Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup ~ thick, creamy, cheesy, tasty packed with chicken, garbanzo beans, chipotle pepper for smoky heat and topped with crispy tortilla strips.

My daughters and I are all on the same page when it comes to our taste in movies. We love spending a Saturday or Sunday afternoon having lunch at the mall and catching a good flick.

One of our favorite lunch spots is a place with amazing Tortilla Soup ~ loaded with chicken in a spicy broth and topped with crispy tortilla strips.

We all get a bowl and share an appetizer so we still have room for the *required* movie popcorn. Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup is everything I love about the restaurant version but thicker and includes garbanzo beans, chipotle pepper for heat and smoky flavor and even more cheesy goodness. If you like a spicy, cheesy soup this is it. 

If I haven’t said it before, we’re leaving for Florida so I’m on a mission to clean out and use up most if not all of the food I have on hand.

This is where the garbanzo beans came into play; I happened to have two cans waiting for duty. And this is one of those recipes I can almost convince myself that it’s healthy because it’s packed with chicken and garbanzo beans and even a little avocado on top ~ and doesn’t all the cheese count for calcium?

I don’t know abut that but I do know it’s every bite delicious but please make the crispy tortilla strips. I beg you. You won’t regret it.

Let’s get this soup started:

Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients:

• Olive oil 
• tortillas (corn or flour)
• onion
• bell pepper
• salt and pepper
• can of enchilada sauce
• chicken stock
• cooked chicken
• garbanzo beans
• can of diced tomatoes
• frozen corn
• lime
• chipotle pepper in adobe sauce
• 4 ounces of cream cheese
• 1 cup sharp shredded cheese
• cilantro

Optional toppings:

• shredded cheese
• avocado
• lime wedges
• cilantro

Instructions:

Add a tablespoon or so of oil to the pot and when it’s hot, drop in the sliced tortilla strips in a single layer (work in batches), turning to brown both sides then remove and reserve.

You’ll want to slice them as thin as possible. My first batch looked like French fries from McDonald’s – thicker than I wanted but still good.

In the same pot add the onion and bell pepper to the remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook a few minutes until the onions are soft.

Add the enchilada sauce, chicken stock, chicken, one can of garbanzo beans (drained), tomatoes, corn, juice from 1/2 of one lime and minced chipotle pepper.

A word about the chipotle pepper. I found just one pepper from one small can to be plenty of heat. These peppers pack it! Add more at your own discretion.

Cover and cook over low heat 15-20 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, using an immersion blender (or regular blender if you don’t have an immersion) and puree the second can of beans and some of the juice from the beans then add it to the soup to thicken it.

Fold in the cream cheese and shredded cheese, stirring over medium heat until it’s combined, then add the cilantro.

Most of the toppings for this Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup are optional, but the tortilla strips are a must – they’re so tasty and add so much to the soup! In fact, they’re even good by themselves!

Leftover soup? Freeze in individual containers for a tasty lunch. If you crave Mexican food as often as I do, check out the Ultimate Chicken Nacho too!

If you tried this recipe or any other on the blog, don’t forget to leave a comment or star rating ~ I love hearing from you!

You can also LIKE ME on FACEBOOK, FOLLOW along on TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST and SUBSCRIBE ⇓ for all the latest. 

Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup ~ thick, creamy, cheesy tortilla soup packed with chicken, garbanzo beans, chipotle peppers for smoky heat and topped with crispy tortilla strips.

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: chicken tortilla soup recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 tortillas thinly sliced corn or flour
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped any color
• salt and pepper to taste
• 10 ounce can enchilada sauce medium spice level
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups cooked chicken chopped approximately 2 chicken breasts
• 2 cans garbanzo beans divided
• 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
• 1 lime
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobe sauce finely minced (canned peppers)
• 4 ounces of cream cheese
• 1 cup sharp shredded cheese
• 3-4 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil to the pot and when it’s hot, carefully add the sliced tortilla strips in a single layer (work in batches), turning to brown both sides then remove and reserve.
• In the same pot add the onion and bell pepper to the remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook a few minutes until the onions are soft.
• Add the enchilada sauce, chicken stock, chicken, one can of garbanzo beans (drained), tomatoes, corn, juice from 1/2 of one lime and minced chipotle pepper.
• While the soup is cooking, using an immersion blender or regular blender and puree the second can of beans and some of their juice then add it to the soup.
• Fold in the cream cheese and shredded cheese, stirring over medium low heat until it’s combined, then add the cilantro.
• Serve with tortilla strips on top and other toppings below.
• Optional toppings: shredded cheese, avocado, lime wedge, extra cilantro