Southwest Chicken Tortilla Soup

Nothing beats a good soup. Once the cold weather hits, soup is commonly found on our weekly meal plan. It’s a comfort food full of warm and delicious bits of this and that. You can have a broth base or cream base. You add chicken, beef, vegetables or whatever you choose. You really can’t go wrong. 

The soup I’m bringing you today is Southwest Chicken Tortilla. I made it for the first time about a month ago. The ingredients told me I wouldn’t be disappointed. It’s a broth base soup with a flare of Mexican goodness. 

Prep does take some time, but I wouldn’t let that scare you. The blood, sweat and tears are totally worth it. I’m being dramatic, it’s not that bad. 

Here we go!

What you need:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 15 oz. can of sweet whole corn kernels, drained

1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained

5 cups chicken broth

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium green pepper, chopped

4 oz. mushrooms

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. pepper

Shredded cheese, cheddar or fiesta blend

Tortilla strips

Boil chicken breasts in 5 cups of broth until fully cooked. While chicken is cooking, chop the vegetables. Pull chicken from pot (keep medium heat on) and shred it. Once shredded add it back to the pot. Add the vegetables (both canned and chopped), stir it up. Add the seasonings. Bring the soup to a boil, stirring here and there, simmer, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes. 

Top soup with shredded cheese, sour cream (I didn't, but it's an option) and tortilla strips*. 

As with any soup, add or substract any ingredient you want. Want a kick? Add serrano pepper or green chiles. Be creative!

*I had a hard time finding the tortilla strips and almost gave up. I finally found them at another grocery store. Please don't give up on the strips, the soup really is boosted by these sly dogs. Another idea… substitute Dorito Cool Ranch chips.

Cozy up by the fire and enjoy!