Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup - This recipe is made in one pot and is so delicious Always a crowd pleaser and tastes great loaded with cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips Youll love this chicken tortilla soup recipe
Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup - This recipe is made in one pot and is so delicious Always a crowd pleaser and tastes great loaded with cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips Youll love this chicken tortilla soup recipe
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound boneless chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 onion ((chopped))
- 29 ounces chicken broth ((2 cans))
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder ((can add another 1/2-1 tsp if you l
- 15 ounces black beans ((1 can) )
- 1 1/2 cups chunky salsa
- Carbohydrate 11.8407293788522 g
- Cholesterol 43.8472624333333 mg
- Fat 1.53983006445323 g
- Fiber 1.79899998224524 g
- Protein 19.6125576230203 g
- Saturated Fat 0.33919538680814 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (385g)
- Sodium 434.759319574663 mg
- Sugar 10.0417293966069 g
- Trans Fat 0.279767970153132 g
- Calories 136 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the chicken in the oil for 5 minutes.
- Add the onions and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Then add the garlic and cumin and mix well.
- Next add the broth, corn, chili powder, beans, lemon juice and salsa.
- Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Break up some tortilla chips or tortilla strips and add to individual bowls.
- Pour tortilla soup over chips.
- Top with the Monterey Jack cheese and a little sour cream if desired.
Chicken broth acts as the foundational solvent in this dish, dissolving water-soluble compounds from the garlic, onion, and cumin while extracting proteins from the boneless chicken breasts. Building flavor requires sautéing the chicken in one teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat for five minutes before introducing aromatics. This initial searing triggers the Maillard reaction on the surface of the meat, creating savory compounds that eventually infuse the surrounding liquid during the twenty to thirty minute simmer on low heat. Adding onions after the initial five-minute sear prevents them from burning, as their high sugar content scorches rapidly when exposed directly to dry pan heat. Minced garlic goes in last among the aromatics because its sulfur compounds degrade quickly under high heat, turning bitter if overexposed. Substituting the canned black beans with dried beans requires a separate long-soaking and pre-cooking phase, as raw dried beans will not soften properly in the acidic environment created by the chunky salsa and lemon juice. Similarly, replacing the frozen corn kernels with fresh corn on the cob alters the moisture balance slightly, requiring an additional two minutes of simmering to achieve identical kernel tenderness. Salsa functions as a compound ingredient here, supplying both tomatoes and pre-cooked peppers, which eliminates the need to reduce a separate tomato paste base. Lemon juice provides citric acid to brighten the heavier bean and corn starches, though lime juice serves as a chemically equivalent swap at a one-to-one ratio without altering the final pH balance. Shredding the poached chicken after the simmering phase breaks down the muscle fiber bundles, increasing surface area so the meat absorbs the surrounding broth more thoroughly. Serving the hot liquid over broken tortilla chips introduces a deliberate textural contrast, though placing the chips into the bowl immediately before ladling causes rapid starch gelatinization if the soup sits longer than two minutes.
