Chicken tortilla soup is a flavorful, comforting meal that can be made in about 25 to 30 minutes. In this version, the soup is treated more like chili, using beans, tomatoes, a poblano pepper, spices, chipotle peppers, chicken, and corn to create a thick, flavorful base.
This recipe is based on the “25 MIN CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP (So Much Better When You Treat it Like CHILI) | Weeknighting” video by Brian Lagerstrom. The method focuses on building flavor quickly by browning the vegetables, toasting the spices, blending part of the soup with chipotle peppers, and finishing it with chicken and corn.
The result is a soup that is thicker than a traditional broth-based soup but thinner than chili, with smoky, savory flavors and plenty of different textures.
What Makes This Chicken Tortilla Soup Different?
The main idea behind this chicken tortilla soup is to treat the soup more like chili.
Instead of simply simmering all the ingredients together, the recipe builds flavor in stages. The onion and poblano are lightly browned first, the garlic is added afterward, and the spices are briefly toasted with the vegetables.
The recipe then uses a simple blending technique. About two cups of the soup are removed and blended with chipotle peppers in adobo before being returned to the pot. This helps give the soup more body and a deeper smoky flavor.
Beans, tomatoes, corn, and cooked chicken make the soup hearty, while tortilla chips, avocado, cilantro, white cheddar, and sour cream add distinct flavors and textures at the table.
Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients
Vegetables and Aromatics
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 1 poblano pepper, diced
- 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
Oil and Spices
- 35 g (about 2 tablespoons) olive oil
- 20 g (about 2½ tablespoons) chili powder
- 5 g (about 1¾ teaspoons) paprika
- 5 g (about 1¾ teaspoons) ground cumin
- 2 g (about 2 teaspoons) dried oregano
- Salt, as needed
Soup Base
- 1.5 liters (about 1500 g) chicken stock
- 1 can (28 oz / 790 g) diced tomatoes
- 1 can (440 g) kidney beans, not drained
- 1 can (440 g) black beans, drained
- 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo
- 150 g (about 1 cup) frozen corn
Chicken
- 1 cooked whole chicken
- Chicken drippings from the cooked chicken, reserved
The recipe uses about half of the cooked chicken for the soup.
Recommended Garnishes
- Ripe avocado, diced
- Thick-cut tortilla chips, broken into pieces
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Shredded white cheddar cheese
- Sour cream
How to Make 25 Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup
1. Prepare the Vegetables
Start by preparing the red onion, poblano pepper, and garlic.
Dice the red onion into medium-sized pieces. Cut the poblano pepper open, remove the seeds, and cut it into pieces similar in size to the onion.
Chop the four garlic cloves. Keeping the garlic in slightly larger pieces allows it to add small bites of tender garlic throughout the soup.
If you want less heat, the poblano can be replaced with a green or red bell pepper. For more heat, jalapeños can be used instead.
2. Brown the Onion and Poblano
Place a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.
Add the olive oil and let it heat. Add the diced onion and poblano pepper along with a large pinch of salt.
Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and develop some light browning.
This step is important because the browned vegetables create a deeper flavor base for the soup.
3. Add the Garlic
Add the chopped garlic to the softened onion and poblano.
Stir everything together and cook for about 1 minute, until the garlic becomes fragrant and begins to take on a little color.
4. Toast the Spices
Add the chili powder, paprika, ground cumin, and dried oregano.
Stir the spices into the vegetables and allow them to cook for about 30 seconds.
Toasting the spices briefly with the vegetables helps release their aroma before the liquid ingredients are added.
5. Add the Soup Ingredients
Pour in the chicken stock.
Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, the undrained kidney beans, and the drained black beans.
Add a generous pinch of salt along with the reserved chicken drippings.
Stir everything together and bring the mixture up to a boil.
Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat and let the soup simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
6. Prepare the Chicken
While the soup is simmering, prepare the cooked chicken.
A rotisserie chicken works well for this recipe because it provides a convenient shortcut for a weeknight meal.
Reserve the flavorful chicken drippings and add them to the soup base.
Remove about half of the cooked chicken from the bones and chop it into spoon-sized pieces.
The chicken skin can be kept if you enjoy it in the soup, or it can be left out.
Set the chopped chicken aside until the final stage of cooking.
7. Blend Part of the Soup With Chipotle
After the soup has simmered for about 10 minutes, scoop approximately 2 cups of the soup into a high-sided container.
Include some of the vegetables, beans, tomatoes, and broth in the portion you remove.
Add 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo.
Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until it is relatively smooth.
The blended mixture adds body to the soup while also bringing a smoky flavor from the chipotle peppers.
Pour the blended mixture back into the main soup pot and stir well.
8. Add the Corn and Chicken
Add the frozen corn to the soup.
Then add the chopped cooked chicken.
Stir everything together and continue cooking over low heat for about 5 minutes.
