This easy tortilla soup has been a staple at both of our houses and was in dire need of a makeover so you guys can all see how beautifully delicious it is! This isn’t like the thick chicken tortilla soup that they have at Chili’s; it’s brothier (is that a word?) a la Cafe Rio or Costa Vida. It’s super healthy and low in calories, full of fresh, nutritious ingredients and we actually prefer it to traditional chicken soup at our house when we’re stuffed up because of the garlic, lime, and the spiciness that the jalapenos add, helping clear our heads.
A beautifully healthy soup like this is amazing because it leaves so much room for tasty toppings. If you use and love our Taco Chicken recipe, you can easily make that one night and just cook extra to save for this soup. The directions call for marinating this chicken earlier in the day and then grilling it as you are preparing the soup. I’ve done that lots of times, but I’ve also found that I like this soup even more if I don’t use leftover chicken or bother with thinking ahead to marinade and instead add all the flavors of the chicken marinade right into the soup pot. My trick is to cut up my chicken into bitesized pieces and let it sit in the marinade, which is a flavorful mixture of lime juice and seasonings while you prep other ingredients. I’m going to show you this version in the photos and include this option in the original recipe, below!
So while your chicken is hanging out in those flavors, start by sautéing onion and jalapeno.
That will cook for just a few minutes and then you add in your chicken that was marinating.
A quick addition of some canned fire-roasted tomatoes and chicken broth are all you need to finish it up. Let it simmer for a bit for all the flavors to blend together and you’re done! You could easily add additional vegetables if you want, like corn and beans, but simple is totally fine here and it leaves a great canvas for toppings. Load those bowls with anything you like.
We love tortilla strips, cilantro, queso fresco, and avocado.
Perfectly easy weeknight meal!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
Taco Chicken
- 1 pound chicken breasts or thighs
- 2 limes
- 1 splash red wine vinegar
- 2-3 cloves garlic pressed or coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Soup
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 jalapenos membranes and seeds removed if you don't want it too spicy
- 6 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 4 cans chicken broth or 1 carton
- 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes we suggest fire roasted
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Toppings:
- tortilla strips or chips
- guacamole or avocado
- cotija cheese
- sour cream
- cilantro
- green onions
Instructions
Choose Your Method
- You can choose either the "Marinade & Grill" procedure, or the "One-Pot Method".
Marinade & Grill
- Juice the limes and combine with a couple splashes of red wine vinegar. Add garlic. Pour over chicken. This will not completely cover the chicken; just turn it occasionally as needed. Marinate for at least 4 hours, no longer than 8.
- After marinading, combine salt, chili powder, cumin, and black pepper in a small bowl. Remove chicken from marinade and rub the spices all over the chicken.
- Right before preparing soup, heat an outdoor grill (you can also use a grill pan inside. Or your broiler in your oven.) Place chicken on lightly oiled grill over medium heat and close the lid. Cook for 7 minutes, then flip the chicken, close the lid, and cook for another 7 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove from the grill, lightly cover with foil, and allow to stand a few minutes so it doesn’t lose its juiciness. Set aside.
- In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and minced jalapeno and cook a few minutes more until pepper is softened and garlic is fragrant.
- Add chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer 15-20 minutes.
- While soup is simmering, juice the limes and set aside. Start preparing the toppings as desired.
- Right before serving, add lime juice and chicken to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into the bowls and add desired toppings.
One-Pot Method
- Dice raw chicken into bite-sized pieces and combine in a bowl with marinade ingredients, including all seasonings, but omitting garlic and pepper. Let sit while you prep other ingredients.
- In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and minced jalapeno and cook a few minutes more until pepper is softened and garlic is fragrant.
- Push onion mixture to side of pan and transfer chicken to pot, including all juices/marinade. Stir and cook until chicken is mostly cooked through.
- Add chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer 15-20 minutes.
- While soup is simmering, juice the limes and set aside. Start preparing the toppings as desired.
- Right before serving, give it a try and adjust the seasonings and lime juice to your own liking. If needed, add lime juice to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into the bowls and add desired toppings.
Notes
- Nutritional information was calculated without the use of any toppings.
Nutrition
Questions & Reviews
Have this on my stove right now and it smells so good and looks so fresh – can’t WAIT to add the lime! 🙂
If you want to read a funny post about jalapeno burns, my friend had quite the experience and wrote about it here: http://thecaliforniabeals.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-near-death-experience.html
Her final solution (that actually WORKED) – peeing on her hands. Who knew?
Is this seriously only 93 calories a serving???!! Or am I doing something wrong?
That sounds about right for the soup before toppings. Awesome, right?!
Sounds about right 🙂
Absolutely delicious. I don’t have a grill, so I cook the chicken in the soup and then shredded.
My family loved it. Thanks for the recipe.
I made this tonight, it was amazing! I did make two changes, one, I added fresh corn, which added a hint of sweetness that was great. Two, I didn’t have enough lime juice so I cooked the onions and garlic in a lime riesling olive oil which was awesome and so limey! I also sauted my chicken in the same olive oil. It was fabulous!
