From south of the border comes this spicy and hearty soup ladled over crisp tortilla strips and grated cheddar. The soup is chunky with chicken and avocado, but it's the tortillas that give it a slight thickness and a special flavor. Slideshow: Warming Soups
How to Make It
In a large heavy pot, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Add half the tortilla strips and cook, stirring, until pale golden, about 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining tortilla strips.
Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add the onion, garlic, and spices; cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, cilantro leaves, if using, and one-third of the tortilla strips. Bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes; remove the bay leaves.
In a blender, puree the soup in batches; pour it back into the pot. Add the chicken, bring the soup back to a simmer, and simmer until just cooked through, about 1 minute. Stir in the avocado.
To serve, put the remaining tortilla strips in bowls, top with the cheese, and pour in the soup. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro, if using, and serve with the lime wedges.
Suggested Pairing
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Aggregate Rating value: 5
Review Count: 3352
Worst Rating: 0
Best Rating: 5
Author Name: Claudia D
Review Body: This soup turned out delicious! Definitely a new family favorite. The only thing i did different was to serve the avocado as a garnish instead of stirring it in as instructed in step 3. Also, use cooked chicken; the recipe is not clear on this but raw chicken will not cook in 1 minute when added in step 3.
Review Rating: 5
Date Published: 2017-01-09
Author Name: lemony31
Review Body: This is one of my favorite recipes! I make it regularly for my family and for guests. The only things I have found and changed about the recipe are: I don't bother to fry the 1/3 of the tortilla strips that I add to the soup to thicken (saves a bit of time and calories from the oil) and if you use raw chicken (which I recommend, as the chicken soaks up more flavor being cooked in the soup) it will take more than 1 minute to simmer and cook all the way through. Highly recommend this!
Review Rating: 5
Date Published: 2017-04-30
Author Name: Tom Ponder
Review Body: Very good added zucchini to recipe.
Review Rating: 5
Date Published: 2016-12-10
Author Name: Barbara Ritthaler
Review Body: Great soup. I made a few changes. I increased the amount of spices and reduced the garlic to two cloves and added a few dashes of Tabasco. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs: I boiled them in water for 30 minutes with salt and an allspice berry and added the resulting broth to the pot and shredded the meat. I used the avocado as a garnish. I make this all the time.
Review Rating:
Date Published: 2018-01-12
Author Name: Ellen Robinson
Review Body: Loved this recipe! I didn't actually use the tortilla strips or avocado, but I love how easy and tasty the base of the soup is. I actually used a can of whole peeled tomatoes, which worked out fine because I blended the base with an immersion blender. Additionally, I added a can of Cuban Black Beans with green chilies (from Trader Joe's) and some lime juice, which really added flavor.
Review Rating: 5
Date Published: 2018-03-23
Author Name: Christina Ann
Review Body: It must have been my paprika, but this was so incredibly spicy (and I love spicy food) that it was inedible. I think maybe next time I will start at 1 tsp of paprika.
Review Rating:
Date Published: 2018-01-21
Author Name: KeithandLisa Barkema
Review Body: Forget the '10 minute' tortilla soups - a little more time provides a delicious healthy meal for you and your family!
Review Rating: 5
Date Published: 2018-02-01
Author Name: Jason Reed Johnson
Review Body: Excellent soup . The only thing you should do different is add small diced carrots and celery with the chicken .
Review Rating:
Date Published: 2017-09-18
Author Name: seawasls
Review Body: Best tortilla soup recipe we've found! This is a favorite among family and friends. Very easy. Everyone we have served this to has made it - repeatedly.
Review Rating: 5
Date Published: 2017-01-14
Author Name: Valerie Gibson
Review Body: This recipe was fantastic! I made a full recipe and froze what was left. It's easy to crisp up some tortillas when reheating it. I used a rotisserie chicken , which worked out great but you don't even need the chicken if you don't have it. I'm going to make it again today!
Review Rating: 5
Date Published: 2017-04-12
Author Name: Sam Rollin
Review Body: The recipe never says when the cheese is added. Chicken would have to be in pea sized pieces if it's raw to cook in a minute. And if the chicken is cooked, wouldn't it be best to make your own broth with chicken and whatnot, and add the chicken and veg? This recipe is not right. The yahoos that say this recipe is great and right, are lying.
Review Rating:
Date Published: 2018-02-24
Author Name: Jeff6548
Review Body: Unless I am reading this wrong, it is instructing you to simmer raw chicken for one minute. This appears to be a recope for food poisoning!
Review Rating: 1
Date Published: 2017-01-27
Author Name: TheJoeC
Review Body: This tortilla soup contains avocado? I'm curious as to what the effect of avocado to the soup.
Review Rating:
Date Published: 2017-01-26
Author Name: Shannon Russell
Review Body: No
Review Rating: 1
Date Published: 2016-10-21
