Incredibly delicious homemade 30-minute Chicken Tortilla Soup filled with chicken, tomatoes, and corn. It's a quick, easy, and extra hearty single serving soup!
Chicken tortilla soup is an excellent one-pot meal. It's almost like chicken tortillas in soup form and is a hearty and deeply satisfying meal for one.
Why This Recipe Works
- Made with easy to find ingredients: There are no fancy ingredients needed in this chicken tortilla soup recipe. It's also easy to customize. Feel free to add additional vegetables and leave out what you choose.
- So flavorful: This tortilla soup is packed with flavor. First, we sauté chopped onions and peppers which caramelize and give the base of this soup an incredibly delicious flavor. From there, we add in the spices, tomatoes, and broth and simmer the soup to allow all of the flavors to come together.
- Cooks in 30 minutes!: This soup is perfect for a busy evening when you want to get a meal on the table quickly.
- Doubles well: If you'd like to make a second bowl just double the ingredients.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
To make Chicken Tortilla Soup For One, you will need:
- Olive oil: I use extra virgin olive oil in this chicken tortilla soup recipe as well as in every other recipe on One Dish Kitchen that calls for olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed form of olive oil. It is an unrefined oil and the highest-quality olive oil you can buy. Because of the way extra virgin olive oil is made, it retains more true olive taste. It also contains more of the vitamins and minerals found in olives. It's my favorite type of olive oil to use but you may use a lighter olive oil instead.
- Chicken: Use 1 (4-6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken thigh or chicken breast sliced into ½-inch strips.
- Onions and garlic: Onions and garlic add so much flavor to this soup. Please don't leave them out.
- Red pepper: I love the sweet taste of red peppers in this soup. You can use a green, yellow, or orange pepper instead.
- Tomatoes: Use 1 medium fresh tomato or you can use ¾-cup of canned diced tomatoes, which is about half of a 15-ounce can.
- Corn: Use fresh, frozen, or canned corn.
- Broth: This recipe calls for using vegetable broth but you can use chicken broth instead.
- Seasonings: I use ground cumin, kosher salt, and coarsely ground black pepper. I use kosher salt in most of our recipes. Kosher salt dissolves quickly and it doesn't have the bitter flavor and excessive saltiness found in table salt. You can easily find kosher salt in the supermarket. The brand of kosher salt I use is Diamond Crystal. If you only have table salt, use ⅛-teaspoon.
See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.
How To Make Chicken Tortilla Soup For One
See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Sprinkle all sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil for 30 seconds.
- Place the chicken in the pan and cook for 6 minutes until all pieces are cooked through. Transfer chicken to a large plate, cover, and set aside.
- Add the onions and peppers and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic and cumin and cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the corn and the cooked chicken and cook another 5 minutes.
Pour into a bowl and enjoy immediately.
Expert Tips
- Use leftover chicken: To save a step and a few minutes, use cooked leftover chicken. If I have leftover grocery-store rotisserie chicken, I'll often use it in this chicken tortilla soup.
- Control the sodium: Consider using low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth in this recipe. This way you're in control of how much sodium is in your soup.
- Adjust spices: If you'd like a spicy soup, add chopped jalapeño when cooking the onions and peppers. You can even add a pinch of red pepper flakes to increase the heat.
- Season to taste: Depending on the broth you use, you may need to adjust the salt. Taste the soup towards the end of the cooking process and add more salt if necessary.
- Toppings: Feel free to add chopped avocados, cilantro, shredded cheese, crunchy tortilla strips, and/or a dollop of sour cream to your soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store your leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will stay good for up to 4 days.
You can also freeze the soup in an airtight container for up to two months. When you are ready to eat it, allow it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in a small saucepan on the stove.
Some chicken tortilla soups are a bit heavy, but this version is on the lighter side. It's a great choice as a full meal and contains a good amount of protein and vegetables.
Although I rarely make chicken tortilla soup in my slow cooker because it takes just 30 minutes to cook, you certainly can.
To make slow cooker chicken tortilla soup:
* Place the chicken thigh or breast in the slow cooker. Sprinkle on the cumin, salt, and pepper. Add the chopped onions, red pepper, garlic, chopped tomatoes, corn, and broth.
* Stir, place the lid on the slow cooker, and cook on low for 6 hours or cook on high for 3 hours.
To make this soup vegetarian, leave out the chicken and use vegetable broth.
Serving Suggestions
You might like to enjoy a small batch of hush puppies, a few slices of homemade french bread, or cornbread with your chicken tortilla soup.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this chicken tortilla soup, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Olive oil: Carne Asada, Bruschetta, Chicken Tagine, Spinach Manicotti
- Onions: Nachos, Mini Turkey Meatloaf, French Onion Soup, Baked Stuffed Fish
- Red peppers: Ratatouille, Pasta Salad, Spinach Turkey Wrap, Vegetarian Chili
- Garlic: Shepherd's Pie, Lemon Garlic Chicken, Buttered Noodles, Roasted Garlic, Olives and Feta
- Cumin: Black Bean Hummus, Beef Enchiladas, Southwest Wrap, Butter Chicken
- Tomatoes: Tortellini Soup, Crustless Tomato and Pesto Quiche, Broiled Tomatoes, Caprese Salad
- Vegetable broth: Chickepea Curry, Black Bean Soup, Rice Pilaf, Lentil Stew
- Corn: Corn Muffins, Fried Rice, Taco Soup, Vegetable Soup
- Chicken: Chicken Stew, Chicken and Rice Casserole, Chicken Cacciatore, Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken
If you’ve tried this chicken tortilla soup or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Also, if you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Chicken Tortilla Soup For One
See the post above for expert tips,
FAQs and ways to use leftover ingredients.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 (4 to 6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken thigh , sliced into ½-inch strips
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup chopped onions
- ¼ cup chopped red peppers
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 medium tomato , chopped
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- ¼ cup frozen whole kernel corn
Instructions
- Sprinkle all sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil for 30 seconds.
- Place the chicken in the pan and cook for 6 minutes until all pieces are cooked through. Transfer chicken to a large plate, cover, and set aside.
- Add the onions and peppers and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic and cumin and cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the corn and the cooked chicken and cook another 5 minutes.
- Pour into a bowl and enjoy immediately.
Notes
- Use leftover chicken: To save a step and a few minutes, use cooked leftover chicken. If I have leftover grocery-store rotisserie chicken, I'll often use in in this chicken tortilla soup.
- Control the sodium: Consider using low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth in this recipe. This way you're in control of how much sodium is in your soup.
- Adjust spices: If you'd like a spicy soup, add chopped jalapeño when cooking the onions and peppers. You can even add a pinch of red pepper flakes to increase the heat.
- Season to taste: Depending on the broth you use, you may need to adjust the salt. Taste the soup towards the end of the cooking process and add more salt if necessary.
- Toppings: Feel free to add chopped avocados, cilantro, shredded cheese, crunchy tortilla strips, and/or a dollop of sour cream to your soup.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Gail says
I have plain flour tortillas How do I make them crunchy?
Joanie Zisk says
You can slice the tortillas into strips or wedges, toss them with a little olive oil and bake them for 8-12 minutes in a 350°F oven. Check out our Baked Tortilla Chips recipe for more information: https://onedishkitchen.com/baked-tortilla-chips/
Michele says
I made this recipe using chicken from a roasted chicken and vegetable broth. ( I could not get chicken broth during the pandemic.) It was very good with added shredded cheddar and avocado on top.