Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of my favorite fall soup recipes. It’s creamy, it’s delicious, and it’s filled with all of my favorite Tex-Mex ingredients. This easy tortilla soup recipe is perfect for any night of the week, and it’s so easy to save and reheat later!
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Why We Love This Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
This chicken tortilla soup is so good. It’s made on the stove, so if you don’t have slow cookers and instant pots, don’t worry! I love the extra creamy texture of this recipe compared to regular chicken tortilla soup.
- Easy. You can use raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cook them directly in the soup, or you can add precooked chicken later on.
- Adaptable. Change up the spice level to suit your tastes. Omit the jalapeños if you’re not a fan of spice.
- Flavorful. Chicken broth, fire-roasted diced tomatoes and green chilies, chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika add so much depth to this soup.
Variations on This Recipe for Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
There are so many ways to change up this creamy chicken soup recipe to suit your tastes and what you have on hand. For a vegetarian version, omit the chicken and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. You can also add extra veggies, like bell peppers, zucchini, or spinach.
And if you can’t find smoked paprika, you can use regular paprika or try adding a pinch of ground chipotle chili powder to get that smoky flavor.
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How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover creamy chicken tortilla soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a pot set over medium-low heat or in individual portions in the microwave until warmed through.
How to Freeze
If you plan to freeze this creamy chicken tortilla soup, I recommend leaving out the heavy cream until you are ready to serve. Freeze the soup (without heavy cream) in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating and stirring in cream.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this delicious and creamy soup with extra tortilla chips and a side of Mexican mac and cheese, homemade taquitos, avocado fries, avocado corn salsa, chilaquiles, or Mexican street corn pasta salad.
Wash it all down with a refreshing margarita or pineapple agua fresca for the kiddos.
This easy soup is relatively good for you. Healthy means something different to everyone, but it’s filled with veggies, beans, and chicken so it is a nice whole meal. It’s also not too bad calorie-wise. However, if you really want a healthy version, check out our Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe instead!
Yes! There’s no water in this recipe to thin things out. We’re just using chicken stock for the liquid, which really adds a nice thickness to the soup. At the end, stir in heavy cream to really add in the creamy texture!
The cream should help to thicken up this soup, but if you’re still longing for an even creamier texture, keep simmering the soup to reduce and thicken it. You can also try adding a few cubes of cream cheese!
If you find this soup to be too spicy for your tastes, you can omit the jalapeños, use mild diced tomatoes and green chilies, and skip adding any crushed red pepper flakes.
More Tortilla Soup Recipes We Love
- Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Beef Tortilla Soup
5-Star Review
“My family LOVED this soup. It’s hard to find something everyone can agree on and this was a home run! ” – Shawna Modrich
Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
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Ingredients
For the Soup
- 3 tablespoons crushed corn tortilla chips
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 jalapeño peppers diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 29 ounces fire-roasted diced tomatoes and green chilies such as Rotel (2 (14.5-ounce) cans)
- 11 ounces canned corn kernels (1 can)
- 14.5 ounces canned black beans rinsed and drained (1 can)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional, for extra spice
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 3 cups cubed cooked chicken
- 2 limes 1 juiced and 1 cut into wedges
- 1 cup heavy cream room temperature
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Optional Toppings
- Shredded Mexican blend cheese
- Corn tortilla chips or strips
- Sour cream
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Sliced avocado
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
For the Soup
- Crush enough tortilla chips to make 3 tablespoons and set aside.3 tablespoons crushed corn tortilla chips
- Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat, and add the vegetable oil.2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Add onions and cook 3 minutes or until softened and translucent.1 yellow onion
- Add the jalapeños and cook an additional 1 minute.2 jalapeño peppers
- Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.4 cloves garlic
- Pour in the chicken broth, tomatoes, corn, beans, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, crushed red pepper, and crushed corn tortilla chips.6 cups low-sodium chicken broth, 29 ounces fire-roasted diced tomatoes and green chilies, 11 ounces canned corn kernels, 14.5 ounces canned black beans, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- If using chicken breasts, add them now and reduce the heat to low.3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove chicken breasts and use two forks to shred. Transfer the shredded chicken back into the pot. (If using chopped rotisserie chicken, add it now.)