The chicken is already cooked, so this final simmer allows it to warm through while the corn heats and the flavors come together.
9. Prepare the Garnishes
While the soup finishes cooking, prepare the toppings.
Dice a ripe avocado and chop some fresh cilantro.
Break thick-cut tortilla chips into pieces. Thick tortilla chips work especially well because they hold up better when added to the soup.
Shred some white cheddar cheese and have sour cream ready for serving.
10. Taste and Adjust the Seasoning
Before serving, taste the soup carefully.
Add another pinch of salt if needed, stir it through, and taste again.
The final seasoning is important because the right amount of salt helps balance the flavors of the soup.
What Should the Texture Be Like?
This chicken tortilla soup is designed to have more body than a thin, broth-based soup.
The blended portion of beans, tomatoes, vegetables, and chipotle helps make the soup thicker and gives it a more concentrated texture.
The finished consistency should be:
Thicker than soup, but thinner than chili.
This is one of the defining characteristics of this particular chicken tortilla soup method.
How to Serve Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ladle the hot soup into bowls and finish with your preferred combination of garnishes.
Add diced avocado for creamy richness, thick tortilla chips for crunch, chopped cilantro for freshness, shredded white cheddar for a savory cheesy element, and sour cream for a creamy finish.
The tortilla chips soften as they sit in the soup, creating a mixture of crisp and tender textures.
Chicken Tortilla Soup Topping Ideas
The recommended toppings for this recipe are simple but add plenty of contrast:
- Avocado: Adds creamy richness.
- Thick tortilla chips: Add crunch and texture.
- Cilantro: Adds freshness.
- White cheddar: Adds a salty, savory flavor.
- Sour cream: Adds a cool and creamy finish.
Together, these toppings give each bowl a mixture of different textures and flavors.
Why This Recipe Works for a Weeknight
This chicken tortilla soup is designed around speed and simple cooking techniques.
The use of cooked chicken, including rotisserie chicken, eliminates the need to cook raw chicken separately. The soup base also comes together quickly because the vegetables only need a short time to soften and brown.
The blended soup technique is another shortcut. Instead of cooking the soup for a long time to develop body, a portion of the soup is blended with chipotle peppers and returned to the pot.
From start to finish, the recipe takes roughly 25 to 30 minutes.
25 Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe Summary
For an easy overview, the cooking process is:
- Dice the red onion and poblano pepper and chop the garlic.
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot.
- Cook the onion and poblano for about 5 minutes until softened and lightly browned.
- Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, and oregano and toast for about 30 seconds.
- Add chicken stock, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, black beans, salt, and chicken drippings.
- Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Chop about half of the cooked chicken into spoon-sized pieces.
- Blend about 2 cups of the soup with 2 chipotle peppers in adobo.
- Return the blended mixture to the soup.
- Add frozen corn and chopped chicken.
- Simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the salt.
- Serve with avocado, tortilla chips, cilantro, white cheddar, and sour cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does this chicken tortilla soup take to make?
The recipe takes approximately 25 to 30 minutes from start to finish.
Can I use rotisserie chicken?
Yes. The recipe specifically uses a cooked whole chicken, with rotisserie chicken suggested as an easy weeknight shortcut.
Why are the chicken drippings added to the soup?
The chicken drippings add extra chicken flavor to the soup base and help make the broth taste more flavorful.
Why blend part of the soup?
Blending approximately two cups of the soup with chipotle peppers helps add body and thickness while also increasing the smoky flavor of the soup.
Can I use another pepper instead of poblano?
Yes. The recipe notes that a green or red bell pepper can be used for less heat, while jalapeños can be used when more heat is desired.
What type of tortilla chips are best?
Thick-cut, hearty tortilla chips are recommended because they hold up better in the soup than thin chips.
What cheese works well with this soup?
Shredded white cheddar is recommended as a garnish for this version of chicken tortilla soup.
How should I season the soup?
Season the soup during cooking and taste it again at the end. If it needs more seasoning, add another pinch of salt, stir, and taste again.
Final Thoughts
This 25 Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup takes a simple weeknight approach to a flavorful bowl of soup. By browning the vegetables, briefly toasting the spices, blending part of the soup with chipotle peppers, and finishing with cooked chicken and corn, the recipe creates a soup with plenty of body and flavor in a short amount of time.
The finished soup sits somewhere between a traditional soup and chili: thick enough to feel hearty, but still light enough to enjoy as a bowl of soup.
Serve it with thick tortilla chips, avocado, cilantro, white cheddar, and sour cream for the full combination of creamy, crunchy, fresh, and savory textures.
Recipe Source
This recipe is based on Brian Lagerstrom’s video, “25 MIN CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP (So Much Better When You Treat it Like CHILI) | Weeknighting.” The original video was published on November 8, 2021.
Watch the original Chicken Tortilla Soup video by Brian Lagerstrom