Try this Paleo Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe.
- olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tbs tomato paste
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 2 large chicken breasts skin removed and cut into 1/2 inch strips
- 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 32 ounces organic chicken broth
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 2 jalepenos, de-seeded and diced
- 2 cups of shredded carrots
- 1 bunch of cilantro chopped fine
- 4 cloves of garlic minced - i always use one of these
- sea salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 1-2 cups water
- Carbohydrate 7.18589399192745 g
- Cholesterol 182.506666666667 mg
- Fat 4.31301245643665 g
- Fiber 2.05755649445444 g
- Protein 75.179372065134 g
- Saturated Fat 1.1200625123797 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (570g)
- Sodium 487.67108548481 mg
- Sugar 5.12833749747302 g
- Trans Fat 1.11795849781804 g
- Calories 387 calories
Step-by-step
- In a crockpot or large dutch oven over med-high heat, place a dash of olive oil and about ¼ cup chicken broth. Add onions, garlic, jalapeno, sea salt and pepper and cook until soft, adding more broth as needed.
- Then add all of your remaining ingredients and enough water to fill to the top of your pot. Cover and let cook on low for about 2 hrs, adjusting salt & pepper as needed.
- Once the chicken is fully cooked, you should be able to shred it very easily. I simply used the back of a wooden spoon and pressed the cooked chicken against the side of the pot. You could also use a fork or tongs to break the chicken apart and into shreds.
- Top with avocado slices and fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
- This is an easy one-pot meal that's loaded with veggies, low in fat, and full of flavor! You don't need to add cheese or tortilla strips the soup is full of flavor on it's own!
Traditional tortilla soup relies heavily on fried corn strips and melted cheese for texture, but this paleo variant abandons dairy and grains entirely while leaning on a dense mirepoix of celery, sweet onion, and carrots to build body. While the ingredient swap sounds straightforward, many home cooks botch the execution by dumping raw chicken breasts straight into unsimmered liquid alongside delicate spices, resulting in a watery broth and rubbery protein.
Controlling Texture and Spice
Building a rich foundation requires softening the diced onions, minced garlic, and de-seeded jalapenos in olive oil and chicken broth over medium-high heat until the aromatics turn translucent before introducing the canned diced tomatoes and remaining liquids. Simmering the chicken breasts for two hours at a low temperature allows the muscle fibers to relax enough that they yield to the back of a wooden spoon, making shredding effortless without needing to remove the meat from the pot. Ground cumin and chili powder can easily scorch or turn bitter if allowed to sit in a dry, hot Dutch oven, so ensure there is at least a quarter cup of chicken broth in the base before applying direct heat.
- If the soup tastes overly acidic from the twenty-eight ounces of canned tomatoes, balance the pH by simmering a grated carrot directly in the broth rather than adding refined sugar.
- Store leftovers in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to four days, keeping avocado slices separate until the moment of serving to prevent enzymatic browning.
