Print Friendly

This recipe has a special place in my heart, it is the first one I created completely from scratch and actually wrote down and shared with others.  I’ve been creating in my kitchen for years but it has only been in the last 1-2 years that I have recorded and shared my recipes.  It is fun to create something delicious and then giving the directions to others so they can enjoy it too!  It makes me feel so fulfilled to provide delicious and easy recipes to others so they can provide for their family in a healthy way.

I think I could eat this soup once a week and be extremely happy!  It has a wonderful blend of flavors and it simple to make.  Everytime it sits on our dinner table Brandon says, “We should have this more often!”

This recipe is one of my favorite ways to use up leftover chicken.  Which makes me think…we should have chicken sometime soon…

  • 2 Tbs. butter
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/2 red pepper, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, pressed or finely diced
  • handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
  • 2 cups cooked chicken, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano
  • 1 Tbs. cumin
  • 1 Tbs. chili powder
  • 2-4 Tbs. flour (depending on desired thickness, this could be easily left out and not missed to make it GF)
  • 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 2 quarts chicken stock
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • avocado, cheese, cilantro, lime slices, and corn tortillas for topping

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Melt the butter in a stock pot over medium heat and add chopped celery, carrots, onion and red pepper.  Sauté for 3-5 minutes, stirring often.  Add the garlic and cilantro and cook for 1 minute.  Mix in chicken and spices stirring over medium heat until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.

Add tomato sauce and stir until thickened.  Once the mixture is thick add chicken broth and corn.

Simmer uncovered at least 30 minutes, check for salt before serving (I add about 1 tsp.)  I like to use a hand blender and puree slightly before serving (3-5 seconds) just to break up some of the chunks and make it a bit thicker, but if you don’t have one of these serving this “chunky” works just fine and tastes great too!

Serve topped with sliced avocado, grated cheese, cilantro, lime juice, and fried corn tortilla strips* (or corn chips).

*I think these are one of the keys to making this soup SO good.  Cover a small frying pan with canola oil, cut 3-5 corn tortillas into strips and pan fry in small batches, 2-3 minutes.  Drain oil on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt while they are still hot! Place onto of each bowl of soup.