Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup with black beans and corn is topped with tortilla strips and cheese for a bowl of soup that is great for lunch or dinner. It’s an easy soup recipe that’s full of flavor.

A bowl of tortilla soup topped with shredded cheese, tortilla strips, and chopped herbs. The soup contains black beans, corn, and pieces of chicken in a tomato-based broth. The bowl is on a white surface.

Sometimes it’s nice to have a bowl of chicken soup for lunch or as a light dinner, and one of my favorite recipes to make is this chicken tortilla soup. It’s filling but light and really easy to make.

This soup is made with a chicken-based broth and bite-sized or shredded chicken. There are many variations, but it usually has beans, corn and is topped with crushed tortilla chips or crispy tortilla strips.

My version is very easy to make and ready in about 30 minutes, making it great for weeknights. Or, you can make it ahead for easy lunches during the week.

Ingredients

Chicken: Use boneless skinless chicken breasts (or chicken thighs). For an even easier version use already cooked rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken.
Beans: Classic tortilla soup uses black beans but you can also use pinto beans. For a quick and easy weeknight dinner, use canned beans.
Chicken Broth: For fast dinners it’s essential to use broth or chicken stock. You can also use vegetable stock or beef broth.

A pot filled with diced cooked chicken sits on a white surface. Surrounding the pot are small bowls with black beans, corn, and tortilla strips. A bunch of fresh cilantro is placed nearby on a green cloth.

A pot of chicken tortilla soup with visible chunks of chicken, corn, and beans. Surrounding the pot are small bowls with tortilla strips, corn, and black beans. A bunch of cilantro and a green cloth are beside the pot on a white countertop.

How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup

Cut your chicken into bite size pieces – make sure they’re even in size so they cook at the same time.
Once the chicken is seared on all sides, remove it from the pan and add the stock, beans, corn, and spices. Be sure to scrape the chicken bits off the bottom of the pot!
Once the soup is hot you’ll add the chicken (and any juices) back into the pot.
Serve the soup with tortilla strips, shredded cheese or cojito cheese, and fresh cilantro. You could even add diced avocado!
We always taste and add salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Two bowls of chicken tortilla soup topped with shredded cheese and fresh cilantro sit on a table. The soup includes visible pieces of chicken, corn, and garnished tortilla strips. A spoon and a red-striped cloth are nearby.

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Expert Tips

If you have cooked chicken on hand, you can use it in the soup. It makes things easier because you can skip the step for cooking the chicken. Just add it at the end after you’ve added all of the other ingredients.
You can buy bags of crispy tortilla strips at the grocery store. Look for them near the salad ingredients. Or, you can use crushed tortilla chips instead.
You can control how spicy the soup is by the kind of salsa and hot sauce you use. For the salsa, pick one that has your desired heat level, or you can increase the amount of hot sauce you add.