Amazing Chicken Tortilla Soup

"This is my version of Chicken Tortilla soup. It's very similar to the soup served at Max & Erma's restaurant chain. I threw it together one day using mostly leftovers from my fridge. It was a hit.. So now every time I roast a chicken, I make this the next day."
 
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photo by BETHANY T. photo by BETHANY T.
photo by BETHANY T.
photo by BETHANY T. photo by BETHANY T.
Ready In:
30mins
Ingredients:
13
Serves:
6-8
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ingredients

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directions

  • Put chicken, skin bones and all, into a pot with 2 quarts of lightly salted water, and bring to boil. Important: the skin and bones make the broth taste great. that's where the flavor is. this wont work using skinless, boneless chicken breasts.
  • Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is starting to loosen from the bones and broth looks. well. like broth. (about 20 minutes).
  • Carefully, remove chicken from broth making sure to get any little bones that may be on the bottom of the pot. Set chicken aside to let cool.
  • Add onion, Rotel, cumin, garlic, chili powder, and black pepper to the pot. Add 1/2 tsp crushed pepper for medium heat, less if you like it mild, or more if you like it spicy. I use 1 teaspoons.
  • Stir, and let simmer until chicken is cool enough to handle.
  • Tear off chicken meat and place back into pot discarding skin and bones.
  • Cut off about a 2 inch section from a log of Velveeta cheese, then cut into cubes.
  • Add cheese, and cilantro to soup and stir over low heat until cheese is melted into the soup. Let simmer stirring often.
  • Stack corn tortillas and slice into thin shreds with a sharp knife. Cook tortilla shreds in a small amount of hot oil until crisp. Drain on paper towels.
  • To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream (optional) and the tortilla strips.

Questions & Replies

  1. Can this be adapted for slow cooker? Really want a thicker soup. I will try Mexican Velveeta and use more? I am assuming canned chicken broth will substitute for the whole boiling process, as we only eat chicken breats.
     
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Reviews

  1. I think I had way too much water to begin with. Also the 30 minute description isn't accurate with the directions of boiling and shredding the chicken. Nice flavor.
     
  2. This was a very good soup. It was a little thinner than what I am used to for a tortilla soup though. The flavors were perfect though. I had a problem in that I couldn't get velveeta....this is the Velveeta shortage year for the 2014 Superbowl....LOL! So I used a mix of Mexican shredded cheese. I wish I could have found Velveeta because it melts so much easier and smoother. The Mexican mix made my chicken and cilantro try and stick together. So I highly recommend using Velveeta to keep that from happening. Thanks for sharing!
     
  3. This soup is delicious! I was looking for a recipe that was similar to one we like at a local restaurant. This was it. It has so much flavor but not to spicy. I think I will cut back on the water the next time I make it. The only change I made was that I thickened it slightly. We loved it! Thanks for sharing.
     
  4. Used cooked chicken breast along with prepared chicken stock instead. Other than that, I followed the rest of the recipe and it turned out excellent. Thanks
     
  5. This soup is GREAT I just love it. I have made it several times and is soooo easy. I used rotisserie chicken from Sams club and it was wonderful I would recommend this recipe to every one. I fried up tortillas (white corn ) to top and just loved the crunch this truley is amazing thank you Bethany Taylor.
     
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Tweaks

  1. Used cooked chicken breast along with prepared chicken stock instead. Other than that, I followed the rest of the recipe and it turned out excellent. Thanks
     

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