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+ servings
Tortilla soup topped with crispy tortillas and cilantro.
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5 from 4 votes

Best Chicken Tortilla Soup

Best Chicken Tortilla Soup is a super easy dump and go time saving recipe made in the pressure cooker (instant pot), slow cooker or stove top. (Stove top cook time - 20 minutes, Instant pot cook time - 14 minutes, Slow Cooker cook time - low 8-10 hours or high 4-6 hours)  
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 4
Calories: 428kcal
Author: HWC Magazine

Ingredients

Best Chicken Tortilla Soup

  • 1 tablespoon oil (for stove top version only)
  • 1 small red onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 carrot chopped
  • 1 large bell pepper chopped (optional)
  • 1 stalk celery chopped
  • 1 jalapeno or red chili pepper finely chopped (optional or use less as more as desired for level of heat)
  • 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (You can also use left over grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken or leftovers from Savory Herb roasted Whole Baked Chicken)
  • 28 ounces of fire roasted canned tomatoes (I puree mine in blender as my kids dislike chunks of tomatoes)
  • 4 cups chicken broth (gluten free and low sodium)
  • 2 bay leaves (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoons ground chili pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sugar (or sugar substitutes it helps bring the flavors out of the tomatoes)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 12 ounces corn
  • 12 ounces black beans

Tortilla Strips

  • Tortilla soft – 3 whole – (regular, gluten free or lower carb soft flour or corn tortillas all work well)
  • Olive oil spray or ¼ cup oil if you wish to fry tortillas
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder for tortillas

Garnishes

  • ½ cup cheddar cheese shredded
  • cilantro ¼ chopped (optional)
  • Lime zest and lime juice – 1 lime
  • Avocado (1 sliced optional)

Instructions

Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Directions

  • In your pressure cooker (instant pot), add chopped onion, garlic, carrot, celery, red bell pepper, jalapeno, Whole chicken breasts, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, chili pepper, sugar or sugar alternative, salt and pepper to taste, corn and black beans. Stir.
  • Close lid of the pressure cooker and make sure the steam release button is placed on NO VENTING. Set your pressure cooker to high pressure and time for 14 minutes. Allow to release pressure naturally for 10 minutes and then can manually vent carefully by using an oven mitt or towel and turning the vent knob safely away from your face. Be careful. When the button collapses, you can remove the lid.
  • Remove the chicken from the pan and shred. Add the chicken back into the instant pot and stir. Chicken Tortilla soup if now ready to be served with garnishes as desired.

Slow Cooker (Crock Pot) Directions

  • In your slow cooker (crock pot), add chopped onion, garlic, carrot, celery, red bell pepper, jalapeno, Whole chicken breasts, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, chili pepper, sugar or sugar alternative, salt and pepper to taste, corn and black beans. Stir.
  • Set your slow cooker (crockpot) on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Remove the chicken from your slow cooker and shred with a fork. Add the chicken back into the slow cooker and stir. Chicken Tortilla soup if now ready to be served with garnishes as desired.

Stove Top Directions

  • Put oil in large pot and add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers and cook until aromatic and slightly tender. Add chicken, if using precooked chicken, you can move through all the steps sequentially. If using uncooked chicken, cook chicken first with seasoning until juices no longer run pink. Add oregano, cumin, salt and pepper, chili powder and sugar.
  • Next, add canned tomatoes, chicken stock, bay leaves, corn and black beans and simmer for about 20 minutes over medium heat until flavors have a chance to mingle.

Make Crunchy Tortilla Strips (While the soup is simmering, make the garnishes).

  • In a small bowl add the cheddar cheese, chopped cilantro and lime zest and mix. Set aside.
  • Cut up the corn or flour tortillas into thin strips and cut into thirds.

Baked option:

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Cut the tortillas into slices. Then, we spray the lined baking pan with a little oil spray and place the tortillas single layered on the baking tray. Just spritz the tortillas with a light spray of olive oil and sprinkle on chili powder, salt and pepper and you are good to go. Bake for about 5-10 minutes and then toss. Then, Bake again for another 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Set aside.

Pan Fried Option:

  • Place oil in pan and add your cut tortilla strips to the pan and fry over medium low heat for about 5-6 minutes or until golden brown. Toss periodically and keep a close eye on them so they do not burn. After you remove the fried tortilla strips from the pan, place them on an absorbent paper towel lined dish and season with chili powder, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Putting It All Together

  • Ladle chicken tortilla soup into bowls, drizzle with a little fresh lime juice and top with cheese topping and fried tortillas. If you like sliced avocados, add a few of those as well. Enjoy!
  • Best Chicken Tortilla Soup can be stored in a sealed container for up to 3 days without garnishes. You can freeze the soup for up to 2 months in a freezer safe container. Store garnishes separately in the refrigerator.

Notes

If you are using precooked chicken, you can decrease the time down to 8 minutes for pressure cooker (instant pot). To keep this recipe gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free chicken broth and gluten-free tortillas. If you are feeling too lazy to bake or fry tortilla strips, you can exchange with a bag or your favorite tortilla chips from the grocery store. When using the instant pot, note that depending on the temperature of your chicken broth it can take up to 20 minutes to warm up and come to pressure and start cooking. We used gluten-free nourishing chicken bone broth for this recipe.
 

Nutrition

Serving: 6g | Calories: 428kcal | Carbohydrates: 517g | Protein: 347g | Fat: 48g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 850mg | Potassium: 2011mg | Fiber: 214g | Sugar: 23g