Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

John Kanell from Preppy Kitchen shares one of those soul-warming recipes that instantly takes you back to cozy family dinners. His chicken tortilla soup brings together all those wonderful Mexican flavors we love, with crispy homemade tortilla strips that add the perfect crunch to every spoonful.

This recipe became popular because it’s the kind of hearty, flavor-packed soup that turns any chilly evening into something special. John walks us through each step in his YouTube video, from making those golden tortilla strips to building layers of flavor that’ll have your whole family asking for seconds. We’re sharing this recap so you can easily follow along and create this comforting bowl of goodness in your own kitchen.

Key Takeaways

• Homemade crispy tortilla strips make all the difference and only take about a minute to cook
• The soup base builds flavor by sautéing onions, jalapeños, and garlic before adding broth and other ingredients
• Shredded chicken gets stirred back into the finished soup along with plenty of fresh garnishes like avocado, cilantro, and sour cream

Getting Your Kitchen Ready

Must-Have Kitchen Basics

John starts this cozy soup with ingredients you probably already have tucked away in your pantry. The beauty of this recipe is how it transforms simple staples into something that’ll warm your family right up on those chilly evenings.

The Foundation Ingredients:

• Yellow corn tortillas (4 tortillas) – These create those wonderful crispy strips that make every spoonful special
• Olive oil (1/4 cup plus extra for frying) – John uses this for both the tortilla strips and sautéing
• Chicken broth (4 cups) – The heart of any good soup
• Black beans (15 oz can) – Drain and rinse these first
• Frozen corn (1 1/2 cups) – No need to thaw ahead of time
• Crushed tomatoes (28 oz can) – Adds that rich, tomatoey base

Spice Cabinet Heroes:

Spice	Amount	Notes
Ground cumin	1 teaspoon	Brings that warm, earthy flavor
Chili powder	1 1/2 teaspoons	Use mild or hot based on your family’s taste
Salt	1/2 teaspoon	Start here, add more later
Black pepper	1/2 teaspoon	Freshly cracked works best

John mentions how his mom, who’s from Mexico, would never think twice about handling jalapeños without gloves. But for those of us who learned the hard way about touching our eyes afterward, gloves are definitely your friend!

Picking the Best Fresh Items

The fresh ingredients make all the difference in bringing this soup to life. John keeps things simple but flavorful with just a few key picks.

Your Shopping List:

• Chicken breasts (1 pound) – John suggests you could easily bump this up to 1 1/2 or even 2 pounds if your family loves extra chicken
• Medium to large onion (1 onion) – This gets diced and forms the flavor base
• Fresh garlic (3 cloves) – John’s tired of mincing and swears by his garlic press
• Jalapeños (1-2 peppers) – Seed and dice these, wear gloves if they’re particularly spicy

A little kitchen wisdom: John shares that you should never buy pre-minced garlic from the store. Fresh garlic pressed through a garlic press gives you all that flavor without the tedious chopping. It’s one of those small kitchen tools that can change your cooking life.

For the Perfect Finishing Touches: When you’re at the store, grab some extras for garnishing. John gets excited thinking about all the ways to top this soup:

• Fresh avocados for slicing
• Sour cream
• Fresh cilantro (John says you need “oodles” of it)
• Scallions or green onions
• California olives if that’s your thing

The wonderful thing about this recipe is how forgiving it is. You can use fresh corn instead of frozen, cook your own beans from scratch, or adjust the spice level to make it perfect for your family’s taste buds.

Making Crispy Tortilla Strips

Cutting Techniques for Perfect Crunch

John starts with four yellow corn tortillas for this recipe. He cuts them into quarter-inch strips, which creates that wonderful crunch that makes chicken tortilla soup so special.

The strips need to be even so they cook at the same rate. Use a sharp knife and keep your cuts consistent. Your knuckles work great as a guide to keep your fingers safe while chopping.

Pro tip: Double the tortilla amount if you’re feeding a family. Everyone always wants more strips, and they make perfect snacking while you cook!

Cooking and Seasoning for Best Taste

Heat a quarter cup of olive oil in your Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the oil gets nice and hot, add the tortilla strips.

The strips cook fast – just about 60 seconds total. Stir them occasionally while they crisp up. You’ll know they’re ready when they turn golden and crunchy.

Key steps for perfect strips:

• Cook for exactly one minute
• Stir every 20-30 seconds
• Watch carefully so they don’t burn
• Transfer immediately when done

As soon as they finish cooking, move the strips to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle them with about an eighth teaspoon of salt while they’re still warm. This helps the salt stick better and adds that perfect finishing touch.

