This easy chicken tortilla soup is delicious, comforting, and comes together in about 30 minutes. Try serving it with some crispy fried tortilla strips, radishes, avocado, cilantro and some lime wedges. If you fancy something more indulgent, add a dollop of cream and some grated cheese, such as queso fresco or Monterey Jack.
What you need for Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Chicken: For flavor, convenience and time, this recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken thighs. They cook quickly and are easy to chop once cooked.
If you have a little more time on your hands and want to increase the flavor of the soup, you can use bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs. They’ll take a bit longer to cook and you’ll need to put in a bit more work when it comes time to shred the meat, but the results are worth it.
For a slightly leaner soup, substitute boneless, skinless chicken breast. Or use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts.
- Good quality chicken soup: The quality of the broth you use will make or break this Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup. Homemade is always the best, but when I run out, I use Kettle & Fire Organic Chicken Broth. It is made with organic chicken bones, natural and organic ingredients, with no preservatives, colors, thickeners or sweeteners. It has a clean, natural taste that works really well in a variety of recipes.
Kettle & Fire products are available at a variety of local stores or order online and use code PRIMALGOURMET for an additional 20% off sitewide.
For extra protein and collagen, you can substitute Kettle & Fire Organic Chicken Bone Broth.
- Flavors: Diced onions, poblano peppers, jalapeños, and garlic form the base flavors of the soup. If you want, you can add carrots for more nutrition and a little sweetness.
- Condiments: A combination of oregano, coriander, cumin, paprika, smoked paprika, chili powder, cinnamon, and bay leaves are used in this easy chicken tortilla soup.
- Canned tomatoes: A small can of diced tomatoes adds color, acidity and texture to the tortilla soup. If you can find the fire-roasted ones, use them. Otherwise, get the diced tomatoes that have the least amount of ingredients listed. Another option is to substitute 3 coarsely chopped medium roma tomatoes.
- Corn Tortilla: It wouldn’t be tortilla soup without some freshly fried and crispy tortilla strips. I used store bought corn tortillas here, which are naturally gluten free. If you want to keep this recipe Paleo-friendly, you can substitute your favorite grain-free tortillas, such as those from the Siete brand.
- Gasket: Along with the fried tortilla strips, garnish the soup with thinly sliced radishes, chopped avocado, torn cilantro and a squeeze of lime.
- 6 small yellow corn tortillas, thinly sliced, substitute grain-free tortillas
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 poblano peppers, seeded and diced
- 1 hot peppers, seeded and finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 spoon dried oregano
- 1 spoon ground coriander
- 1 spoon ground cumin
- 1 spoon paprika
- 1 spoon smoked paprika
- 1 spoon chile powder
- ¼ spoon ground cinnamon
- 64 ounce Kettle & Fire Organic Chicken Broth
- 14 ounce canned diced tomatoes
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, substitute thighs or breast with bone and skin for more flavor
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ spoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 3 radishes, thinly sliced into crescents, for garnish
- 2 avocado, cut into cubes, for decoration
- ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh coriander leaves, for garnish
- 1 lime, cut into slices, to serve
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Add avocado oil to a 10-inch skillet and heat over medium-high heat until it reaches 350F. Working in batches, cook tortilla strips, tossing occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, about 4 minutes per batch. Reserving the cooking oil, transfer the tortilla strips to a tray lined with a paper towel and immediately season with a pinch of salt. Toss to coat and set aside.
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Transfer 2 tablespoons of cooking oil to a large skillet or stock pot and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, poblano pepper, and jalapeño. Season with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 60 seconds. Add oregano, coriander, cumin, paprika, smoked paprika, chile powder and cinnamon. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, around 60 seconds.
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Add Kettle & Fire Organic Chicken Broth, diced tomatoes, chicken thighs, bay leaves, and black pepper. Increase the heat to high, bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the chicken thighs are cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, about 12 minutes.
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Transfer the chicken to a bowl and use two forks to shred the meat. Return the chicken to the soup, taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
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Ladle soup into individual bowls and top with toasted tortilla strips, radishes, avocado and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing and enjoy.
Have you tried this recipe? Leave a comment below!
About the author
Hi, I’m Ronny! In 2013, after a lifetime of struggling with weight and body issues, I rehabilitated my relationship with food, lost over 40 pounds, and completely changed my life.
