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Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Creamy chicken tortilla soup with a rich orange-cream Tex-Mex broth, shredded chicken, black beans, corn, and crisp tortilla strips. Simmered until silky from melted cream cheese and finished with a sour cream swirl, cheddar, lime, and cilantro.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Calories: 610
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken soup base
  • 1.5 lb chicken breast Cooked and shredded
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans Drained
  • 1 can (15 oz) corn Drained
  • 1 can (10 oz) Rotel tomatoes
  • 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1 onion Diced
  • 4 cloves garlic Minced
  • 4 cup chicken broth
  • 8 oz cream cheese Cubed
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 0.5 salt To taste
  • 0.5 pepper To taste
Toppings
  • 0.5 cup sour cream For topping
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar For topping
  • 1 cup tortilla strips For topping
  • 0.25 cup cilantro For topping
  • 1 avocado For topping
  • 1 lime For topping

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Sauté aromatics
  1. Heat a large pot over medium heat and sauté the diced onion for 4 minutes until softened and translucent, with a light sizzle. Add the minced garlic and taco seasoning and cook 2 minutes, stirring until fragrant.
Build the soup
  1. Add the Rotel tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, black beans, corn, and cumin to the pot and bring to a boil. Cook at a steady boil until the surface actively bubbles across the pot.
Melt in the cream cheese
  1. Reduce the heat to low so the soup is just gently simmering, then stir in the cubed cream cheese until completely melted and smooth.
Simmer with chicken
  1. Add the shredded chicken and heavy cream, then simmer for 10 minutes until hot throughout and the broth thickens slightly. Stir occasionally so it stays creamy and cohesive.
Season and serve
  1. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with sour cream, shredded cheddar, tortilla strips, cilantro, avocado, and lime on top.

Notes

Pro tip: keep the heat low when melting the cream cheese so it incorporates smoothly without graininess. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days; reheat gently on the stove. Freezing is not recommended because cream cheese and heavy cream can break when thawed. For a lighter version, use low-fat cream cheese and half-and-half instead of heavy cream.