The salt brings out all the corn flavor and balances the richness of the soup. Don’t skip this step – it makes all the difference in taste!

Building Your Soup’s Flavorful Foundation

Cooking the Aromatics Until Golden

John starts by heating a quarter cup of olive oil in his Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the oil gets nice and hot, he adds diced onion and jalapeño to the pan.

He stresses the importance of stirring frequently so the onions don’t burn. Nobody wants bitter, burnt onions ruining their soup!

For the garlic, John uses his garlic press instead of mincing by hand. He presses about three cloves right into the pan with the other vegetables. This saves time and still gives you that fresh garlic flavor.

Pro tip: Don’t use pre-minced garlic from a jar. Fresh garlic makes all the difference in taste.

The vegetables need to cook for about four minutes total until the onion becomes soft and fragrant.

Combining Liquid and Main Ingredients

Once the aromatics are perfectly softened, John pours in four cups of chicken broth. The liquid should cover everything nicely.

Next come the hearty ingredients that make this soup so satisfying:

• One 15-ounce can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
• One and a half cups of frozen corn
• One 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• One pound of chicken breasts

John mentions you can easily use one and a half or even two pounds of chicken if your family loves extra protein. He also notes that cooking dried beans yourself or using fresh corn works perfectly fine too.

Creating the Perfect Spice Mixture

The seasoning blend brings all those wonderful Mexican flavors together. John adds each spice carefully:

Spice Blend:

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1½ teaspoons chili powder (hot or mild)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

He starts with half a teaspoon of salt since you can always add more later. It’s much easier to add seasoning than to fix an over-salted soup.

After everything gets stirred together, the soup needs to come to a rolling boil. Once it’s bubbling away, John reduces the heat to medium-low for a gentle simmer. This allows the chicken to cook through completely while all those flavors meld together beautifully.

The soup simmers until it reduces down quite a bit. John explains that all that steam escaping is just flavorless water leaving behind concentrated, delicious flavor in every spoonful.

Cooking and Shredding the Chicken

Once all the ingredients are nestled together in the Dutch oven, it’s time to work some kitchen magic. The soup needs to come to a rolling boil first, then get turned down to a gentle simmer. This is where patience pays off big time.

Simmering to Tender Perfection

John reduces the heat to medium-low once the soup starts bubbling. The chicken breasts need to cook all the way through while the flavors meld together beautifully.

During this simmering time, something wonderful happens. All that excess water evaporates away as steam, leaving behind concentrated flavor in every spoonful. The soup reduces down quite a bit from where it started.

Key simmering tips:

• Stir occasionally to prevent sticking
• Keep the heat at medium-low for a gentle simmer
• Don’t rush this step – the chicken needs time to cook through
• Watch as the soup thickens and becomes glossy

The reduction process makes all the difference. What starts as a thinner mixture transforms into a rich, flavor-packed soup that coats the spoon. If you prefer a thinner consistency, you can always add more chicken broth or water at the end.

Shredding Tips for Juicy Chicken

Once the chicken is fully cooked and tender, it’s time to shred. John removes the chicken breasts from the pot and places them on a plate to cool slightly.

The easiest shredding method uses two forks. Simply pull the chicken apart into smaller pieces, working with the grain of the meat. For finer shreds, rake the forks along the grain to create those perfect bite-sized pieces that sit nicely on a spoon.

Shredding secrets:

• Let the chicken cool for a few minutes so it’s easier to handle
• Use two forks to pull the meat apart
• Work with the grain for the best texture
• Aim for pieces that fit comfortably on a spoon
• Don’t worry about making it perfect – rustic shreds taste just as good

The shredded chicken gets stirred right back into the soup where it soaks up all those amazing flavors. This final step brings everything together into one cozy, satisfying bowl.

For busy moms, this soup is a dream because you can add extra chicken if you want it heartier. John suggests using up to two pounds of chicken breasts if you want it really “chickeny” – and yes, he insists that’s totally a word!

Final Details and Toppings

Traditional Toppings

The crispy tortilla strips are absolutely essential for this soup. John makes these by cutting four yellow corn tortillas into quarter-inch strips and frying them in hot olive oil for about 60 seconds until they’re perfectly crispy. He always sprinkles them with a pinch of salt while they’re still warm.

Basic garnish essentials:

• Crispy tortilla strips – the star of the show
• Fresh avocado slices – adds creamy richness
• Sour cream dollops – cooling and tangy
• Fresh cilantro – John says you need “oodles” of it

These simple toppings turn a regular bowl of soup into something special. The contrast between the warm soup and cool toppings makes every spoonful interesting.

