I have been making this soup, well a simpler version for a couple years. It is yummy, quick, and easy, and ready in 15 minutes. This new version of chicken tortilla bean soup is ready in about 30, especially if you use store bought rotisserie chicken, and will blow your socks off, even Sunday dinner worthy with friends. If you have never poached your own chicken you should give it a try, it is super simple, easy, and fantastic. It is not that dry, overcooked chicken breast, but juicy and moist. If I am not careful my boys will just start eating all of it off the counter while it is cooling down.
This soup is also easy adaptable for vegetarian, vegan, or paleo. Just omit the chicken and use vegetable broth for vegetarian and vegan, and paleo, omit the beans, and corn (or not, we ate small amounts of corn when we were primal).
The simple version, still good for a quick dinner
- Chicken Broth
- Rotisserie Chicken
- 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- frozen corn
- canned black beans
- salt and pepper
- lime juice
After trying these homemade tortilla strips you will never go back to using store bought strips, especially for soup. They are amazing, crunchy, and hold up fantastic in the soup. They end up the right combination of crunch, mushy, salty all together. Make sure you make more than you think you need, we had to count ours and divide evenly among all the kids!
This recipe makes a lot of soup so we use it for lunches and if there is any left over by friday I freeze it for a quick meal, even if it is only two portions.

Chicken Tortilla Bean Soup
Easy chicken tortilla bean soup that will feed a family!
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, poached, diced, or shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 onion, small dice
- 1 red pepper, small dice
- 1 green pepper, small dice
- 2 - 10 ounce cans Ro-tel (tomato and green chili)
- 32 oz chicken broth, low sodium
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 2 cans beans - rinsed
Instructions
Poach Chicken
Place chicken in large pot of water, enough water to cover chicken by 1-2 inches. Add salt, pepper, any spices you have in pantry that go well with chicken. I like paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and Mrs. Dash no salt herb blends. Don’t worry about measuring out spice, just put about 2 teaspoons of each spice in the pot. Once it comes to a boil, turn off and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Check the temperature of meat with a digital thermometer and make sure it is 160 degrees and fully cooked. If not let sit 5 more minutes. Remove immediately from heat and let cool, loosely covered.
Soup
Add vegetables with a small amount of oil to a large stock pot over med-low heat for about 10 minutes. Once softened, add poached chicken, Ro-tel, chicken stock, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, pepper, salt. Bring to a simmer and stir to incorporate tomato paste. It likes to stay clumped together. Add frozen corn and black beans and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
Serve with tortilla strips, shredded cheese, sour cream, and avocado as desired.
Tortilla Strips
Preheat oven to 350. Lay tortillas flat and brush both sides with oil and sprinkle with salt. Cut into 1/2 inch wide strips and place in oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until crisp, watching them so they don’t burn towards the end.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 302Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 87mgSodium: 705mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 5gSugar: 9gProtein: 36g
Give both recipes a try. I think you will love both. The first is perfect for a quick pantry meal and the other perfect anytime. I just takes a couple more minutes to put together.
Happy Cooking
Cook Well, Eat Well, Live Well
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