Quick Chicken Tortilla Soup
by: Three Many Cooks
Serves: 6 to 8
Ingredients
- 1 pound (2 large) boneless chicken breasts, halved cross-wise to form two thin cutlets
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil, separated
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 large onion, cut into medium dice
- 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tablespoons canned chipotle peppers in adobo, minced
- 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted if you can find them)
- 2 cans black beans, not drained
- 6 ounces tortilla strips
- 1 lime, cut into 8ths
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven or soup kettle over medium-high heat. Toss chicken with 11/2 teaspoons of the oil, salt, and chili powder to coat. Add chicken to hot pot; cook, turning only once, until impressively brown on both sides, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cut (or shred when cool enough to handle) into bite-size pieces.
- Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in the hot empty pot; add onions and saute until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and peppers; continue to saute until fragrant, about a minute longer. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer partially covered and skimming foam as it surfaces, to blend flavors, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and turn off heat.
- Place a portion of tortilla strips in each bowl, ladle over hot soup, and top as desired, letting each person squirt in a little lime.
- Top soup with any or all of the following: grated pepper Jack cheese, diced avocados, light sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, hot red pepper sauce.
I didn’t even know about Tortilla soup until about a year ago when a friend introduced me to it. How had I not heard of it? It’s all that Mexican goodness I love…in a bowl. One of my favorite soups, for sure.
I love when I make something that draws me back to cooking, when I can make something nourishing for myself, when family & friends enjoy the fruits of my labor. This soup did it. It was an unassuming recipe, but there’s a lot of bang for your buck. The chipotle in adobo sauce gives it such full body. I added some frozen organic corn as well. Thank you, Pam!