Chicken Tortilla Soup (Instant Pot or Stovetop)
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on Oct 12, 2020, Updated Apr 03, 2025
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This flavorful Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe comes together in under 30 minutes—whether you’re using an Instant Pot or cooking the old-fashioned way on the stovetop. Juicy chicken thighs and breasts simmer in a smoky, spicy tomato broth, then get shredded to soak up all that comforting flavor. It’s a bowl of pure soul-warming goodness.
What is Chicken Tortilla Soup?
This traditional tortilla soup is a popular Mexican dish, especially in Central Mexico. The version I fell in love with in Mexico City starts with a good chicken broth, roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic, and dried chiles—then it’s topped with crispy fried tortilla strips and all the garnishes your heart desires. It’s modest, simple, and seriously delicious.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Quick and easy – Ready in under 30 minutes with the Instant Pot.
Authentic flavor – Made with New Mexico chiles, roasted tomatoes, and no beans or corn.
Comfort food at its finest – A warm, nourishing meal for any night of the week.
Instant Pot or stovetop friendly – I’ve included instructions for both!
A cozy classic with a modern twist – As you all might have guessed—I’m slightly obsessed with my Instant Pot. From Frijoles de la Olla, Frijoles Charros, Tamales, and even Mexican Chocolate Brownies —I’m always experimenting. I was a little late to the Instant Pot game, but I’m making up for lost time!
Ingredients & Substitutions
You only need a few pantry staples and fresh ingredients to make this Mexican chicken soup:
- Chicken thighs and/or chicken breasts – Use both for a rich, flavorful broth.
- Dried New Mexico chiles – For that classic earthy spice; you can swap with pasilla or ancho chiles.
- Fire roasted tomatoes – Adds depth and a hint of smokiness.
- Corn tortilla – Just one, but it thickens the soup and adds a toasted corn flavor.
- Garlic and onion – The aromatic base of the soup.
- Chicken broth – I prefer organic chicken broth for the cleanest flavor.
- Olive oil or avocado oil – For sautéing the aromatics.
See the printable recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
Whether you’re using the Instant Pot or cooking it on the stovetop, the soup base is made the same way.
Step 1: Soak the chiles. Boil water and soak the New Mexico chiles for 10 to 15 minutes until soft. Drain.
Step 2: Blend the base. In a high-powered blender, combine the softened chiles, chicken broth, fire-roasted tomatoes, and one corn tortilla. Blend until smooth and set aside.
Instant Pot Method
Step 3: Sauté the aromatics. Set Instant Pot to sauté mode. Heat oil, then add diced onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another minute.
Step 4: Add soup base and chicken. Season your chicken with salt. Add the chicken, soup base, and remaining broth to the pot. Stir to combine.
Step 5: Pressure cook. Seal the lid and set to high pressure for 20 minutes. Allow a 10-minute natural release, then manually release any remaining pressure.
Stovetop Method
Step 3: Sauté the aromatics. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium. Sauté onion for 2 to 3 minutes, then add garlic and cook until fragrant.
Step 4: Simmer with chicken. Season chicken with salt, then add to the pot with the soup base and broth. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Check out this video to see how easy it is to make this authentic chicken tortilla soup.
Serving & Topping Suggestions
Just like in Mexico City, the toppings are the best part. Here are a few favorites to serve with your authentic chicken tortilla soup:
- Crispy fried corn tortilla strips
- Pork skins (chicharrones)
- Diced avocado
- Crumbled queso fresco
- Crema Mexicana
- Lime wedges
- Chopped cilantro
- Diced onion
- Spicy roasted chiles
Chicken Tortilla Soup Expert Tips & Tricks
Soak the chiles well. Make sure your dried chile pods are soft and pliable before blending. This ensures a silky-smooth soup base.
Toast your tortilla for more depth. Lightly charring or toasting the corn tortilla before blending adds even more smoky flavor to the soup.
Use leftover chicken. In a pinch, you can use rotisserie chicken. Just blend the base, simmer, and add the shredded chicken at the end to warm through.
Go easy on the garlic. Cook garlic only until fragrant to avoid bitter flavor. Burnt garlic will ruin the base.
Customize the heat. Use 2–3 chile pods for a milder soup, or 4+ for a spicier kick. Always remove seeds and membranes for less heat.
Shred chicken with ease. A hand mixer makes quick work of shredded chicken—great if you’re short on time.
Let it rest. Like most soups, it tastes even better the next day. Make a batch ahead of time and let the flavors deepen in the fridge.
Storage Instructions
This easy tortilla soup recipe tastes even better the next day! Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It also freezes beautifully—just thaw, reheat, and serve with fresh toppings.
