Amazing Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe with Hatch Chiles

This Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe has the most flavorful broth you will ever try. The trick is pureeing the tomatoes, onions, and garlic for maximum flavor.

My apologies if you’re all hatch-chile-ed out but my obsession with hatch chile recipes just cannot be stopped. I love this Chicken Tortilla Soup so much it’s ridiculous.

I was telling a friend the other day, just after I made this, that I like all of my recipes (of course, they’re mine, right?) but there are some that I just love so much that I want to make them again and again and again.

Chicken Tortilla Soup isn’t normally something that gets me excited, either. But I could eat this every day and be perfectly happy doing so. I still have about a bowl’s worth left and that’s going to be lunch today. Then I’m going to cry – or just make another batch.

What is Tortilla Soup?

It’s a classic Mexican soup with a tomato-broth base and thickened using fresh tortillas. To make a quicker version, the corn tortillas can be omitted and you’ll get a more brothy soup. I’ve included instructions in the recipe below for both options.

How to make Chicken Tortilla Soup?

It can be made in a snap with canned tomatoes, corn, and chiles, so go ahead and use those shortcuts if you’re in a time crunch. To make the best tortilla soup, you’ll want to broil and char the tomatoes, sauté the garlic and onion, add the chicken stock and broiled tomatoes and blend it all into a thick puree.

That’s how you’re going to get amazing flavor without much effort! After that, it’s just a matter of adding the remaining ingredients then letting it all simmer together to allow the flavors to pop.

This Chicken Tortilla Soup just has so much flavor. Pureeing the tomatoes, garlic and onions make for a very tasty broth that’s more than just the seasoned chicken broth in most chicken tortilla soup recipes.

The soup still has a chunky texture and the tortilla chips on the top add a nice crunch. Just like my other hatch chile recipes, you can easily substitute poblanos or anaheims for the hatch chiles if you don’t have any on hand.

What to serve with Chicken Tortilla Soup?

This Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe goes really well with some warm, crusty bread. Or just munch on more tortilla chips! Creamed corn would be delicious, as would sweet corn cake! Both would balance out the spiciness of the soup. I’ve also served it with Baked Potato Wedges. It’s very filling, so you don’t really need anything at all!

Tip: I made my own corn tortilla chips by cutting corn tortillas into small rectangles then baking them for approximately 15 minutes at 375F, stirring halfway through (single layer on a baking sheet). Store-bought tortilla chips will also work or just omit them if you prefer.

More delicious soup recipes:

• Lobster Bisque with Old Bay Oyster Crackers
• Lentil Soup Recipe with Parmesan and Smoked Sausage
• Wild Mushroom Brie Soup with Parmesan-Pepper Croutons
• Avocado Soup
• Loaded Potato Soup (super simple, no need to peel or even drain your potatoes!)
• Avgolemono Soup
• Green Bay Booyah
• Easy Instant Pot Potato Soup
• 6-Ingredient Italian Sausage Stew

Continue to Content

Chicken Tortilla Soup with Hatch Chiles

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

If you prefer a thicker soup, add corn tortillas to the soup (see recipe below).

Hatch chiles are the preferred chile for this recipe, but you can use any green chile of your preference.

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Ingredients

• 4 large summer tomatoes
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 32- ounce box reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 4 hatch chiles, roasted, stemmed and seeded, then diced
• 4 cups shredded chicken, or as much as one whole rotisserie chicken
• 4-5 corn tortillas, torn into large strips (optional; see step 4 below)
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• toppings: sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, chopped cilantro, avocado

Instructions

1. Preheat broiler. Slice tomatoes in half then place cut side down onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, season with salt. Broil for about 5 minutes or until the skins are starting to blacken.
2. Preheat a dutch oven over medium heat. Add remaining olive oil then add onions, cooking for about five minutes or until starting to soften. Add garlic and cumin, cook for another minute or two, stirring frequently.
3. Add tomatoes and their juices to pan. Pour in chicken broth and stir well. Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, then blend the mixture well with a hand blender (alternatively you can pour the mixture into a blender in batches then pour back into the pot). Stir in the shredded chicken and roasted chiles.
4. For the quick version: Allow it to simmer for another 10-15 minutes. For the longer version: Add the corn tortillas at this point and allow it to simmer for about 1 hour, or until the tortillas have disintegrated and "melt" into the soup.
5. Stir in the chopped cilantro and ladle the soup into bowls. Add toppings as desired and serve immediately.

Notes

Note: Nutrition facts do not account for toppings and do include the corn tortillas.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 476Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 117mgSodium: 614mgCarbohydrates: 21gNet Carbohydrates: 15gFiber: 6gSugar: 6gProtein: 42g

This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix.

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Kristy Bernardo

Kristy Bernardo is the recipe creator behind The Wicked Noodle. She's a five-time cookbook author, has taught cooking classes to both kids and adults, and has been creating recipes for nationwide brands since 2009. She learned most of her cooking skills from her mom and grandmother, then honed those skills at boot camp at the Culinary Institute of America.

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