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This is my favorite chicken tortilla soup recipe! I’m not exaggerating when I say it is super easy to make. Chicken tortilla soup is yummy no matter the season, but on a cold winter day it will truly warm your insides.
As I write this, sleet is steadily falling; the ground and streets in northwest Arkansas are blanketed in at least an inch of frozen precipitation. (Second week in a row of winter weather for us.) If I could make a big pot of this soup for our city employees who have been working so hard to clear streets, I would!
You should know this recipe was given to me by my Dallas friend, Gale Green. Sometimes I will add a few black beans in when I have leftovers. Also, I often substitute Hatch green chilies and tomatoes for cans of Rotel. Hatch chilies have so much flavor!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 48 ounces of chicken broth
- 2 shredded chicken breasts grilled or roasted
- 2 cans diced tomatoes and green chilies like Rotel
- 1 can whole kernel corn drained
- 1 bunch cilantro chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- Toppings:
- tortilla chips the thinner & crispier the chips the better...
- avocado diced
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
Instructions
- Add chicken broth, tomatoes/chilis, corn, cilantro, salt and pepper to dutch oven and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add chicken and simmer an additional 30 minutes.
- Add broken tortilla chips to bowl. (This is a great way to use up the broken pieces in the bottom of a bag of chips.) Pour soup over chips to soften. Top with cheese, avocado and sour cream if desired.
This recipe makes 6-8 large servings and is a great reason to pull out your dutch oven. Muy delicioso!
Tip: If you don’t have herb scissors, you might want to get a pair. They sure make cutting herbs easy!
A word about cilantro…
Oh goodness. I’m not sure any other herb is quite so controversial. People either love it or despise it, right?
Studies show there is a genetic variant that results in some people having a downright aversion to it. If you are one of those people, I suppose you could make this soup without cilantro, but I don’t know how it would taste. Possibly a spicy chicken soup?
Anyway, cilantro is thought to be one of the oldest herbs in existence, with seeds found in Egypt dating 8,000 years ago. Cilantro seeds, by the way, are called coriander. Cilantro has health benefits such as antioxidants and essential nutrients. Again, if you can’t tolerate the taste, you can easily seek out nutrients elsewhere.
Do you like cilantro? If not, how do you get your chicken tortilla soup fix???
Also, if you are thinking about adding cilantro to your herb garden this spring, this article on herb gardening from the University of Arkansas Extension Service is very helpful!
Stay warm, everyone.
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
Love your Sunday letters! Thank you❤️
Thank you!
Well I’ll be… Never knew cilantro seeds were coriander!