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  • Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup

    2 votes
    Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup
    Prep time:
    Cook time:
    Servings: 6
    by Rachel L. Fretz
    1 recipe
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    I never really loved Chicken Tortilla Soup until I tried the one near my office...then all of a sudden, I was hooked. I tried several recipes, and this one was the closest and yummiest one I've ever made. I usually don't have "leftover" cooked chicken, so I boil boneless/skinless chicken breasts in 5 cups water with 2 cubes of chicken bullion...that way I get both the chicken and the broth for this recipe. Also, there's a lot of 'simmer' time in this recipe, so there's no need to have everything all measured and cut before you start, except the onion and garlic. Enjoy (NOTE: Healthier variation notes below recipe):

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup vegetable oil (for frying tortilla strips)
    • + 2 tsp vegetable oil (for veggies)
    • 1 medium onion chopped
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced/crushed
    • 1/2 cup diced bell peppers (I like red and yellow for color and flavor, but green works too)
    • 4 cups Chicken stock
    • 15 oz can Tomato puree (Crushed Tomatoes works just fine too)
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/4 tsp pepper
    • 1 tspn sugar
    • 1 tspn chili powder
    • 1 tspn Worcestershire sauce
    • 1/2 tspn hot sauce of choice
    • 4 tbls flour
    • 1/2 cup water
    • 1 lb. cooked chicken
    • 1/4 cup sour cream
    • 6 oz. cheddar cheese, cut in 1" cubes + 2 oz. shredded
    • 5 corn tortillas
    • Fresh Cilantro, hot sauce, minced jalapeno and slices or chunks of Avocado for garnish

    Directions

    1. Heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add onions, and garlic. Cook until fragrant then add bell peppers. Stir occasionally and cook until onions are translucent (A little brown on the edges of the veggies adds flavor, so you don't want to stir continuously).
    2. Add chicken stock, tomato puree, salt, pepper, sugar, chili powder and Worcestershire and stir to incorporate.
    3. While you are waiting for the soup to boil, set your frying pan w/ 1 cup oil over medium heat. Once the soup boils, reduce heat and simmer for 20 mins.
    4. Stack the tortillas and cut them in half, then cut 1/2" strips. Once the frying oil is hot, place about 1 tortilla's worth of strips in the oil and fry until golden brown. Repeat until all the strips are cooked and season with a little salt/chili powder.
    5. In a small bowl, make a slurry mixing the flour and water with a fork or whisk until there are no lumps. Whisk the slurry into the soup, and increase the heat to medium and continue to stir gently for 30 seconds. As soon as the soup starts to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
    6. While the soup is simmering, shred or dice your cooked chicken then add it to the soup, simmering for an additional 5 minutes.
    7. Add half of the sour cream and all of the cubes of cheese and stir until all of the cheese is melted in, this takes about 5-10 minutes...don't worry if the cheese isn't fully melted, no one is going to complain about getting a small ball of melty cheese in their soup :-)
    8. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a tspn of sour cream, a small stack of tortillas, a sprinkle of shredded cheese, a few sprigs of fresh cilantro, and a slice or few chunks of avocado. I usually put the remaining garnish and any jalapenos and hot sauce on the table so people can adjust to their taste.
    9. HEALTHIER/lighter version of the soup, omit the slurry (step#5) and the stirred in cheese/sour cream (step #7). You can also add up to 2 cups of additional veggies, i.e. chayote, yellow crooked neck or Mexican squash, carrots, celery etc. Additionally, instead of frying the tortilla strips, you can bake them on a cookie sheet, using a baking oil spray, lightly spray the tortilla strips and bake till crispy at 350 degrees (about 10 minutes). If you don't have baking spray, toss the tortilla strips in 1/2 tsp oil, then bake.

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