Ina Garten Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe

Last updated on January 5, 2023

Don’t worry, I’m here to share my chicken tor­tilla soup recipe, a.k.a. my nephew Cameron’s favorite thing I make him. (uh oh, he’ll prob­a­bly read this and be head­ing over soon!) The weather is get­ting cozy and cool so I decided to make a soup for din­ner. This recipe is full of fresh, vibrant fla­vors, but also has a nice sur­pris­ing kick at the end. I must warn you after mak­ing this ver­sion of tor­tilla soup, you’ll never go back to the store bought ver­sions or quick take out.

The recipe orig­i­nates with Ina Garten.  You can find her com­plete recipe here. I’m known to take a short cut or two with recipes as I did with this one. I never com­pro­mise the main fla­vors. I do live in the real world and know we don’t always have time for things like home­made stocks, espe­cially dur­ing the work week.

Ingre­di­ents:

  • 1 whole cooked store bought chicken shred­ded (in the deli section)
  •  3 tbs olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups chopped yel­low or white onions (2 onions)
  • 1 cup chopped cel­ery (2 stalks)
  • 2 cups chopped car­rots (4 carrots)
  • 4 large cloves gar­lic, minced
  • 2 1/2 quarts chicken stock (store bought)
  • 1 (28-ounce) can diced toma­toes in puree, crushed
  • 2 to 4 jalapeno pep­pers, seeded and minced (if you don’t like spicy only add one. if you like spicy include the seeds)
  • 1 tea­spoon ground cumin
  • 1 tea­spoon ground corian­der seed
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional ) Hope­fully you have some grow­ing in your bbq herb gar­den!
  • 6–8 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas
  • For serv­ing condi­ments: sliced avo­cado, sour cream, grated Ched­dar cheese, and tor­tilla chips (what­ever you prefer)

Direc­tions:

Heat 3 table­spoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, cel­ery, and car­rots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 min­utes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the gar­lic and cook for 30 sec­onds. Add the chicken stock, toma­toes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, corian­der, 1 table­spoon salt, 1 tea­spoon pep­per, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tor­tillas in 1/2, then cut them cross­wise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and sim­mer for 25 min­utes. Add the shred­ded chicken and sea­son to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avo­cado, a dol­lop of sour cream, grated Ched­dar cheese, and bro­ken tor­tilla chips.

Tips:

  • Make extra soup and freeze it in Ziplock bags for an easy, healthy din­ner in a pinch. (think unex­pected com­pany or 12 hour workday)
  • Omit the chicken and add pota­toes or rice for a veg­e­tar­ian ver­sion. (don’t for­get to replace the chicken stock with veg­etable stock too)
  • Make this for some­one who is sick. Of course I have no sci­en­tific proof, but it really clears my sinuses!
  • Left­overs are per­fect for lunch the next day.
  • A great sub­sti­tute for the usual Sun­day foot­ball get together grub. Make some corn bread to go with it and a cae­sar salad. Have your bud­dies bring the cold brew and you’re good to go!

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