Ok, so firstly I want to say YAY and THANK YOU to all of you for joining Cozy Book Club. I have added a tab at the far right of this blog so all of the posts will live there. I am now on page 250 and OMG this book is fascinating and incredibly interesting. I can’t wait to discuss this.
Now, for this soup. I have an incredibly complicated relationship with soup. I love soup. But I hardly ever make soup and call it dinner. I think it’s because soup, for me, needs lots of other things to be considered a full meal.
I need lots of lots of toppings in my soup. And one of the many reasons why tortilla soup is my favorite is because it has tons of toppings and additions.
This soup is also super, super easy to throw together. The amount of ingredients is scarce but it’s still so flavorful and delicious.
I made this on a chilly night here in Los Angeles (take that description with a grain of salt, especially those living in bomb cyclone areas) and it hit the spot for the whole fam. It’s also the best leftover type soup ever.
Also have you ever had those posts (this is if you have a blog), where you go to take photos of the recipe and then keep skipping some of the steps and then realize the only photos you took were just the finished product?! This is that post. I forgot to take photos along the way; I really have no idea why. :/
I think it’s because I was so concentrated on losing the light and then cutting up the avocado correctly and quickly. So many excuses.
But luckily the ingredients and steps are so simple. It truly is just a can of enchilada sauce, some broth, a seared onion/garlic and a blender. It’s so simple and yet incredibly flavorful.
When it comes to store-bought I do love Hatch and Herdez the best. The enchilada sauce from those two companies are delicious!!
Ingredients
The Chicken:
- 2 bone-in chicken breasts skin-on
Soup:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and roughly chopped
- Salt
- 3 cups chicken stock divided
- 1 15-ounce can of enchilada sauce OR 15 ounces of homemade enchilada sauce
Crispy Tortilla Strips:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 to 3 to rtillas cut into 1-inch strips
- Salt
Toppings (feel free to use what you have on hand or what you’re feeling!):
- 1/2 avocado diced
- Handful of cilantro
- Sliced radishes
- Crema
- Cotija Cheese
- Sliced green onions
Instructions
To Make the Chicken:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt. Place on a lined-baking sheet (I used foil for easy clean-up) and bake the chicken for 30 to 35 minutes. When done, allow to cool to room temperature until it’s cool enough to handle. Shred the chicken with two forks.
To Make the Soup:
- To a medium pot, set over medium heat, add the olive oil. When warm, add the onion, garlic and a few pinches of salt. Cook slightly softened about 5 minutes. Add the onion mixture to the blender, along with 2 cups of chicken stock. Blend until smooth, about a minute.
- Pour the onion/broth mixture back into the medium pot, along with the remaining 1 cup of chicken broth and enchilada sauce. Bring up to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until the flavors are all married together. Give it a taste and salt to your liking. I added about 1/2 teaspoon of extra salt. Add the shredded chicken to the soup and stir.
To Make the Crispy Tortillas:
- Place a few sheets of paper towels on a plate. To a small saucepan, set over medium-high heat, add the oil. Frying them in batches, add the tortilla strips to the oil and allow to fry up for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to the paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
To Assemble:
- Divide amongst bowls and top with whatever toppings you’d like to add. I added a bit of avocado, cilantro, sliced radishes, cotija cheese and green onions.
Absolutely delicious and such a quick make!!
I used the Siete Brand enchilada sauce and Tia Lupita Cactus chips since I currently can’t have gluten or grain. I also added one more cup of broth (to finish off the box) and I’m glad I did because it was so good it helped to have the extra serving in the end! 🙂
*Definitely* will be making this regularly!!
This was good but I used two more cups of chicken stock and it needed a squeeze of half a lime at the end. I’ll make it again. Thanks!
Are you using corn, or flour tortillas?
I used corn tortillas! But flour works, too.
Hi! This sounds like the perfect soup for mid week quick dinner, just a question. Out of the 3 cups of Chicken Stock – divided, only 2 cups are used in the recipe. Is the additional 1 cup to be added after the onion/stock mixture is blended?
Ahh just caught that. You add the remaining 1 cup of broth is added to the pot with the onion mixture and the enchilada sauce. Just fixed it. Thanks for catching it!
Thank you for clarifying that! Can’t wait to try it out! 🙂
I get you soup takes time to make and daylight savings time is a little bitch. FYI your stuff always looks so great!
Beautiful! And if you’re going to cut a corner or two, rotisserie chicken comes in handy for some quick chicken bits! Not that you don’t know that!
Quick question, looks delicious and I love chicken tortilla soup. It looks like you’re using red enchilada sauce but just want to make sure ☺️ I’ll probably make this for dinner tonight!
Yep, it’s red enchilada sauce! Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Chicken tortilla soup is my favorite – this sounds like such a delicious new twist!
Thank you!