Quick to make and even easier to enjoy, this flavorful chicken tortilla soup made with rotisserie chicken takes a shortcut to get dinner on the table faster. You’ll love the warm cozy flavors, and the leftovers are even better the next day!

A bowl of chicken tortilla soup with avocado, tortilla strips, shredded cheese, sour cream, and a lime wedge on top on a counter from overhead.

Table of Contents

Why We Love Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Flavorful, Easy To Make Soup – We love a good soup recipe for dinner, and this one packs a lot of great flavor. My daughter especially likes layering on toppings when serving to make it her own, especially cheese and tortilla chips because… well can you blame her?
Ready in 30 Minutes – This chicken tortilla soup recipe is pretty quick and easy to get dinner on the table. Make this recipe with rotisserie chicken, it helps to make dinner faster.
Get Creative With Leftovers – This soup can also be a great way to use up leftovers, whether you have extra protein, extra vegetables, or broken tortilla chips. Plus this soup has all the flavors from chicken tacos my family enjoys, and it’s made all in one pot.

Ingredients For Chicken Tortilla Soup

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.

butter – olive oil or another neutral oil can also be used here, but butter will give more flavor
onion diced, we used yellow, but you can use white onion, purple onion or sweet onion
red bell pepper diced
jalapeno pepper seeded and minced (optional, for extra heat)
garlic minced, can also use 3 cloves of fresh garlic or 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
ground cumin
chili powder
smoked paprika – can also use a sweet paprika, a hot paprika will make the soup more spicy
chicken broth we prefer low-sodium
diced tomatoes – canned, including juices
cooked rotisserie chicken shredded chicken or diced chicken, whichever you prefer. This can be leftover rotisserie chicken or just leftover chicken breast or chicken thigh meat from another meal.
black beans canned drained and rinsed, kidney beans can also be used
corn fresh, frozen, or canned, use whichever you prefer. Drain well if using canned corn.
salt
pepper
lime

I often will keep frozen corn and a bell pepper with onions blend on hand. You can absolutely use either of these frozen vegetable blends in this soup, plus it’s pre-chopped.

How To Make Chicken Tortilla Soup

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add diced onion, diced red bell pepper, and minced jalapeño pepper (if using). Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

A large pot full of diced onion, bell pepper and jalapeno with minced garlic in a bowl nearby.

Diced onion, pepper, jalapeno and garlic after softening in a large pot with spices in small bowls nearby on the counter.

Add minced garlic, cumin, chili powder, and smoked paprika into the pot. Cook for 1 minute to toast the spices and bring out the flavor.

Diced onion, pepper, jalapeno and spices for chicken tortilla soup softening in a large pot with chopped tomatoes in juices and chicken broth in bowls nearby.

Pour in chicken broth and tomatoes with juices and stir. Add chicken, black beans, corn, salt and pepper.

A large pot filled with chicken tortilla soup including corn, black beans, and rotisserie chicken pieces in a tomato broth on a marble countertop next to a wooden spoon and a small glass bowl.

Turn the heat to medium-high heat until the pot begins to boil, then reduce the heat to keep the pot simmering, usually reducing the heat to medium-low. Let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes.

A close-up view of chicken tortilla soup in a large pot being scooped by a ladle.

Add the lime juice. Serve and enjoy! Top with tortilla strips, avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream or additional lime as you prefer. See more topping ideas further down the page.

A bowl of chicken tortilla soup garnished with lime, sour cream, cilantro, and shredded cheese with another bowl of soup, a piece of cornbread and more garnish toppings in the background.

What Toppings To Serve With Chicken Tortilla Soup

I like to have all the toppings on hand when I serve chicken tortilla soup, and then each member of my family can dress it as they like. One of our favorites are crispy tortilla strips or crushed up tortilla chips. Sometimes I’ll actually save a bag of tortilla chips that was crushed in the pantry for soup night. You can get creative with flavored tortilla chips, thicker corn chips like Fritos, or cheesy crackers like Goldfish to your bowl of soup.

Sour cream or plain greek yogurt is another great topping, and can help bring down the spice level need be in the soup.

Fresh cilantro, diced tomatoes or pico de Gallo, or fresh diced onions are also delicious toppings. We will also add slices of avocado on top. The leftover half a lime we’ll squeeze over our soup at the table, or those of us who enjoy the extra lime do.

We never skip having shredded cheese on the table. Try cheddar, Monterery Jack or Colby.

Sometimes I’ll serve this soup with cheddar bacon bread, cheesy garlic biscuits, or just some crusty bread. Cornbread muffins or pieces of cornbread are also delicious to dip into this soup.

Variation Ideas

Change Up The Tomatoes – Try adding fire roasted tomatoes or tomatoes with green chiles (like Rotel) for even more flavor.

Experiment With Protein – While this soup is made with rotisserie chicken, don’t be afraid to use up cooked protein you may have on hand such as ground beef, steak, shrimp or smoked sausage instead of or alongside leftover chicken. Dice it up and add it to this soup.

Make It Vegetarian – You could also skip the meat altogether and simply add more canned beans that have been drained to fill out the soup. We’ve used black beans, but kidney beans, white cannellini beans or chick peas make great soup ingredients. I find navy beans to be a bit grainier in texture, but they can work in a pinch.

Experiment With Vegetables – While I tend to stick to vegetables that have a more mexican flair, I totally sometimes just use what I have in my fridge or freezer. Don’t be afraid to try vegetables like diced carrots, celery, rice cauliflower or diced zucchini to this soup even though the recipe doesn’t call for it. Make this soup as a way to use up what you have on hand.

This Soup Is Too Spicy, How Do I Fix It?

Listen, I’ve had times when I thought a soup was fine and my kid decided it was way too spicy. Cut a potato into about four pieces and add it to the soup, then turn up the heat on the soup to medium-high until the potato is tender. The potato will absorb some of the spiciness from the soup.

You can choose to dice the potato into pieces and leave it in the soup to enjoy, or just enjoy a cooked potato on the side. The potato likely won’t be too spicy as it takes a lot of heat to make potatoes spicy.

How Long Will Rotisserie Chicken Tortilla Soup Last?

Expect this soup will last for about three days. Stored leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat the soup in the microwave with a paper towel over the bowl, or in a pot on the stove until warm.

This soup will also freeze in the freezer beautifully if placed in a freezer-safe bag or container. Expect the soup will taste best when frozen if enjoyed within 3 months. Soup can be reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave from frozen.