Chicken tortilla soup
A brothy, smoky soup with tender shredded chicken and a crunchy pile of tortilla chips on top, and it’s even better the next day.
- 45 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $3.86 a serving
- 510 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 can diced tomatoes, with their juice
- 1 can diced green chiles, 4 oz
- 1½ lb chicken breasts, about 2 large
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 cups tortilla chips, lightly crushed
- 1 avocado, diced (optional)
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
Each serving has about 510 calories, 50 g protein, 49 g carbs and 13 g fat, and costs about $3.86 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No black beans? Pinto beans or kidney beans work.
- No frozen corn? Canned corn works.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion and the garlic before you turn on the stove.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes, now and then, until soft and .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Translucent. Translucent means onions have cooked until they turn from white to slightly see-through. It shows they’re soft and sweet but haven’t started to brown.
How you’ll know: The onion looks glossy and a little see-through, bends easily, and has barely any color.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder and oregano and for 30 seconds, .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heatTimer: 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Warming the spices in the oil first makes the whole pot taste deeper and smokier.Pour in the broth, tomatoes, green chiles and salt, and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Add the chicken breasts whole, to low, and with the for 18 to 20 minutes.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Lid ajar. Lid ajar means resting the lid on the pot slightly off-center, leaving a small gap. Some steam escapes, so the sauce thickens and doesn’t boil over, while most of the heat stays in.
How you’ll know: A thin wisp of steam drifts out of the gap, and the pot bubbles gently without spilling.
Low heatTimer: 19 min
Dolly’s tip: You want lazy bubbles, not a hard boil. A hard boil makes chicken tough and stringy.Lift the chicken onto a cutting board and check the thickest part: it should read 165°F, or be white all the way through.
Food safety: Chicken is done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
the chicken with two forks, then it back into the pot with the black beans and corn.
Shred. Shredding means making thin strips, either on the big holes of a grater or by pulling cooked meat apart with two forks. Shreds soak up sauce and mix evenly through a dish.
How you’ll know: Cooked chicken pulls apart into strands with little effort, and cheese comes off in long, loose strips.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heat
for 5 minutes, until the corn is hot, then turn off the heat and in the lime juice.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heatTimer: 5 min
Taste and add more salt if it needs it, then ladle into bowls and top with the tortilla chips, avocado and cilantro.
Dolly’s tip: Add the chips right before eating so they stay crunchy on top and go soft underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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