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!
Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of the best soups ever! Make a batch of this hearty soup for simple dinners that everyone will love!
I love Chicken Tortilla Soup! It’s definitely a classic if you ask me, and it’s one of my favorite soups to make when it starts to get chilly outside. It’s filled with all of my favorite Tex-Mex ingredients, like cheese, beans, corns, tomatoes, and so much more.
I’ve made an Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup and a Healthy Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup, but I think it’s about time I share a regular stove top recipe!
This Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe 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.
It really adds something special and brings the flavor up a notch. It just makes this bowl of soup that much more comforting on a cold day!
Make this soup for dinner any night of the week and everyone will love it. Save any extra soup in to reheat later!
This easy Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup has all of the Tex-Mex flavors you love mixed into one creamy, dreamy soup recipe that is perfect for fall and winter!
What’s in Chicken Tortilla Soup
This easy chicken tortilla soup recipe has allllll of my favorite things. I’m a big fan of Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes, so of course this soup is a favorite. It’s loaded with everything I’d put in tacos or burritos, but in soup form!
Recipe Ingredients:
- Chicken Stock
- Black Beans
- Onions
- Garlic
- Jalapeno
- Chicken
- Jalapenos
- Diced Tomatoes
- Corn
- Heavy Cream
In addition to those tasty ingredients, there are plenty of spices to add flavor, tortilla strips to add that crunch, and lots of extra toppings for serving (shredded cheese, sour cream, and avocado)!
How to Make Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Make this delicious soup recipe with ease! Making Chicken Tortilla Soup is a simple process, easy enough to make any time. You can even make it ahead if time during weekend meal prep, and refrigerate it for later in the week.
You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!
- Crush tortilla chips and chop up veggies according to the ingredient list, & set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add onions to the pot and cook 3 minutes, then add jalapenos and cook for 1 more minute, then add garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
- Pour in chicken broth, corn, beans, tomatoes, crushed tortilla chips, & spices and reduce heat.
- Place whole chicken breasts into the pot and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes (chicken will cook through during this time).
- Remove the chicken breasts from the pot and shred the meat, then return shredded chicken to the pot.
- Stir in the lime juice and heavy cream, and cook until fully heated through.
When ready to serve, just make a big bowl and add in your favorite toppings. We love using shredded cheese, tortilla strips, sour cream, and avocado!
Is chicken tortilla soup healthy?
This easy creamy chicken tortilla 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!
How do you make chicken tortilla soup creamy?
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!
Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Make this Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup your new go-to soup recipe this fall and winter season! It’s so creamy and so absolutely delicious. Make a batch of it so you can grab it and reheat it any time you’re craving this tasty soup.
More Chicken Soup Recipes
If you like this chicken tortilla soup below, be sure to check out these other soup recipes we love!
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 jalapenos diced
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 2 14.5 ounce fire roasted diced tomatoes w/green chilies
- 1 11 ounce can corn
- 1 14.5 ounce can black beans, rinsed & drained
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper red pepper flakes, optional
- 3 tablespoons crushed corn tortilla chips
- 3 chicken breasts or 3 cups cubed rotisserie chicken meat
- 2 limes; 1 juiced and 1 cut into wedges for serving
- 1 cup heavy cream
- kosher or sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
For Serving:
- Favorite shredded Mexican cheese
- Corn tortilla chips or strips
- Sour cream
- Fresh cilantro chopped
- Fresh avocado slices
- Lime wedges
- Jalapeno slices
Instructions
For the Soup:
- Crush enough tortilla chips to make 3 tablespoons and set aside.
- Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat, and add the vegetable oil.
- Add onions and cook 3 minutes or until softened and translucent.
- Add jalapenos and cook an additional 1-minute.
- Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- Pour in the chicken broth, tomatoes, corn, beans, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, crushed red pepper and crushed corn tortilla chips.
- If using chicken breasts, add them now and reduce the heat to low.
- 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.
To Serve:
- Ladle 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.
- Enjoy!
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Nutrition Information
Great soup! I find most tortilla soups taste the same–the smoked paprika really sets this one apart!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Stephanie!
Would this freeze well?
Yes, it freezes well as is. However, if you know you want to make a batch to freeze, skip the heavy cream. That can be stirred in as you reheat it to create a fresh, creamy texture.
I love soups and I can’t what to start making them. We have soups all year long.
I hope you enjoy this soup, Shirley!!
This recipe turned out so well! Left off the jalapeño and it had plenty of flavor!
So glad you enjoyed it, Tammy!
Great recipe
Thanks for stopping by, Leonard!
I absolutely love this soup.
Thanks for stopping by, Nancy!
I’ve made this two times now and I still can’t believe I cooked something that tastes this good. It’s like restaurant soup! And it’s so easy to put together. Thank you for posting this. I’m so glad that out of all the recipes I looked at, I decided to try yours!
Thank you for sharing, Karen!!
Do you add the chicken to the pot when it’s raw?
Yes, then once cooked, shred!
I made it for me and a bunch of my college friends and we loved it. Definitely made me look like a experienced cook despite having very little experience.
How awesome, Andrew!
My college son’s exact words “YOU made this?” And said it was “S tier” which I guess means top tier?
I made a few changes based on his sensitivities. He loves chicken tortilla soup and I’ve never made it before.
My changes are as follows:
– Skipped garlic/onion, forgot crushed tortillas
– Sautéed jalapeño – added all the spices after about a minute and sautéed a bit more
– Added tomatoes and beans (both organic)
– Added about a tablespoon of maple syrup for the tomatoes
– I used no chicken base better than bouillon with 2.5 cups water because the comments said it wasn’t very thick
– Two chicken breasts as this is what I had
– 1 cup of lactose free half and half
– Skipped lime juice
– About 1/2 to 3/4 cup corn
– Added a little salt at the end
Topped with lactose free sour cream, crushed organic tortilla chips from whole foods, and I shredded a little cheddar
Thank you for the recipe!! :-)
Thanks for sharing!!
So you basically just made your own soup .. 🤣