I’ve been searching for the perfect tortilla soup for several decades. I’ve ordered this specialty in dozens of Mexican restaurants over the years hoping to find one that, as baby bear said in The Three Bears, was “just right.” But I never encountered the hearty, satisfying recipe I craved. My idea of tortilla soup was invariably better than what I ate.
Some versions I encountered were mostly watery chicken broth; except for the sparse scattering of tortilla chips and cheese shreds (and if I was lucky, cilantro) on top they were reminiscent of bouillon. I yearned for a much heartier offering with texture and color and substance from savory vegetables like peppers, onions and tomatoes.
A very common failing of tortilla soups I tried was the limp, tasteless (or worse) chicken. Often it had been stewed and then stewed some more (apparently in unseasoned water), down to a barely identifiable gray mush. Picky of me perhaps, but I wanted the bits of it in my soup to contribute something besides bulk!
Surprisingly, the large share of the tortilla soups I tried were also too bland. Since a lot of Mexican dishes have verve from robust chilies, spices and herbs, this was always confounding. Why weren’t the classic seasonings that brighten and lend zest and fragrance to so much of Mexican fare routinely employed in this dish?
Favorite Tortilla Soup Meal-in-a-Bowl
I don’t know the answer, but have stopped pondering. Instead, I recently began working on creating a tortilla soup recipe that would suit my own tastes. I’m happy to say this one does. It’s full-bodied and hearty but not heavy; slightly piquant and lively from green chilies, sweet peppers, salsa, and spices; and enhanced with chicken that actually tastes like chicken!
To jazz up the chicken in my soup, I infused it with flavor by cooking it right along with the vegetables and spices for a few minutes. And I preserved it’s texture (and reduced prep time) by cutting back on the simmering. This suits me just perfectly and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do!
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup each diced onion, celery, and sweet red pepper
- 1 tablespoon medium to hot chili powder (your preference)
- 1¼ teaspoons each ground allspice and ground cumin
- 2 to 2½ cups cooked coarsely shredded or chopped roasted chicken (or turkey) meat
- ¾ cup bottled mild or medium salsa or picante sauce (your preference)
- 1 quart (or 32-ounce container) fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes (preferably no salt added), including juice
- 1 4 to 4½ -ounce can diced green chilies, including juice
- ¼ to ¾ teaspoon finely chopped fresh Jalapeno pepper or tabasco sauce or other hot sauce, to taste
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Garnish
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, or as desired
- ¼ to ⅓ o cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves, (no stems)
- 1 to 2 cups coarsely broken up corn tortilla chips
- 1 large lime, cut into wedges
- In a large pot, stir together the oil, vegetables, chili powder, allspice, and cumin over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables soften and the spices are fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken and salsa; cook, stirring, 5 minutes longer.
- Stir in the broth, tomatoes, green chilies, and jalapeno pepper or tabasco. Bring just to a boil, then adjust heat so the soup simmers gently. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve the soup ladled into soup plates or large bowls. Garnish servings with cheese, cilantro and chips or let diners garnish their own servings as they wish. Add lime wedges so diners can squeeze over fresh lime juice as desired. Serve immediately. Makes 6 1⅓ cup servings, plus garnishes desired.
Other flavorful soups you may like: Curried Lentil Vegetable
or perhaps Spicy Fish Chowder.
Thanks, I like this recipe a lot. Yes, the stoneware baker will change the bake time tremendously. I didn’t have or even know about clay bake pots when I tested all the recipes, so didn’t mention that. But in fact each kind of pot and individual ovens too will radically change baking time–very difficult to be precise. AND depending on whether the dough was undermoistened, just right, or overmoistened the dough will bake slow or fast. Since your oven seems to run hot, I suggest dropping the temp 50 degrees F and seeing how that works.
Soup looks good! I am not a hot pepper guy tho. Go into shock and get very numb. I do have a question about bread. I made the most divine tasting ale loaf the other day in my Clay Coyote pot. Does bread bake faster in the stoneware? Had I followed the directions exactly it would have burned to a crisp. In 55 minutes, covered, it was almost burned. Same thing happened before so I dropped the temp down 25 degrees this time. Any suggestions?