Chicken Tortilla Soup
This is my “it’s cold outside and I want something that fights back” soup. Chicken tortilla soup has warmth and attitude — smoky chipotle, fire-roasted tomatoes, cumin, and enough spice to make your nose run slightly, which is exactly what you need when it’s minus-ten in Chicago and your body is questioning all of your life choices.
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast or thighs
- 1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes 14oz
- 1 can black beans, drained 14oz
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt and pepper
Toppings
- Crispy tortilla strips, avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, cilantro, lime wedges, jalapeno slices
Method
Stovetop Method
-
Heat oil in a large pot. Sauté onion 5 minutes until soft. Add garlic, cumin, chilli powder, and smoked paprika — cook 1 minute until the spices bloom and the kitchen smells incredible. Add fire-roasted tomatoes, chipotle in adobo, and chicken broth. Nestle the chicken into the liquid. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Remove chicken, shred with two forks, and return to the pot. Add black beans, corn, and lime juice. Simmer 5 more minutes.
Crockpot Method
-
Add everything except the beans, corn, and lime juice to the crockpot. Cook on LOW 6-8 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours. Shred the chicken in the pot. Add beans, corn, and lime in the last 30 minutes.
Serve
-
Ladle into bowls. Load with toppings: crispy tortilla strips (store-bought or bake your own), diced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. The toppings are not optional — they transform a good soup into a complete, textured, extraordinary meal. The crispy strips add crunch, the avocado adds creaminess, and the lime brightens everything. Skipping toppings on tortilla soup is like eating pierogi without sour cream — technically food, emotionally incomplete.
Notes
Both are tomato-based soups. Both are comfort food staples. Zupa pomidorowa is mild, creamy, served with little star pasta — pure gentle warmth. Chicken tortilla soup is bold, smoky, spicy — warmth with attitude. I make zupa pomidorowa when the kids need gentle comfort. I make tortilla soup when I need aggressive comfort. Different moods, different soups, same healing function. Both go into heavy rotation from October through March, because Chicago winters are long and soup is the only reasonable response.
Chicken Tortilla Soup — Smoky, Spicy, Loaded With Toppings
This is my “it’s cold outside and I want something that fights back” soup. Chicken tortilla soup has warmth and attitude — smoky chipotle, fire-roasted tomatoes, cumin, and enough spice to make your nose run slightly, which is exactly what you need when it’s minus-ten in Chicago and your body is questioning all of your life choices.
The base is a rich, tomato-chile broth with shredded chicken, black beans, and corn, topped with crispy tortilla strips, avocado, sour cream, and cheese. It’s Mexican comfort food in a bowl, and it serves the same emotional purpose as zupa pomidorowa in Polish cooking — tomato-based, warming, and universally loved by every member of the family. Different spice profiles, same soup philosophy: put tomatoes in broth, add something carby, feed people you love.
Ingredients
- • 1 pound chicken breast or thighs
- • 1 can (14oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- • 1 can (14oz) black beans, drained
- • 1 cup corn kernels
- • 1 large onion, diced
- • 3 cloves garlic, minced
- • 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced
- • 4 cups chicken broth
- • 2 teaspoons cumin
- • 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- • Juice of 1 lime
- • Salt and pepper
Toppings
- • Crispy tortilla strips, avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, cilantro, lime wedges, jalapeno slices
How to Make It
Stovetop Method
Heat oil in a large pot. Sauté onion 5 minutes until soft. Add garlic, cumin, chilli powder, and smoked paprika — cook 1 minute until the spices bloom and the kitchen smells incredible. Add fire-roasted tomatoes, chipotle in adobo, and chicken broth. Nestle the chicken into the liquid. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Remove chicken, shred with two forks, and return to the pot. Add black beans, corn, and lime juice. Simmer 5 more minutes.
Crockpot Method
Add everything except the beans, corn, and lime juice to the crockpot. Cook on LOW 6-8 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours. Shred the chicken in the pot. Add beans, corn, and lime in the last 30 minutes.
