When is the last time you correctly estimated the number of tortillas you would need when making tacos? I for one have never been able to get the ratio just right and am always left with more tortillas than I need. This last time I was cooking for a crowd and seem to have thought taco Tuesday lasted all week! I had sooo many left-over tortillas. Digressing from the “life gives you lemons” adage I will simply say this: it was tortilla soup time! Now looking at the ingredient list, one could get overwhelmed… but fear not as many of the ingredients are usually pantry staples that you already have. We only had to grab some peppers, an onion, and a rotisserie chicken to get started. Aside from chopping up the veggies and the tortillas, this soup is relatively low-effort. The caveat to this is that it does take a bit to cook down the chopped-up tortillas to get them to dissolve. Once they have though, you will wonder how you ever lived without this soup!
As you will see from my close-ups on those tasty fried tortilla pieces, I haven’t quite got the timing down to get them a golden-brown color, but luckily, they still tasted awesome. If you aren’t too confident in your frying abilities, these can be subbed for store-bought tortilla strips
For this recipe I used my trusty Lodge enamel coated Dutch oven
If you’ve never had tortilla soup before, I can describe is as a warm and spicy comfort soup that has the added crunch of the fried tortillas and green onions, but is cooled down by sour cream and lots of cheese! It also keeps in the fridge very well and makes a great lunch (just keep your fried tortilla pieces in a separate container). Give it a try this week!
Tortilla Soup
Notes
Brittany and I like things spicy, you can cut down on this if you like by reducing the amount of cayenne pepper, or you can "kick it up" by adding crushed red pepper flakes to really bring on the heat!
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, medium dice (about 1 1/2 cup)
- 1 small carrot, peeled and medium dice (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 medium celery stalk, medium dice (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 medium red bell pepper, medium dice (about 1/2 cup)
- 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 8 cups stock or low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
- 8-10 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
For the tortilla strips:
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- 6-8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
To finish:
- 3 cups shredded, cooked chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Optional garnishes:
- Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Thinly sliced scallions
- Sour cream
Instructions
For the soup:
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and bell pepper vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 6 minutes.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, oregano, paprika, and cayenne and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, water, tomatoes, and measured salt and pepper, stir to combine, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low, add the tortillas, and stir to combine. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tortillas have disintegrated and the soup has thickened, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the tortilla strips.
For the tortilla strips:
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking (about 350°F on a deep-frying/candy thermometer), about 6 minutes.
- Meanwhile, stack the tortillas on a cutting board. Cut the stack in half, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips; set aside. Line a baking sheet with paper towels; set aside.
- When the oil is ready, add half of the tortilla strips and fry, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or fry-skimmer to the prepared baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining tortilla strips; set aside.
To finish:
- When the soup is ready, add the chicken and cream and stir to combine. Simmer until the flavors meld, about 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve the soup topped with the tortilla strips, sour cream, scallions, and cheese.