice from 1-2 limes
  • optional: for a smoky heat, add a little chipotle (either the adobo sauce from canned chipotles, or a little ground chipotle powder to taste. )

Garnish with any or all of the following:  tortilla strips, grated cheese, sour cream, avocado, hot sauce, cilantro, fresh jalapeño, scallions, and lime wedges.


Instructions

  1. In a Dutch oven over medium heat (or an Instant Pot) saute onions, garlic, carrots and celery in olive oil, 4 minutes. (If using granulated garlic, add with the spices, and if using fresh poblano chili, add it now).
  2. Add the diced tomatoes and their juices, green chilies, whole chicken, and black beans. Pour in the chicken stock, water, salt and all the spices and give a good stir.
  3. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is tender and pulls apart easily.  Alternatively, set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high,  for 25 minutes, if using dry beans, or 14 minutes if using canned beans, and manually release. See notes for modifications.
  4. Shred the chicken with two forks, either right in the pot, or in a bowl. (At this point, you could add frozen corn to the soup heating it up.) Return the shredded chicken to the pot and simmer on low for a few minutes.
  5. Squeeze with a generous amount of lime juice and taste for salt, adding more if necessary- especially if you used dry beans, you will need to add more. You want a good balance between lime and salt. (If the soup tastes bland, it probably needs more of each.)
  6. Divide among bowls and top with tortilla strips, grated cheese, sour cream, scallions or avocado and cilantro. Add hot sauce for added heat.

Notes

I use a 6-quart Dutch Oven, or a 6-quart Instant Pot. Doubling the recipe will not fit in a 6-quart.

Black beans: If your dry black beans are very old, I recommend soaking them first or extending the pressure cooking time to 30-35 minutes. You can also use dry beans in the stovetop version, but I recommend soaking them first. For a more brothy soup, use only one can of beans vs. two. ( I prefer this soup brothy.)

Chicken Breast: If using whole chicken breasts in the instant pot, lower the pressure cook time to 9-12 minutes and use canned beans. Set at 8 minutes for smaller breasts or 12 mins for extra-large chicken breasts. If cooking on the stove top, cutting extra large chicken breasts in half will shorten the cooking time.

Frozen Chicken: If using frozen chicken breasts or chicken thighs in the instant pot, add 3-4 minutes (make sure they are not all stuck together in one block). 

For the tastiest tortilla chips, spray strips of fresh tortillas with olive oil spray and a sprinkle of  salt, and bake in a 300 F oven until crisp.

For a bean-free version you could swap out 2 cups of corn for the beans ( Trader Joes, frozen fire-roasted corn is great) adding it to the soup after chicken is cooked.

For slow cooker version, do steps 1 & 2 as stated above, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on High for 3 to 4 hours.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 3/4 cups
  • Calories: 392
  • Sugar: 3.9 g
  • Sodium: 729.2 mg
  • Fat: 22.2 g
  • Saturated Fat: 5.6 g
  • Carbohydrates: 23.6 g
  • Fiber: 6.5 g
  • Protein: 25.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 111.3 mg

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Comments

  1. The only thing I did different was use frozen corn, frozen cooked chicken breast and 3/4 cup of rice (w/extra water to compensate for rice) & a whole corn tortilla before closing up the IP. Cooked for 10 minutes, NR for 10 while I toasted the other corn tortillas under the broiler. All the veggies, meat and rice were tender and the corn tortilla had dissolved making the broth a little thicker. This was a great recipe for this rainy chilly spring day, plus it was just the right protein rich soft texture meal for our one family member on a soft food diet after surgical complications. Delicious!






  2. First time using my instant pot & this recipe was the perfect test! Easy to follow the instructions, the flavor is rich & savory(some tortilla soup recipes are too bland for my taste), & the chicken is cooked perfectly. Highly recommend!






  3. This is great Tortilla soup. Just followed the recipe and it came out excellent. I made the chicken stock from a leftover Costco roasted chicken. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing it.
    Jim






  4. I made this last night since my husband swears his favorite soup is chicken tortilla (even though I’ve never seen him order it), and it was so simple and SO delicious! I didn’t sub or change anything. Used dry beans, added some chipotle powder as suggested, and was heavy on the lime juice. I could legit eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Husband loved it too. I’m not fancy enough to make my own tortilla strips, so I just crumbled tortilla chips over the soup. YUM! The one thing I’d do differently next time is use low-sodium broth since my soup turned out a tad too salty. Adding this to my list of go-to’s!






