Once the weather turns cool, it's time to pull out your slow cooker or your favorite dutch oven and make a large pot of soup. The best soup is one that simmers on your stove for a while, making your whole house feel cozy and warm, and then is ready just in time for dinner. One of our favorite soups is chicken tortilla soup. It's a complete meal in a bowl and always a favorite of the whole family.
Chicken tortilla soup is perfect for game day or to bring to a potluck, and it really is the best thing you can eat if you feel a cold coming on. You can make it a little spicier by adding cayenne, add fresh cilantro (or not), and top it with avocado, sour cream, or cheddar cheese.
It's an easy soup to make, too. One of our favorite tortilla soup recipes comes from country music star Martina McBride in her cookbook Martina's Kitchen Mix: My Recipe Playlist for Real Life. It's creamy and hearty, but simple to make. We bet this easy recipe is going to be one of your favorites, too.
McBride starts by roasting boneless, skinless chicken breasts, then once the cooked chicken is cool, she shreds it. She sautes onion, jalapeno and garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat, then adds chicken broth, chili powder, cumin, paprika and canned diced tomatoes.
What makes this tortilla soup so creamy is the masa harina. Masa harina is a corn flour traditionally used to make Mexican dishes like corn tortillas and tamales. In this soup, it acts as a thickener, giving the tortilla soup a smooth, creamy texture. McBride adds the masa harina along with some milk and lets it cook for about 10 minutes, then adds the chicken, black beans, pinto beans and corn.
The total time to make this flavorful soup is a little over an hour and a half, but most of the prep time is stirring the ingredients together and letting them cook. Using canned black beans and frozen corn makes this dish even easier to assemble. And if you want to shave off some time and a couple of steps, you can pick up a rotisserie chicken instead of roasting your own.
To add even more creamy texture to this chicken tortilla soup recipe, she stirs in heavy cream and sour cream at the end of cooking. Then all that's left is to ladle the soup into a large bowl and add your favorite garnishes. A squeeze of lime juice, tortilla chips or tortilla strips, another dollop of sour cream all add even more flavor to this delicious soup.
You can find Martina McBride's chicken tortilla soup recipe here.
