The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup

Jill4man's Note:

I'm in love with this soup!! A very good friend of mine made this for me recently and I fell in love. I'm very picky about my Tortilla Soup and this by far the best ever. She makes hers in the crock pot and I have to agree, that it's easy and tastes just wonderful!! Whatever you do, DO NOT skip the garnishes! They are the icing on the cake! UPDATE April 2010: Obviously I've made this so many times I never even look at the recipe anymore! But I wanted to add some variations that I play around with that are great. Like many reviewers black beans and corn are great additions. Sometimes I add them to the leftovers (if there are any :-) so that is feels like something new the next day! I have also made it several times with shredded pork which turns it into a pork carnitas type of soup. If you like it on the spicy and smoke side buy a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and mince up one or two and add it. And lastly, a little swizzle of half and half or heavy cream just minutes before serving makes it a creamy tortilla soup that is wonderful and it is also a good way to tone down the heat if it got away from you...

• Total Time: 6 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 6 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 (46 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded (I use rotisserie from the deli)
• 2 anaheim chilies, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 -4 large tomatoes, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce (I use the chipotle flavor)
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper (optional)

Garnish

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, pulled from stem
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 2 cups crushed tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Throw everything except the garnishes in your crock pot and let it cook on high for 5-6 hours.
2. Dress with garnishes and give it a squeeze of lime (a must:-) and you're good to go!
3. Enjoy!
4. If you are not using a crock pot, saute the garlic and onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil before adding the remaining ingredients.
5. Simmer for at least an hour so that the flavors mix together.

Reviews

[jlowe1964]

Can you say addicted??? Delicious as it is, but I substitued 1 can of red enchilada sauce for the tomato sauce and liked it even better. I am a tortilla soup connoisseur and this recipe way surpassed my expectations. Also fed it to my picky boyfriend and he went back for 2nds and 3rds.

[Kat Renee]

This was good. I enjoy the taste, but next time I will cut out the tomato products. I find that I prefer a brothy soup rather than a tomato soup (even though I love tomatoes!), which is something I didn't realize until I made it.

[Debikay22]

This is the closest I've found to what we miss in San Antonio. I followed the recipe exactly, including the chipolte Tabasco sauce, (minus the optional chipolte pepper). Don't forget the cilantro!

I also cut flour tortillas into strips using a pizza slicer and fry them instead of using tortilla chips from a bag. It makes a HUGE difference.