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Chicken Tortilla Soup

A brick-red broth built from blended charred tomatoes, onion and chiles, simmered with chicken thighs and finished with crisp homemade tortilla strips, avocado, lime and cotija.

Prep
20 min
Cook
40 min
Makes
Serves 6
Jump to the recipe
A bowl of chicken tortilla soup with tortilla chips, lime, onion and cabbage around it
Photo: Den Romi McRod / Pexels

Most chicken tortilla soup is chicken soup with chili powder and a handful of chips on top. The Mexican original, sopa de tortilla, is something else: a smooth, brick-red broth made by blending charred tomatoes, onion, garlic and dried chiles, then frying that purée in a little oil until it darkens before the stock goes in. The frying step is the one that matters. It cooks out the raw tomato taste and concentrates the sugars, and it is why the broth tastes deep and toasty rather than thin and sour.

Charring the vegetables first builds the smoky base. Halved tomatoes, a thick slice of onion and unpeeled garlic cloves go into a hot, dry skillet until they blister and blacken in patches. No oil, no stirring for the first few minutes. The black spots are flavor, not burn. Peel the garlic once it is soft and everything goes into the blender.

For chiles, a single dried ancho gives a mild, raisiny warmth and a deep red color. Toast it for a few seconds in the same skillet until it smells fragrant, then soak it in hot water for ten minutes so it softens enough to blend. A chipotle in adobo is the shortcut for smoke and heat; one is plenty for most tables.

Chicken thighs simmer directly in the broth, which seasons the meat and enriches the soup at the same time. They stay tender and shred easily after twenty minutes, where breasts tend to dry and go stringy. Pull them out, shred them with two forks, and return them to the pot.

The tortilla strips are worth making yourself. Corn tortillas cut into thin strips, tossed with oil and salt and baked until crisp, taste fresher than bagged chips and hold up well in the hot broth. You can also fry them in a skillet for the most authentic crunch. Either way, add them to each bowl just before serving, never to the pot.

The toppings are what make the bowl. Cubed avocado, crumbled cotija or shredded Monterey Jack, a spoon of sour cream or Mexican crema, chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime. The lime is essential; the acidity wakes up the rich broth. Set everything out and let people build their own.

Black beans and corn are common additions in American versions and make the soup heartier. Stir them in for the last five minutes so they heat through without breaking down.

For the rest of the table, baked chicken chimichangas use the same shredded chicken in a crisp shell. Turkey chili is the thicker, beanier bowl, and Mexican rice makes it a full meal.

Tortilla soup in a clay bowl with tortilla strips
Photo: Allan González / Pexels

Chicken tortilla soup, to print

A brick-red broth built from blended charred tomatoes, onion and chiles, simmered with chicken thighs and finished with crisp homemade tortilla strips, avocado, lime and cotija.

Charred broth, crisp strips and the toppings bar

For the broth

  • 4 Roma tomatoes, halved
  • 1 medium white onion, half cut into a thick slice and half diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
  • 1 dried ancho chile, stemmed and seeded
  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (optional)
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano, Mexican if possible
  • 6 cups (1.4 L) low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1½ lb (680 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) black beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
  • 1 cup (150 g) corn kernels, frozen or canned (optional)
  • 2 tbsp lime juice

For the tortilla strips

  • 6 corn tortillas, cut into ¼ in (6 mm) strips
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • ¼ tsp fine salt

To serve

  • 1 large avocado, diced
  • ½ cup (60 g) cotija, crumbled, or shredded Monterey Jack
  • Sour cream or Mexican crema
  • Chopped fresh cilantro
  • Lime wedges

Char, blend, fry the purée, simmer

  1. 1 Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Toss the tortilla strips with the oil and salt on a baking sheet and bake 10–12 minutes, stirring once, until golden and crisp. Set aside.
  2. 2 Heat a large dry skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes cut side down, the onion slice and the garlic cloves. Cook, turning occasionally, until blackened in spots and soft, 8–10 minutes. Toast the ancho in the skillet for 20 seconds per side, then soak it in 1 cup (240 ml) hot water for 10 minutes.
  3. 3 Peel the garlic. Blend the tomatoes, onion slice, garlic, ancho and its soaking water, and the chipotle, if using, until completely smooth.
  4. 4 Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook until soft, 4–5 minutes. Add the cumin and oregano for 30 seconds.
  5. 5 Pour in the tomato purée. It will spatter, so stand back. Cook, stirring often, until it darkens and thickens, about 5 minutes.
  6. 6 Add the broth, chicken thighs and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently, partly covered, for 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
  7. 7 Lift out the chicken, shred it with two forks and return it to the pot. Add the beans and corn, if using, and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and taste for salt.
  8. 8 Ladle into bowls and top with the tortilla strips, avocado, cheese, a spoon of sour cream, cilantro and a lime wedge.

Rotisserie shortcut, fried strips and slow cookers

  • Shortcut: use 3 cups (420 g) shredded rotisserie chicken and one 14.5 oz (411 g) can of fire-roasted tomatoes instead of charring fresh ones. Add the chicken with the beans.
  • Fried strips: fry the tortilla strips in ½ in (1 cm) of oil at 350°F (175°C) for 1–2 minutes until golden, then drain on paper towels.
  • Slow cooker: blend and fry the purée as in steps 2–5, then cook it with the broth and chicken on low for 6 hours. Shred the chicken and add the beans and corn for the last 30 minutes.
  • Make ahead: the soup keeps 4 days in the refrigerator and freezes for 3 months. Store the strips and toppings separately.
  • Spice level: leave out the chipotle for a mild soup, or add a second one for real heat.

Thin broth, bagged chips and how hot it is

The tomato base was not cooked down. Charring the vegetables and frying the blended purée until it darkens are what give the broth its depth.

Yes, though they soften faster in the broth. Add them right before eating, or crush them over the top.

This version is mildly warm. The ancho is mostly sweet and smoky; the heat comes from the chipotle, which you can leave out.

Yes. Simmer them for 15–18 minutes until they reach 165°F (74°C), then shred. They will be a little drier than thighs.