Texas Tortilla Soup – spicy chicken tortilla soup topped with cheddar cheese, avocado and tortilla chips. The most comforting soup for winter!

How do you like your soups? Brothy or thick and creamy?

I’m a brothy soup person. There is nothing more comforting that steaming hot spicy broth based soup. 

If you’re like me, you might love my Spicy Coconut Wonton Soup and you’re definitely going to love this Texas Tortilla Soup. It’s full of flavor and has the perfect amount of heat. Plus, I love a soup with a bunch of toppings. 

How To Make Texas Tortilla Soup

I know it looks like a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps but it is well worth the time and effort!

• Roast fresh tomatoes in the oven
• Saute onion, garlic, and bell pepper together until softened
• Add spices (chili powder and cumin), chicken stock, and a dried ancho chile
• Let simmer until the chile softens; remove chile and remove stems and seeds
• Puree chile with the roasted tomatoes and canned tomatoes; transfer to the soup
• Simmer for 1 hour to deepen the flavor
• Ad cooked chicken and fresh corn; simmer 5 minutes
• Garnish with avocado sliders, tortilla chips, diced fresh tomatoes, cilantro, and shredded cheddar cheeese
• Serve immediately

Where to Find Dried Ancho Chile

I live in Texas so my grocery stores all have them in the produce section. Some in bulk bins, some in plastic bags. When we lived in Colorado, the grocery stores there had dried chiles, too. So check the produce section of your grocery store first. 

If that doen’t work, an Asian or Mexican grocery store is a good bet. 

And if all else fails, you can always order them online.

How Long is Tortilla Soup Good For?

This Texas Tortilla Soup should be good for 3 – 4 days in the refrigerator. Make sure it’s stored in an airtight container. 

Can You Freeze Tortilla Soup?

Yes, you can freeze this Tortilla Soup. It is the perfect soup for freezing because none of the ingredients are going to change textures once thawed. Of course, don’t add any of the toppings until ready to serve. 

To freeze, put in an airtight freezer-safe container. If using a freezer bag, squeeze out as much air as possible. Let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator. You can reheat on the stove, microwave, or in the slow cooker. 

It will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

More Chicken Soup Recipes

• Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
• Corn and Chicken Chowder
• Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
• Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken Soup
• Chicken Gnocchi Soup

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Yield: 8 servings

Texas Tortilla Soup

Print

from The Pastry Queen

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the soup:

• 8 plum tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium-size yellow onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 dried ancho chili pepper
• 1 15-ounce can peeled tomatoes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cooked, shredded chicken breasts
• 3 ears fresh corn or 1, 8-ounce package frozen corn (optional)

Garnishes

• 2 ripe avocados, peeled and sliced
• tortilla chips or strips
• 2 plum tomatoes, diced
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• sour cream, optional

Instructions

To make the soup:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Slice the tomatoes in half. Spread 1 tablespoon of the olive oil on a baking sheet or pizza pan and arrange the tomatoes on top, skin side up. Drizzle the tomatoes with another 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Roast the tomatoes for 25 - 35 minutes, until the skins wrinkle and the tomatoes are slightly brown around the edges.
2. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy-bottomed, 4-quart soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper and saute about 5 minutes, until the vegetables become soft. Stir in the chili powder and cumin and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and ancho chile. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover, decrease the heat, and simmer about 15 minutes, until the ancho chile softens. Remove the chile from the soup and pull off and discard the stem. Cut the chile in half and discard the seeds, if desired. (Leaving the seeds in makes for a spicier soup.) Place the softened chile, the canned tomatoes with their juices, and the roasted tomatoes (including as much of the juices and the browned tomato bits as possible) in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Puree the chile-tomato mixture about 1 minute. Transfer the chile-tomato mixture to the soup and continue simmering, about 1 hour. Add salt nd pepper to taste, along with the cooked chicken. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels from the cobs, add the corn to the soup, and simmer for 5 minutes.

To garnish the soup:

1. Ladle the soup into medium bowls. Lean 3 to 4 slices of avocado against the edge of each bowl, partially sticking out of the soup. Arrange the tortilla chips or strips in a similar way. Sprinkle each bowl with a handful of diced tomatoes, some cilantro, and 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese. Top with a spoonful of sour cream. Serve immediately.