Chicken Tortilla Soup ~ Quick and Easy! (2024)

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I almost always make this soup at the end of a week in which I've made Enchilada Casserole and Roast Chicken.

My family and I love the soup so much that it's something I plan for, making sure to reserve 1 cup of the enchilada sauce and roast enough chicken to ensure a cup or two is leftover for this soup.

But truly, if you have leftover chicken of any kind this soup is a great way to use it. The same goes for the random veggies rolling around in your crisper. Chop them up and toss them in.

Of course, you don't need to have leftover anything to make this soup.

Pick up a rotisserie chicken from your local market, open a can of enchilada sauce, and you're good to go.

Ingredient notes

The three main ingredients in this soup recipe are:

1. Chicken
2. Beans
3. Enchilada Sauce

More about each of those ingredients in a moment. In addition, you'll also need:

• Extra virgin olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• 1 large yellow or white onion
• A few cloves of garlic
• Adobo sauce(Found in the Mexican food isle of most major supermarkets)
• Dried spices: oregano and ground cumin
• A pinch of sugar
• Salt and pepper (obvi)
• Chicken broth (Or, Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base)
• A can of diced tomatoes

Using pre-cooked chicken makes this soup quick and easy

Use roast chicken, any other kind of leftover cooked chicken, or pick up a rotisserie chicken at your local market.

Roasting a couple of chickens is something I do about twice a month, making sure to roast enough for leftovers.

It's no more work to roast 2 or 3 chickens than it is to roast 1, and having leftover roast chicken meat is always a good thing. This soup is one of my favorite ways to use it up.

Over the years, I've discovered two ways of roasting chicken that are fool proof and delicious every time.Both methods require minimal prep time (5-10 minutes) and only 3 ingredients, including the chicken. You'll find both roast chicken methods here.

Besides this soup, here are a few of my other favorite ways to use leftover roast chicken (or leftover chicken of any kind):

• 20-Minute Garlic Chipotle Pasta
• Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Chicken SaladNiçoise
• Chili Chicken Nachos with Chimichurri Sauce
• Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup with Garlic and Mushrooms
• Easy, Cheesy, Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
• Open Face Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Or, follow this super easy method for poached chicken. It only takes a few minutes and will give you perfectly cooked, flavorful chicken without any of the additives that are often included in grocery store chicken.

Beans, beans, the magical fruit...

Does anyone else think about that silly childhood rhyme every time they eat beans? Beans, beans the magical fruit, the more you eat the more you toot.

If that silly little rhyme is actually quite true for you, cooking a pot of dried beans might be the solution.

In general, I feel that cooking dried beans is a highly underrated endeavor.I've got nothing agains canned beans and keep several varieties in my pantry at all times.

BUT – cooking dried beans only takes about 5 minutes of prep work, costs a fraction as much as canned, and taste markedly more delicious. Even better - cooking dried beans makes them more digestible,lessening the less desirable side effects of eating beans.

The two recipes I rely on are:

• How to Cook Any Kind of Beans in the Slow Cooker
• How to cook Any Kind of Beans in the Instant Pot

If I'm not going to use up an entire batch of beans in a week, I usually portion them out and freeze them for later use. Like homemade enchilada sauce, having some home cooked beans in the freezer is always a good thing.

Enchilada sauce

The enchilada sauce recipe I've been making for years is extremely simple, requires only a handful of ingredients and does NOT require you to soak or roast dried chilies.

The key is to start with frozen red chili puree, cooking it with broth and spices until it's thick and rich, and delicious.

Of course, it goes without saying, that if you have a pot of homemade enchilada sauce, you might want to make an Enchilada Casserole. But, you can also just section it off and freeze it in 1-cup portions so you have delicious enchilada sauce on hand whenever you need it.

You can also use a can or jar of prepared enchilada sauce in this soup. Just taste the broth and add more seasoning if you like; canned enchilada sauce tends to be a bit more bland than the homemade variety.

This soup is all about the garnishes

The broth, chicken, and beans are delicious all on their own, but the topping are where it's at.

Ladle some soup into your bowl then load it up with crushed tortilla chips, avocado, cheese, green onions, cilantro, jalapeños, and sour cream.

More quick and easy soup recipes

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See Also

Easy Chicken Enchilada Recipe - Isabel Eats

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