- Add lime juice and heavy cream. Stir well and season with salt & pepper. Cook until heated through.2 limes, 1 cup heavy cream, Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
To Serve
- Ladle soup into serving bowls and sprinkle with shredded cheese, corn tortilla chips, a dollop of sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro.Shredded Mexican blend cheese, Corn tortilla chips, Sour cream, Chopped fresh cilantro
- Serve a wedge of lime and a few slices of avocado.Sliced avocado
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- Nutritional information does not include optional toppings.
Nutrition Information
How to Make Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup Step by Step
Sauté the Veggies: Crush enough tortilla chips to make 3 tablespoons and set aside. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add 1 diced yellow onion and cook for 3 minutes or until softened and translucent. Add 2 diced jalapeños and cook for an additional 1 minute, then add 4 cloves of minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Cook the Soup: Pour in 6 cups of low-sodium chicken broth, 29 ounces (2 cans) of fire-roasted diced tomatoes and green chilies, 11 ounces (1 can) of corn kernels, 14.5 ounces (1 can) of black beans, 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 2 teaspoons of ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, ⅛ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, and the 3 tablespoons of crushed corn tortilla chips. If using raw chicken breasts, add them now and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
Shred the Chicken: Remove the chicken breasts and use two forks to shred. Transfer the shredded chicken back into the pot. (If using chopped rotisserie chicken, add it now.)
Add the Cream: Add the juice of 2 limes and 1 cup of heavy cream. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Cook until heated through.
Serve the Soup: Ladle the soup into serving bowls and sprinkle with shredded cheese, corn tortilla chips, a dollop of sour cream, and chopped fresh cilantro. Serve a wedge of lime and a few slices of avocado.
Thanks Becky!! Made this soup last week and it turned out wonderful everyone loved it. It has now been requested by family again (tonight). I did not have fresh Jalopy peppers so I used green bell pepper and a 2/3 cup of Roasted Green Chiles medium heat. Left out the crushed red pepper because the wife is Scotch and to her Ketchup is hot sauce. This will be on my soup rotation from now on.
That’s great. Thanks for sharing, Jeff!
This soup recipe is awesome! I made it 2 nights ago and we still have plenty left to save and freeze for another time. I followed the recipe accordingly with only a few changes. I boiled my chicken separately in broth then shredded and added to the soup. I used 1/2 block of cream cheese and 1/2 cup of Mexican blend shredded cheese instead of the heavy cream. I added 2 tablespoons of sugar (to help cut some acidity of the tomatoes) and used a chili-lime seasoning in place of the salt. All I know is, my husband has been a happy camper since I made this soup and told me it was better than the one had tried at the restaurant O’Charley’s. I’m NEVER getting rid of this recipe! Love it!
That’s great, Vicki!!
We really liked the flavor but thought with 7 cups of liquid, it was too watery. Next time I might use 4 cups of broth and 1 cup of cream. I also think it would have been clearer to just say three cooked chicken breasts, shredded, to start with rather than having them cooked in the pan, pulled out and then shredded.
Thanks for sharing, Helen!
I made this soup and it was delicious! Do you have any suggestions on how to make this a tad thicker?
You can try adding a thickening agent, such as cornstarch!
Made it and it is delicious!!! Especially with the avocado and a little cilantro..
Thanks for sharing, Gayle!
This was so delicious! Everyone raved about this! I had homemade chicken stock from earlier recipe which I’m sure made a huge difference! Thanks so much ! Didn’t think I would be fond of the creamy aspect, but love it!
I bet the homemade chicken stock was delicious!!
This
Just made it, loved it! I made my own tortilla strips by frying up strips of corn tortillas. I don’t like spicy food, so I omitted the jalapeños and chili flakes, but everything else was perfect!
That sounds great!!
After searching for nearly an hour for a chicken tortilla soup recipe that sparked my interest, I decided to go with this one. I am so glad I did, it was delicious and exactly what my taste-buds needed! Unfortunately I only had 4 cups of chicken broth – not the 6 that the recipe calls for, so I did add about 2 cups of water. It still came out amazing! My whole family loved it! Thanks for the recipe :)
Yay!!
Just made this tonight.it was fantastic only change was I used 4 large chicken tenders as that was what I had.i will be making this one of my regular go to’s .thank you
That sounds delicious!