Fun Topping Ideas

John gets excited about all the ways you can dress up this soup. He remembers how his family would pile on garnishes when he was growing up, and everyone got to customize their bowl however they wanted.

Extra special additions:

• Chopped green onions or scallions
• Diced red onion for extra bite
• California olives for a briny pop
• Thinly sliced cabbage with lime juice and salt
• Extra lime wedges for squeezing

The cabbage idea comes from John’s childhood memories of pozole, where the crunchy cabbage made the soup feel like a complete meal. He suggests treating this soup the same way – pile on the toppings until your bowl looks like a feast.

Pro tip: Make extra tortilla strips because everyone will be snacking on them while you cook. John admits he’s guilty of this too!

How to Serve and Store Your Soup

Creating Family-Style Bowls

This soup becomes a real family feast when you set up a DIY bowl station. John loves piling on the garnishes, and honestly, that’s where the magic happens.

Start with your warm soup as the base. Then let everyone go wild with toppings:

Essential Toppings:

• Crispy tortilla strips (make extra – trust me on this one)
• Fresh avocado slices
• A dollop of sour cream
• Lots of fresh cilantro

Fun Extras to Try:

• Diced red onion for crunch
• Chopped green onions
• California olives
• Thinly sliced cabbage with lime juice and salt
• Extra lime wedges

The beauty is that everyone can make their bowl exactly how they like it. Some kids might want just the basics, while adventurous eaters can load up on all the fixings. John mentions how his childhood pozole came with tons of crunchy toppings – it turned a simple soup into a hearty, satisfying meal.

Set everything out in small bowls with spoons. It feels like a little soup party, and cleanup is easier when everyone serves themselves.

Making the Most of Your Extras

Leftover chicken tortilla soup is actually a gift that keeps on giving. John loves having this for lunch with extra tortilla strips, and there are so many ways to enjoy it again.

Quick Reheat Tips: Heat gently on the stove over medium-low heat. The soup thickens as it sits, so add a splash of chicken broth or water if needed.

Creative Second Meals:

• Pour over baked sweet potatoes for a loaded potato-style dinner
• Use as a sauce over rice or quinoa
• Turn it into a dip by heating it extra thick and serving with tortilla chips
• Stuff into quesadillas with cheese for a fusion meal

The flavors actually get better overnight as everything melds together. Store in the fridge for up to four days, or freeze portions for up to three months.

Make those extra tortilla strips John suggests – they store well in an airtight container for several days and make great snacks or salad toppers too.

Heartwarming Soup Stories and Kitchen Memories

Childhood Favorites That Warm the Heart

Growing up, John had two soups that could always make everything better – chicken tortilla soup and pozole from his Mexican heritage. These weren’t just meals in his house. They were pure comfort in a bowl.

His mom, who hailed from Mexico, had her own special way of doing things in the kitchen. She’d work with jalapeños without gloves, something that seemed perfectly normal to her. The idea of wearing gloves while cooking was completely foreign to her way of thinking.

But it wasn’t just Mexican soups that filled John’s childhood with warmth. Greek chicken soup also held a special place in his heart. Then there was Italian wedding soup – another favorite that brought back sweet memories of family meals around the table.

Here’s a mom tip: When kids have multiple cultural influences in their cooking, they often grow up with a deeper appreciation for comfort food from different traditions. It’s beautiful how food connects us to our roots.

Recipes Passed Down Through the Years

John’s soup memories stretch beyond just one culture. His family table was like a melting pot of flavors and traditions. Each soup came with its own special way of serving and enjoying.

When he was little, pozole came piled high with fresh toppings:

• Crunchy cabbage
• Fresh lime juice
• Salt for extra flavor

This wasn’t some thin, watery soup. It was a hearty meal that could fill you up and make you feel completely satisfied. The same goes for his chicken tortilla soup – it’s meant to be a full meal, not just an appetizer.

His mom’s approach to garnishes was simple but perfect. Everyone in the family could add whatever they wanted to their bowl. Some nights that meant:

Fresh Additions	Creamy Touches
Chopped cilantro	Sour cream dollops
Diced red onion	Sliced avocado
Green onions	Extra lime

John admits he’s not sure what’s truly traditional and what was just his family’s way. But that’s the beauty of family recipes – they become your tradition through years of shared meals and love around the table.

Grandma’s wisdom: The best soups are the ones that bring families together, no matter where the recipe originally came from.

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