Chicken Tortilla Soup

This Chicken Tortilla Soup is absolute fire, and I’m not talking about the fire roasted tomatoes. It’s super flavorful and easy to make!

If I see Chicken Tortilla Soup on a menu, I will be ordering it, that’s for sure! It’s one of my absolute favorite things to eat. There are many different variations, and I enjoy them all. You can find them brothy or thicker and somewhat creamy – more of a puree. For my recipe below, I chose to make it brothy.

I love this dish because it can be served in smaller portions as an absolutely fabulous appetizer, or in larger bowls as a main. It’s filling, with loads of chicken, black beans, and hominy. It’s loaded with flavor from garlic, tomato paste, aji amarillo, and wonderful spices.

Chicken tortilla soup would not be the amazing dish that it is without the toppings, right?! You can really add whatever you’d like or whatever you have in your refrigerator. But obviously the most important thing is the crispy tortillas. I like making them fresh, taking corn tortillas and frying them myself. But you can always use store-bought tortilla chips, too! In addition to the tortillas, I love to add fresh diced avocado, scallions, shredded cheese, fresh lime, and thinly sliced jalapeños, for some added spice. For those of you who don’t love spicy, don’t add those! Maybe a dollop of sour cream would be better?

Ingredient Notes:

• Cumin – I haven’t been able to find a better quality cumin than this one, from Burlap & Barrel. While it’s not an issue for me, it comes as whole cumin seeds, so you’ll have to grind them before using. Luckily. spice grinders are not expensive, and they double as coffee grinders. I like this one here.
• Smoked Paprika – Again, my brand preference for spices is Burlap & Barrel. Every spice they make is excellent and I only use their spices. Their smoked paprika happens to be absolute perfection.
• Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chilies – You should be able to find this in any grocery store. If you can’t find one with green chilies added, look for just fire roasted tomatoes, and add 1 tablespoon of minced jalapeno (for a 4 person portion) with it.
• Aji Amarillo Paste – This flavor bomb of a jar is my obsessed and secret weapon. This is my favorite brand, it lasts forever in the fridge. I love using it for so many recipes, including my Aji Verde Sauce and my Chicken Empanadas.
• Chicken Thighs – So much better than chicken breasts. But, if you hate chicken thighs, feel free to use bone-in, skin-on breasts. For 3 thighs, use 2 breasts.
• Hominy – I like using hominy over corn here. It’s a bit more filling and I like the texture. Plus, it’s easier to digest than corn. However, if you want to use corn instead, feel free to substitute.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine Latin

Servings 4

Equipment

• 1 Large Pot
• 1 Large Pan
• Slotted Spoon
• Paper Towels

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• Avocado oil
• ½ medium onion peeled and diced
• Kosher salt
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 3 scallions white and light greens parts thinly sliced into rounds, dark greens thinly sliced lengthwise into matchsticks
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 14.5 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 3 tablespoons aji Amarillo paste
• 3 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
• 4 corn tortillas cut into ¼ inch strips
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz. can hominy, drained and rinsed
• Avocado diced, to taste
• Lime wedges for squeezing
• Other Toppings (optional): Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend, sliced jalapeno, sour cream

Instructions

 

• Heat a drizzle of avocado oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and a pinch of Kosher salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-7 minutes, until softened and just starting to brown.
• Add garlic and scallion whites and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute.
• Add another drizzle of avocado oil, the tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, coriander, and dried oregano. Cook, stirring constantly for about 45 seconds, until fragrant and tomato paste has darkened in color.
• Add chicken stock, can of fire roasted tomatoes, and aji Amarillo paste and stir. Then add chicken thighs. Bring to a simmer, then turn heat to low and cook for 1 hour.
• While the chicken soup cooks, fill a large pan halfway up with avocado oil (or another neutral oil, for frying) and heat over medium-high heat. When hot, add tortilla strips and fry until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Transfer chicken thighs from the soup to a cutting board and raise the heat to medium-high. Boil for 10 minutes, allowing the broth to reduce. Meanwhile, discard the chicken skin and bones and shred the chicken meat. After 10 minutes, return shredded chicken to the soup and add the black beans and hominy.
• Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes, until hominy has softened, and broth has thickened slightly. Remove from heat and season generously with Kosher salt, to taste.
• Divide into bowls and top with diced avocado, scallion greens, and tortilla strips. Serve with a lime wedge on the side, for squeezing into the soup. Sprinkle with other optional toppings, if desired.

Notes

Chicken Tortilla Soup can be stored in an airtight container (without the crispy tortillas, avocado, and scallion greens) in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a pot over the stove until hot. Taste and re-season with additional Kosher salt, if needed.

Keyword beans, celiac, gluten free, hominy, Spicy

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