  5. I made this last night and it was excellent. I used what I had on hand so I made the following changes: no garlic, no celery, only half an onion, used 1 can rotel + 1 8oz can of diced tomatoes, only used 1 tsp of chili powder, and forgot to put the 2 cups of water. I also put the frozen chicken on the trivet after I mixed everything else well. It still came out really, really good for this novice cook. Next time I’ll follow the recipe exactly, I’m sure it will be even better. Thank you!






  6. I found your food blog while searching for a good Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe. This soup is truly the BEST Chicken Tortilla Soup I have ever made! Thank you for sharing this recipe and for your food blog. I am excited to try some of your other recipes this week! I shared your blog with my daughter whose hubby has celiac and can only eat gluten free. 🙂






  7. Wow, super easy and super yummy! Whole family loved it, will definitely make again…and again…and again!






  8. I made this due to the number of 5 star ratings, and because DH and I weren’t feeling so great, and nothing is better than chicken soup when you don’t feel good.

    I followed the recipe, using both frozen chicken breasts and thighs. This was my second use of the Instant Pot, and what a winning recipe! So flavorful! Definitely will be making this a lot. It took about one hour from chopping the veggies, to taking off the lid.

    Make this soup and you will not be disappointed!






    1. Im so glad you enjoyed this- yes, there is nothing better than chicken soup when under the weather. Feel better soon!

  9. Made it for the first time, we just love this soup, it is delicious. It is definitely a keeper which in my family means we will make it again. Thank you for the great recipe, easy to make and delicious!






  10. This is the best chicken tortilla soup I’ve ever tasted. I’ve had the recipe for about a month and have already made it three times. Plus, I plan to make it again next week when my daughter visits. I’ve given ithe recipe to friends and they’ve raved about it. The adobo sauce is a “must add” ingredient. Thank-you for your recipe.






  11. Excellent soup, making it for the second time tonight. My only change is I add about 1/4-1/2 packet of taco seasoning. Can not say enough good things- the flavor is excellent and it’s healthy. I use chicken breasts, canned black beans and add corn at the end.






  12. One of our local taco places makes a chicken soup with coconut milk and rice that my husband loves. I used your recipe and added red bell peppers when pressure cooking, only one can of beans and added a little coconut milk at the end with some corn and some leftover brown rice. Lots of lime too. Delicious! Thanks for a great, easy recipe.

  13. I used a bag of frozen “Southwest “veggies It has some black beans, corn and some peppers. Used a jalapeño pepper as we like spicy and a spoon of Chile adobo sauce. So so good!

  14. Made this soup tonight. Thank you so much for this recipe. It was just what I needed to clear my sinuses and be able to breathe again. Didn’t have any canned chilies but there was one fresh jalepeno still clinging to last summer’s plant outside so I used that, ribs and seeds included. Used one can of black beans plus one can of sweetcorn and the liquid. Only used the 4 cups of stock/broth, did not add extra water. as I was using less chicken, about 1.25 lbs (but I might add extra liquid when reheating the leftovers). I did add a squeeze of raw honey to offset the spice for my son, the addition of avocado and cheese when serving helps in that regard also. I’ll definitely be making this recipe again.






  15. Love the recipe! Just make it and you will have a lovely family meal in no time! I much prefer it with canned beans rather than dried. I had to remove the bone in skin on chicken thighs and start the IP again to get the dried beans fully cooked. Also the dried beans turned the veggies a weird color.






  16. If I’m using frozen chicken thighs, how long would you cook in the Instant Pot? Looks like a great recipe – I’ll be making it tonight!

  17. Made this today… soo yummy! I didn’t realize I was out of chicken broth so I just used 6 C water instead and was worried it would come out bland, but it turned out great!! Topped with cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips and jalapeños ? thank you for the recipe!!






  18. I have made this a recurring meal in our home! We can’t believe how delicious and filling this soup is, thank you so much for sharing!






  19. Definitely the most delicious soup I’ve ever made! I added a bit more lime to give it a more sour flavour and topped it off with some sour cream, cheddar cheese, and avocado. This will become a staple in our household for sure.






  20. Really delicious!!! This will definitely be my go to recipe for chicken tortilla soup.

    Why can’t you do dry beans with chicken breast?






  21. Delicious!! I added corn and cilantro at the end, and used whole, fire roasted, canned serrano chiles instead of green chiles. I also made my own tortilla strips in the air fryer with fresh tortillas. Absolutely delicious, thank you very much.






  22. Yum Yum Yum I added extra carrots and celery chopped up very fine and did not use the water. My favorite thing I’ve ever made in the instant pot.






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