Tortilla Soup is one of those recipes that I have seen about a million different versions of from a Tex Mex style of being loaded with beans and corn to a more traditional style with lovely chunks of vegetables along with some soft cheeses. My take on my tortilla soup is to have a delightful tomato broth that packs a ton of flavor along with zesty lime and cilantro to finish. Top this soup with crushed tortillas, creamy avocado, and any other topping you choose and you’ll be in for a fresh and flavorful soup you’ll enjoy time and time again.

Tortilla Soup
Description
Tortilla Soup is one of my all time favorite soups to make and eat. This soup is loaded with so many delicious textures and flavors that you’re able to get all in one bite. If you take a few minutes to scour the internet for a tortilla soup recipe or even order some from a restaurant, you’ll find that the recipes vary wildly. Some are heavily tomato based and loaded with Tex Mex ingredients like beans and corn, while some stick to a rustic recipe with large chunks of delicious vegetables. For my version, I focus on a fragrant and light broth that highlights tender and flavorful chicken along with a variety of toppings. This soup starts with searing well seasoned chicken thighs for a good and solid flavor base. One step I almost always include in all of my recipes is salting my proteins and letting them sit for an appropriate amount of time. Salting your meat in advance creates a juicer, more tender, and flavorful result by drawing out moisture and having it go back into the meat. Taking an extra 10-15 to season ahead is a must do step, you will definitely be rewarded with a better result. Once the chicken is seared to a golden brown, it takes a time out on a plate while you can begin to work on your aromatics. As with most soups, onions make up a huge part of the flavor base in this recipe. What’s even better is that as the onions cook, they begin to soften and pull up all that delicious flavor you will have on the bottom of your dutch oven from searing your chicken. After a few minutes, you’ll be able to add your tomato and garlic and cook them until the tomatoes are breaking down. The breakdown of the tomatoes is what gives your broth that delightful tomato flavor which, to me, is the highlight of this broth. After your tomatoes are broken down, the hard work is done and it’s time to add your broth and chicken back to the pot for your final simmer. Once your chicken is cooked through, it’s time to take it out one last time so it can get shredded up and returned to your soup. Now that everything is done cooking, add your final layer of flavor: lime and cilantro and your soup is done! I like to think of the main part of the soup as your flavor base and your toppings as the star of the show. Along with a handful of broken tortillas, you can add anything from cheese, sour cream, avocado, jalapenos, pickled onions, radishes, just use your imagination and enjoy! If you’re finding yourself short on time, this is a great use for the ultimate grocery store hero, the rotisserie chicken. Simply skip the first steps and go right to sauteeing your aromatics and tomatoes and add your store bought chicken in at the end to warm though. Not only is this soup delicious, it can also be a great time saver in a pinch. Speaking of being in a pinch, did you know about that time we found an angry raccoon in our tent while camping? It was early fall and it was that time of year for our family to embark on our annual camping trip to the mountains. Everything went according to plan and we made it to our campsite and got set up without a hitch. After a full day of canoe trips and hiking, it was time to retire back to our site for the evening for a campfire and dinner. As we all sat around the fire, exhausted from our adventures that day, we heard some rustling coming from the tent. At first, we brushed it off as the wind, but it soon became louder and more frequent. Against my better judgement, I decided to go take a peek. Armed with a sticky campfire skewer, I slowly unzippered our tent only to find a frantic raccoon who had just found my son's candy stash. The confused and sugar crazed raccoon was running from corner to corner and up all sides of the tent in a total frenzy! I wasn’t sure who to be more cautious of, the frenzied raccoon or my son who was furious that his stash had been pilfered. The situation was not good, but we knew we had to come up with a solution in a pinch. With our limited resources, we decided to open the tent and lure the racoon out with a trail of marshmallows. Lucky for us, the raccoon wasn’t done with its sugar binge and greedily followed the sweet trail we had made and it left our tent. We zipped up our tent as tight as it would allow us and all let out a collective sigh of relief. After that incident, I was even more hungry and exhausted than before. It was a good thing that we had a hot and delicious kettle of Tortilla Soup ready by the campfire.
Ingredients
Topping suggetions (choose your own adventure)
Instructions
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Start by seasoning your chicken thighs. Mix your salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and paprika together well and sprinkle evenly over your chicken. Allow your thighs to sit for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors settle in.Â
If you are looking for a quick and easy dinner, you can always skip this step and opt for rotissierie chicken.
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Preheat your olive oil in a dutch oven and add your chicken thighs cooking until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes per side. Once your chicken is browned, set aside. Â
Your chicken does not need to be cooked through at this point. It will finish cooking in the broth.
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Once you've removed your chicken, add your onions to your pot and cook until translucent on the edges. Be sure to stir your onions well to pick up any brown bits leftover from cooking your chicken.Â
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Add your tomatoes and garlic to your pan. Stir frequently and cook until your tomatoes are starting to break down, about 3-5 minutes.
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Add your broth, stir well, and bring to a simmer. Once your broth is simmering, add your chicken thighs back into the pot and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Â
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Remove your chicken from the pan and shred with two forks. Add your 1/2 cup of cilantro and lime juice to the pot along with your chicken and any juices. Serve immdiately with your desired toppings. Enjoy!
Some of my suggested toppings for this soup are: crushed tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, pickled or fresh jalapenos, or avocados.