Serve
Ladle into bowls. Load with toppings: crispy tortilla strips (store-bought or bake your own), diced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. The toppings are not optional — they transform a good soup into a complete, textured, extraordinary meal. The crispy strips add crunch, the avocado adds creaminess, and the lime brightens everything. Skipping toppings on tortilla soup is like eating pierogi without sour cream — technically food, emotionally incomplete.
Zupa Pomidorowa vs. Chicken Tortilla Soup
Both are tomato-based soups. Both are comfort food staples. Zupa pomidorowa is mild, creamy, served with little star pasta — pure gentle warmth. Chicken tortilla soup is bold, smoky, spicy — warmth with attitude. I make zupa pomidorowa when the kids need gentle comfort. I make tortilla soup when I need aggressive comfort. Different moods, different soups, same healing function. Both go into heavy rotation from October through March, because Chicago winters are long and soup is the only reasonable response.
Tips
💡 Pro Tips
✓ Fire-roasted tomatoes are non-negotiable. Regular diced tomatoes work technically but fire-roasted add a smoky depth that’s essential to the soup’s character.
✓ Chipotle in adobo controls the heat. 1 pepper = mild-medium. 2 = medium. 3 = spicy. Start with 1 for a family-friendly version.
✓ Shred the chicken IN the broth. It stays moist and absorbs flavour. Shredding on a cutting board lets it dry out.
✓ Lime juice at the end. Acid brightens the whole soup. Without lime, it tastes flat.
Variations
• Vegetarian: Skip chicken, add extra beans and diced sweet potato. Still hearty, still smoky.
• Creamy version: Stir in 1/2 cup of cream or cream cheese at the end. Richer, more indulgent.
• With birria broth: Use leftover birria consomé as the base instead of chicken broth. Mexican soup inception. Deeply, unreasonably good.
How to Store
Fridge 5 days. Freezes beautifully for 3 months (without toppings). The soup actually improves overnight as the chipotle mellows and the spices deepen. Add fresh toppings each time you serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are chipotle peppers in adobo?
Smoked jalapenos packed in a tangy tomato-based sauce. They come in small cans in the Mexican aisle. One can has 6-8 peppers — use 1-2 per recipe and store the rest in a jar in the fridge for weeks. They add smokiness and moderate heat to soups, marinades, and sauces. Once you discover them, they’ll appear in your cooking constantly. I go through about one can per week.
The Cold-Weather Soup Rotation
From October through March, soup appears in our house 3-4 times per week. My rotation has evolved over the years into a strategic system: rosol on Mondays (gentle, familiar, resets the week), zupa pomidorowa or this chicken tortilla soup on Wednesdays (tomato-based, warming), and either miso ramen or pho on Fridays (Asian broths for the adventurous end of the week). The kids don’t realise they’re eating four different cuisines’ comfort soups in one week. They just know that soup happens a lot when it’s cold, and they’ve stopped complaining about it because every single one of these soups is genuinely delicious. My strategy is working. Babcia’s “soup fixes everything” philosophy, applied globally.
Can I add rice instead of tortilla strips?
Absolutely — add cooked rice to individual bowls when serving. It turns the soup into a heartier, more complete meal. Some people add rice AND tortilla chips because they want carb variety, and I respect that energy deeply.
Variations
• Turkey tortilla soup: Use leftover Thanksgiving turkey instead of chicken. Post-holiday soup that uses leftovers brilliantly.
• Seafood tortilla soup: Add shrimp in the last 5 minutes of cooking. The smoky broth with sweet shrimp is stunning.
• White chicken tortilla soup: Skip the tomatoes and chipotle. Use cream, green chillies, and cumin for a milder, creamier version. My daughter’s preferred version because “it’s not red” — the logic of children continues to mystify me.
More From Polish Mom
Żurek (Sour Rye Soup) · Bigos (Hunter’s Stew) · Rosół (Polish Chicken Noodle Soup) · Zupa Pomidorowa (Polish Tomato Soup)