Simple Chicken Tortilla Soup

This simple chicken tortilla soup is an easy meal to make for a crowd or just a cozy night! This soup is bursting with flavor, beans, and chicken! It’s hearty, healthy, and absolutely delicious. It’s like Mexican night, soup edition. Soup is the gift that keeps on giving because leftovers are delicious, you need one pot, and you can easily double it to freeze some and save for later. We love this one so much and it will definitely make it into our frequent rotation. Hope you love it as much as we do!

Overhead view of tortilla soup topped with cheese and cilantro in a white bowl with extra chips, cheese, a gold spoon, and fall decor in the background.

What you need to make simple chicken tortilla soup + substitutions:

Avocado oil- When we’re cooking with high heat, we prefer to use avocado oil. We always buy the giant Chosen Foods avocado oil from Costco.
Yellow onion- The onion gives a great flavor and adds some bulk to the soup.
Bell peppers- These add a good amount of veggie, brightness, color, and flavor to the recipe!
Garlic cloves- Garlic is ideal in basically every savory recipe. You can substitute with 1 tsp garlic powder if needed.
Tomato paste – Just a little tomato paste adds richness and helps deepen the flavor of the broth. Cooking it for a minute with the spices before adding the broth makes it even more flavorful.
Fire roasted tomatoes- I just love the flavor that the fire roasted tomatoes bring. If you need to you can use petite diced tomatoes, but I highly suggest the fire roasted.
Diced green chiles – These add a mild chile flavor without making the soup too spicy. I typically use a small can of mild diced green chiles, but you can use medium or hot if you like more heat.
Chicken broth- Chicken broth makes up the base of the soup and brings everything together. Use your favorite chicken broth, bone broth, or homemade broth if you have it. I like to use low-sodium so I can easily adjust the salt to taste.
Cooked Chicken- For this recipe, Thomas cooked a whole roasted chicken and then we used cooked chicken from there. You could also use shredded rotisserie chicken, shredded crockpot chicken, or baked chicken. You basically just need 2 cups of cooked chicken. If you do the crockpot version, then you just need about 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast or thighs.
Black beans- Black beans go perfectly in this Mexican-inspired dish. They also had a nice heartiness as well as fiber and flavor.
Frozen corn- Frozen corn is easy and works perfectly in this soup. There’s no need to thaw it first—just toss it right into the pot. Canned corn works great too; just drain it first.
Lime- Adds a really nice touch and brightness to the soup!
Cilantro- I always love an herb to finish off a dish. If you don’t love cilantro you can skip this part but it’s delicious both in the soup and garnished on top.
Seasonings – Chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, sea salt, and black pepper give this soup tons of flavor without making it overly spicy. Feel free to adjust the chili powder to your family’s preference. For sea salt, we use Redmond sea salt, it’s our favorite and we use it in everything! You can use the code daddioskitchen for 15% off. We get the big bag!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can I make chicken tortilla soup in the crockpot?

Yes! Add everything except the lime and cilantro to your slow cooker, using raw chicken instead of cooked. Cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or HIGH for 2½–3½ hours, then shred the chicken and stir in the lime and cilantro before serving.

Can I use rotisserie chicken?

Absolutely! Rotisserie chicken is one of my favorite shortcuts for this soup. You’ll need about 2 cups of shredded chicken. Add it toward the end since it’s already cooked.

Can I freeze it?

Yes! Let the soup cool completely and freeze it in an airtight container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stovetop. Wait to add avocado, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, lime + tortilla chips until serving.

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Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Simple Chicken Tortilla Soup

This simple chicken tortilla soup is an easy meal to make for a crowd or just a cozy night! This soup is bursting with flavor, beans, and chicken! It's hearty, healthy, and absolutely delicious. It's like Mexican night, soup edition. Soup is the gift that keeps on giving because leftovers are delicious, you need one pot, and you can easily double it to freeze some and save for later. We love this one so much and it will definitely make it into our frequent rotation. Hope you love it as much as we do!

Course: Main Course

Keyword: chicken, easy dinner, kid frendly, make ahead, mexican, soup, tortilla

Servings:

Ingredients

For the Soup:

1-2 tbsp avocado oil (omit for crockpot version)
1 small yellow onion diced
2 green bell peppers diced
3-4 garlic cloves minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
1-2 tbsp tomato paste
15 oz canned fire roasted tomatoes
1 4oz can diced green chilis
32 oz chicken broth (or 4 cups)
2 cups cooked shredded chicken (or about 1½lb raw for crockpot version)
1 15oz canned black beans drained
1 cup canned corn drained (or frozen straight from the bag)
juice of 1/2-1 lime
¼ cup cilantro for topping or mixed in
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1½ tsp sea salt (plus more to taste)
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp black pepper

For Serving:

shredded cheese, avocado, cilantro, lime juice, greek yogurt or sour cream, tortilla chips

Instructions

Heat avocado oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and bell peppers and sauté for 5–7 minutes, until they begin to soften.
Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring, to deepen the flavor of the tomato paste and spices.
Add the fire-roasted tomatoes, diced green chiles, and chicken broth. Stir well, scraping up anything from the bottom of the pot.
Add the shredded chicken, black beans, and corn. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 10–15 minutes.
Remove the soup from the heat. Stir in the juice of ½ lime and fresh cilantro. Taste and add additional lime and salt as needed.
Ladle into bowls and load them up with your favorite toppings! We love shredded cheese, avocado, cilantro, lime juice, greek yogurt or sour cream, tortilla chips!

For the Crockpot Version:

For the crockpot version, use about 1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs instead of the cooked shredded chicken.
Add the onion, bell peppers, garlic, tomato paste, fire-roasted tomatoes, diced green chiles, chicken broth, black beans, corn, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper to the slow cooker. Stir well. Nestle the raw chicken into the liquid.
Cover and cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or HIGH for 2½–3½ hours, or until the chicken reaches 165°F and is tender enough to shred.
Remove the chicken, shred it with two forks, and return it to the crockpot.
Turn off the heat and stir in the juice of ½ lime and the fresh cilantro. Taste and add more lime or salt as needed.