Chicken tortilla soup is a savory must-have during the fall and winter months (and even during the warmer months if you pair it with an icy cold margarita!) It’s one of my favorite soups because it’s super tasty and also healthy. But when I’m hungry, I don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking up a soup. This recipe is super simple and can be made with leftovers and extra ingredients you have around the house.
To make this recipe, just make sure you have some leftover chicken on hand, whether dark or white meat. This recipe makes enough for one person. I’ll often make it if we had leftover chicken from the day before, and everyone else is having leftovers. You’ll also need to have some salsa on hand to make this recipe work. (You can make your own salsa, but that will take a little longer.)
So here’s what you need.
Chicken Tortilla Soup for One (Ingredients)
- One cooked chicken breast or thigh (I wait to make this soup until we have leftover chicken)
- 3 minced cloves of garlic or 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon olive oil (just enough to cover the bottom of a small saucepan)
- 1/8 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 cups of water (you can substitute a little white wine for some of the water if you want a richer soup)
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- 1/2 tablespoon onion powder (Or you can chop about 1/4 to 1/2 an onion and saute it. But I’ll typically go for the powder if there are onions in my salsa already)
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 4 or 5 tortilla chips
- about 1/4 cup of grated cheddar (or however much you want)
- 1 dollop sour cream
- A little chopped cilantro (optional)
Directions for Making the Tortilla Soup
The directions are really simple and fast! That’s why I like this recipe so much.
Cut or tear your chicken into small, bite-sized pieces.
Put your olive oil in the saucepan on medium heat and sautee your minced garlic, adding cumin and chili powder. Don’t overcook your garlic!
If you decided to used chopped onions rather than onion powder, you would saute them first until they are translucent and then add the garlic, cumin and chili powder.
Add your leftover pieces of chicken, just sauteing the chicken until it’s warmed through, since it’s already been cooked. Mix it so all the spices get on it. This will just take a few minutes.
(Note: If you used garlic powder instead of minced garlic, and aren’t using chopped onions, then you can go straight to warming the olive oil and adding the chicken and the spices, since there is no garlic or onion to sautee.)
Add water and chicken bouillon. Go ahead and break up the bouillon cube as you add it to the water.
Get the soup boiling.
Add onion powder (if you weren’t using chopped onions), lemon juice, and salsa.
Mix it thoroughly and turn down the heat so it’s simmering.
Let the soup simmer for at least 10 minutes.
You can keep it simmering with the lid on as long as you want, so it’s warm when you serve it.
Pour the soup into your bowl.
Add some crumbled tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, and a dollop of sour cream on top. Add the chopped cilantro if you want.
Voila! Your soup is ready and delicious! Serve it with a small bowl of Mexican rice or brown rice, or some extra chips or even flour tortillas. There are a lot of flavors that go really well with this soup.
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Fast & Savory Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 bowl of soup 1x
Description
This tortilla soup is delicious, fast, and easy to make.
Ingredients
- One fully cooked chicken breast or thigh
- 3 minced cloves of garlic or 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 cups of water (you can substitute a little white wine for some of the water if you want a richer soup)
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 4 or 5 tortilla chips
- about 1/4 cup of grated cheddar (or however much you want)
- 1 dollop sour cream
- A little chopped cilantro (optional)
Instructions
- Cut or tear your chicken into small, bite-sized pieces.
- Put your olive oil in the saucepan on medium heat and sautee your minced garlic, adding cumin and chili powder. Don’t overcook your garlic!
- Add your leftover pieces of chicken, just sauteing the chicken until it’s warmed through, since it’s already fully cooked. Mix it so all the spices get on it. This will just take a few minutes.
- Add water and chicken bouillon. Go ahead and break up the bouillon cube as you add it to the water.
- Get the soup boiling.
- Add onion powder, lemon juice, and salsa.
- Mix it thoroughly and turn down the heat so it’s simmering.
- Let the soup simmer for at least 10 minutes or until it’s ready to serve.
- Pour the soup into your bowl.
- Add some crumbled tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, and a dollop of sour cream on top. Add the chopped cilantro if you want.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Mexican