Favorite soup of all time! I can down it by the gallon!
Thanks for the recipe inspiration. I made a few changes and I felt like I was eating at Cafe Rio!! So Yummy!!
I made this tonight and it was delicious. I had been craving chicken tortilla soup and this really hit the spot. I did use a rotisserie chicken and just shredded the meat and mixed it with the spices used for the taco chicken, then added that to the soup. That made it a really easy and quick soup to make.
Sorry, but serranos are NOT milder than jalapenos. Scoville for jalapenos is 2,000 – 5,000 and serranos are 5,000 to 15,000. Watch out if you use serranos instead of jalapenos, maybe anaheims (scoville not more than 2,5000) but definitely NOT serranos if you want less heat.
I tried this and I absolutely ADORED it! This was delicious!! You have got to try it out!
I made this for my family’s dinner two nights ago and they loved it! Even my boyfriend thought it was okay (high praise from him) although he said it had too many limes. Personally, I liked the flavor they added, but maybe I’ll cut it down to one or two so he does’t spend dinner moaning that he’s drowning in citric acid! haha 🙂
For the comments about pepper burns on hands, slather sour cream on the burned parts of your hands and wrap in towel. Change the sour cream when it starts to burn again. And then, next time wear a latex glove. From a voice of experience.
Jalepeno Pepper Burns. After being up all night with my burnt hands in a bowl of ice water, a pharmacist told me that Greased Lightning – a degreaser – would get rid of the oils from the peppers that continue to burn no matter how much ice and water you use. Gave it a shot – it worked like a charm and I finally got some much needed sleep.
If you look at the Scoville scale, it will tell you that Serrano peppers are hotter than jalapeno peppers–not the other way around.
Maybe a silly question but how much is one can of chicken broth? I buy broth in tetra pack containers so need to figure out how many cups to use?
Not silly at all! There are about 2 cups in a can of broth.
How many cups does this make? I’m trying to calculate weight watchers points and I need to know servings. For soups I like to go by cup. Any idea?
Just a guess Asia, but by looking at the recipe I would estimate 8-10 Cups.
Just made this for the family— this is the BEST tortilla soup ever!!!
Yep … I’m scared of “2 jalapeno peppers” … do you think the chopped jalapeno peppers that are in the little jar next to the minced garlic and chopped ginger in the produce section would work?
Meredith–If you’re worried about the heat, just use one and be sure to remove the seeds and membranes. I probably wouldn’t use jarred jalapeno peppers just because this soup tastes so fresh that they may impact that. But you can definitely control the heat. Hope that helps! 🙂
I used one jalapeno pepper and it was just fine. My 2 year old didn’t even notice.
This soup was fantastic! I have tried several different versions of this soup over the past 10 years and this is by far the best. I think the lime juice is what makes it rock. My husband loved it also.
you should post how to get rid of jalapeno burn on hands! owie!
So yummy! I don't even like onions at ALL, but I'm totally gobbling them up in this soup, so it must be magical. Love the kick of the jalapenos, too. I only included one (because it's all I had on hand), but I think two would definitely be better. I also tossed in some leftover corn and black beans so I could use them up, which makes it a little heartier. Wish I had made more!
This has great flavor. It's a little too brothy for our liking though, so next time I'd probably cut back to only half of the chicken broth it calls for.
Thanks for another good one!
So I always thought serranos peppers were hotter than jalepenos and didn't question it until I saw it posted in a few of your posts. I looked this up after trying to buy a mild green salsa for your yummy taquitos and found out that jalepenos are 2,500 to 8,000 on the heat unit scale compared to 10,000 to 25,000 for serranos. The smaller they are the hotter too. Anyhow, I make thai food all the time with serranos which are crazy hot and didn't want anyone to get more than they bargained for. I love your website. You gals have totally revamped my cooking to which I will be forever indebted
delish! made it tonight and i am so impressed. best tortilla/chicken soup ever! bursting with flavor. thanks!
I made this Super Bowl Sunday and it was a HUGE hit! Delicious!
This looks so tastie. I think i will have to go to the grocery to get some limes so I can make this for tonight's dinner.
This recipe sounds really yummy!
Recipe looks yummy and I will be making it very soon. Just a quick question…your recipe says serranos are milder than jalapenos, but serranos are significantly hotter than jalapenos. I like spicy food and either would be tasty to me.
I love this soup! It is even better when you add a can of drained white hominy (in my opinion!).
Delicious- and so perfect for Super Bowl weekend!
How funny…this is on my list to make this week. We'll have Taco Chicken with Black Beans on the side one day then this soup the next. Oh and I'm making some extra to also use for the Southwestern Cobb.
Actually, today I have the Chicken Caccitore in my crockpot and we had Red Beans and Rice last night.
I guess you could say its an Our Best Bites kind of week at my house!
YESSSS! i have to make this!!!