When my family came to visit a few weeks ago, my dad’s wife, Jenn, made her famous chicken tortilla soup and after seeing her actually cook it in person for the first time, I realized just how easy it was to make! She originally got the recipe from this cookbook, but we’ve made some changes like adding in spices, corn, and beans.

As I was shooting this, I realized that my last three recipes (honey chicken teriyaki, buffalo chicken bowls, and chicken sausage skillet) were all chicken-based, so next month I’ll share one of my favorite vegetarian weeknight dinners. Despite my apparent love for chicken, I actually prefer to eat vegetarian and have ever since I was a baby according to my mom.

I love this soup because it’s so delicious, full of veggies and broth, and makes the whole house smell amazing. Plus it’s the easiest prep because you don’t have to chop or mince the veggies!

To make this recipe even easier, you can make two tweaks to it: 1. Instead of making the tortilla strips, use tortilla chips from a bag. That said, I love the homemade strips, so if you have the time, definitely make them. 2. Use a rotisserie chicken instead of roasting it yourself (which is what I do).

We both made it on the stove in a cast-iron dutch oven, but you could easily make it in the slow cooker or Instant Pot too. I just been using them so often lately, that it was nice to go old-school on the stove.

Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Serves 4-5

Tortilla Strip Ingredients:
– 6 corn tortillas
– 1 tblspn, olive oil
– Pinch of salt

Soup Ingredients:
– 1 yellow onion
– 2 cloves, garlic
– 1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded (You can use more if you like spice)
– 2 tblspns, olive oil
– 1 14oz can, diced tomatoes (the fire-roasted ones are best)
– Salt to taste
– 1 tspn, cumin
– 1 tspn, chili powder
– 1 14oz can, black beans (drained)
– 1/2 cup, frozen corn
– 6 cups chicken stock/broth
– 3-4 cups, shredded chicken (You can roast this yourself or buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken)
– Juice from 1 lime

Topping ideas:
Sour cream
Lime wedges
Chopped cilantro
Sliced avocado
Hot sauce
Shredded cheese

Tortilla Strip Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Slice corn tortillas into thin strips
3. Toss tortilla strips in a bowl with salt and olive oil
4. Arrange strips on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10-12 minutes, flipping them around halfway through.

Chicken Tortilla Soup Directions:
1. Peel and cut your onion into quarters, peel garlic, and seed jalapeño
2. In a food processor (or blender), mix onion, garlic, and jalapeño until it’s almost a paste
3. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion/garlic mixture for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in diced tomatoes, chicken broth, shredded chicken, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and salt to taste.
5. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, stirring every 15-20 minutes.
6. How long you cook the soup is up to you but the flavors get better the longer it sits on the stove so I like to keep it there for at least an hour. That said, you could cook it for 20 minutes if you’re in a rush and it is still delicious.
7. 20 minutes before you’re going to serve it, stir in the corn and beans.
8. Serve soup in bowls and top each one with tortilla strips and whatever other toppings you like.
9. Enjoy!

Check out more of my recipes here. Photo by Julia Dags.