Frequently Asked Questions
The blended corn tortilla! It adds body, flavor, and a subtle toasted taste that ties the soup together.
It’s a comforting Mexican soup made with a chile-tomato broth and shredded chicken, topped with crispy tortilla strips and garnishes. It’s soul food in a bowl.
Taco soup is usually Tex-Mex and includes ground beef, beans, and corn. Tortilla soup, especially this traditional tortilla soup, is simpler and made with shredded chicken and chile-based broth—no beans or corn.
Not in this version! While some Tex-Mex recipes use cream cheese, this is a more traditional Mexican chicken tortilla soup recipe, and we keep it dairy-free until serving—when crema or queso fresco can be added as toppings.
More Recipes You’ll Love
If you tried this Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 New Mexico chile pods, or pasilla or ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 1 corn tortilla, charred and torn into pieces
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 (32-ounce) cartons organic chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium white onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- salt
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 chicken thighs
Tortilla Strips:
- 12 yellow corn tortillas, sliced into ¼-inch-thick strips
- 1/3 cup canola oil, for frying tortilla strips
Toppings:
- fried corn tortilla strips
- pork skins (chicharrones)
- diced avocado
- crumbled queso fresco
- crema Mexicana
- lime wedges
- crunchy roasted chiles
- chopped fresh cilantro
- diced onion
Instructions
Stove Top:
- In a large bowl filled with hot water add dried chiles until the chiles have softened about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Blend the softened chiles with torn tortilla pieces, fire roasted tomatoes, and 1 cup chicken broth in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Heat the olive oil in a large (at least 6-quart) pot over medium-low heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring continuously, until fragrant. Remove from the heat.
- Lightly sprinkle salt over chicken breasts, and chicken thighs.
- Add the chicken, tomato mixture from blender, and remaining chicken broth to pot, and give everything a good stir. Let come to a boil; reduce heat. Let simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a bowl. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken.
- Add shredded chicken back to pot and season with salt if needed.
- Ladle soup into bowls and serve with tortillas strips, avocados, a squeeze of lime juice, and your choice of toppings.
Instant Pot:
- In a large bowl filled with hot water add dried chiles until the chiles have softened about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Blend the softened chiles with torn tortilla pieces, fire roasted tomatoes, and 1 cup chicken broth in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Select Sauté on the Instant Pot and warm the oil. Add the onions to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic for 1 minute.
- Lightly sprinkle salt over chicken breasts, and chicken thighs.
- Add the chicken, tomato mixture from blender, and remaining chicken broth, and give everything a good stir.
- Lock the lid in place and turn the valve to Sealing.
- Press the Manual/Pressure Cook button and set the cook time for 20 minutes at high pressure.
- Let the steam release naturally for about 10 minutes, then turn the valve to Venting to release any residual steam.
- Carefully remove the lid and, using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a bowl. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken.
- Add shredded chicken back to pot and season with salt if needed.
- Ladle soup into bowls and serve with tortillas strips, avocados, a squeeze of lime juice, and your choice of toppings.
Tortilla Strips:
- In a large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat and fry the tortilla strips until lightly browned around the edges, about 1 minute. Transfer the strips to paper towels to drain.
Video
Notes
- Customize the heat. Use 2–3 chile pods for a milder soup, or 4+ for a spicier kick. Always remove seeds and membranes for less heat.
- Shred chicken with ease. A hand mixer makes quick work of shredded chicken—great if you’re short on time.
- This easy tortilla soup recipe tastes even better the next day! Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It also freezes beautifully—just thaw, reheat, and serve with fresh toppings.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Jenna Sparks
There was alot of great flavors happening here. We especially appreciated the flavorful broth that is made from this recipe. I must admit, we found it somewhat lacking with just broth and shredded chicken for the soup. We were missing some form of substance to accompany this flavorful soup (ie. corn, black beans or pinto beans). Loved all the topping ideas and will definitely try again.
Sounds like another great recipe that you have posted. I do enjoy your style and have made several of your recipes.
This one has me stomped; what is crunchy roasted chile? I have found reference to various commercially jarred products but, none of them actually have that name.
Do you make your own? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Dried chile pods that have been lightly toasted and then just cut in strips. This is just an optional garnish. Feel free to use chile pepper flakes as an option for some spice.
Could you do this in a slow cooker?
I made this soup for dinner last night and it was delicious! The toppings are a must to really enhanced the flavors of the broth. I love that it makes a lot so I have plenty of leftovers for the week.
Love this recipe! Easy and it comes out so delicious each time. It’s definitely a family favorite. ❤️915
I made this tonight and it was sooo delicious!! I am definitely saving this recipe!
Great app