The BEST Tortilla Soup Recipe

So yes, I’ve posted a tortilla soup recipe before. And it’s good.  But I gotta say, this one is way easier. And just as yummy. And the wee ones liked it better, possibly because I put fewer “spicy” ingredients in it.

This is one of those “recipes” that I made in desperation. I knew I was going to be running around all yesterday afternoon and was going to walk in the door long enough to drop the wee ones off for dinner before heading out again. Welcome to my life. If I didn’t want them eating fast food (and I didn’t), I’d have to have dinner ready for my husband. That meant something in the crock pot, and that’s where I drew a blank.

I literally tossed four frozen chicken breasts into the crock pot while I debated what to make. I had tomatoes, so I added two cans of that. And some chicken broth. Before I knew it, I’d made tortilla soup with less than five minutes of prep time. No joke.

Of course, neither of the wee ones would want to try it if they knew what was in there. My secret? I had them close their eyes and then smell the deliciousness wafting from the crock pot. Both agreed it smelled awesome. And voila, they tried, ate, and loved the soup.  Yay!

Yes, I have a photo of the soup in a bowl. I don’t have any photos of me making it because, honestly, they aren’t pretty. And this is so easy that it doesn’t even need photos. Seriously.

How to Make Crock Pot Tortilla Soup

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Seriously. This is the easiest ever. Put your chicken in the crock pot. Add the tomatoes. Add the chicken broth. Chop your onion and add it. Dice your garlic and add it. Add the enchilada sauce. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or my version: on high for four hours (because I had the frozen chicken, remember?) then on low for 2 hours after that.

Pull the chicken from the soup, and gently shred it. The meat will literally fall apart, it’s so tender and yummy. I just used the back of a spatula to shred it. Add the chicken to the crock pot again, and add the cumin, then stir. Add your corn and salt, and stir again and you’re done.

If you’re using the optional ingredients, go ahead and add the chilis and/or chili powder at the beginning. The lime juice gets added just before serving. What else would you include?

To add the tortilla strips to make it truly a tortilla soup, brush them lightly with oil. Place one atop the other and cut into thin strips, then cut the strips into the length you like. Place them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper or a sil pat. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes until they’re browning and crispy. Place them atop your soup as you serve it (if you like sour cream, I’ve heard that’s good, too, but it’s never in my house because I don’t like it personally). You can store the extras on the counter in a sealed container for 3 days or so.

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