Are your weeknights crazy?!? Do you feel like you run in the door with just barely enough time to get dinner on the table? All while trying to wrangle kids, maybe take another work call, get homework started, etc? Yep – I mean, that’s us at least, most nights of the week. This is the reason we do a lot of leftovers at our house, but I’ll be honest that I really don’t like (read: HATE) leftovers at all. It’s just one of those necessary evils that gets us through the week, though! Otherwise we wind up eating out or picking something up and that’s just not good for the bank account or scale unfortunately! If you’re like me, you want fresh food during the week with minimal prep and cleanup. This dish fits the bill! I pre-pick the chicken on a Sunday, and everything else is ready to go in the pantry or freezer. It’s an extra winner for me because a lot of these items are regularly on hand for us!
While I’ve never been a huge lover of soups, this is a family favorite and pretty easy recipe my mom and I put together awhile back! We were having trouble finding a recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup that we really liked, so it was easier to just create our own. Haha I especially don’t like soups and stews during the summer, typically; but for some reason, this one just seems to be on the lighter side and I don’t mind it. I also love all of that avocado and cheesy goodness that you can add to it 😍
Similar to my jambalaya recipe, you can do this the hard way or the easy way. I always choose the easy way now that I’ve discovered it – life’s just too short for any other way if you feel me!! I use a frozen bag blend of bell peppers and onion instead of taking the time to chop fresh veggies. It’s also super convenient because I can keep this bag on hand in the freezer instead of timing out the shelf life of fresh veggies. If you do want to sub fresh bell peppers and onions, though, you’ll want to use one medium-sized onion along with half of a red, green and yellow bell pepper. You can just roughly chop them for this dish. When I was still using the fresh veggies, I would cut the other half of the peppers into strips to use for either breakfast burritos or homemade fajitas – see that level of preparedness there 😉
To get started, melt your stick of butter in a nice big pot. You want to choose a pot that sautes well; getting those little brown pieces of yumminess always makes a dish taste better 😉 Remember to watch your butter closely because you don’t want it to burn. Once melted, dump in the bag of peppers and onions. Saute well – I would say about 10 minutes or so; you definitely want them soft and with a hint of doneness on them. As those are finishing up, add your minced garlic. If I haven’t already pre-picked the rotisserie chicken, I do this now while I have the veggies sauteing.
After the garlic has sauteed for about 2 minutes while stirring frequently, you’re ready to add your flour. I usually turn the burner off for this part and use the residual heat from the pan. You definitely do not want your flour/butter mixture to burn – YUCK! (I may or may not know this from experience … & it’s super annoying to start over) Sprinkle your flour slowly into the pan stirring as you do. Take good breaks to just stir if you need to. As soon as all of the flour is mixed in, turn your burner back on low and slowly begin adding your chicken stock. It’s super important to do this step slowly, too, or your flour will clump up. After you’ve added the first 32oz chicken stock, you’ll probably notice that all of the flour has evenly been reabsorbed and you can add the remaining stock all at once.
Once you’ve stirred in all of the stock, go ahead and add in the spices. I like to do this step next because I find it’s the best way to evenly mix in the spices without them becoming too clumpy. Plus the clumps are easier to see if you do wind up having some. Then, I bring the mixture to a boil.
Next, add in the beans and corn. You can use plain black beans, but I promise the seasoned ones just give it an extra something!! You can always add more or less of these ingredients depending on preference. After these are mixed in, I add the half & half. Lastly, I add in the chicken. You can see here that I pre-picked the chicken, and it makes this quick meal even easier on a busy weeknight. Once everything has been added, I turn the heat down so that it can simmer. The longer you leave the pot simmering, the better everything will mesh together and taste. Try to give it a minimum of 10-15 minutes, though, if time allows. This is even a great dish to make around 3 or 4 pm if you have time then or a break in the day, and then just let it sit until it’s time for dinner!
When it’s time to serve, top with sour cream, shredded cheese, avocados, tortilla strips/chips and whatever else you can think of. I don’t like tomatoes, but I bet that would be a good addition; and even some green chiles if you like a little heat!
And while I just got finished saying at the beginning of this how much I dislike leftovers, this is actually one of those dishes that does get better as it sits. I have a few of my go-tos that are okay as leftovers for that reason.
So as you can see, this dish is just a winner all around! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do 😁
*Note: You can substitute whole milk for the half & half if you need to. Just use more flour to make an extra thick roux. I may or may not know this because I’ve been stuck in this exact situation haha
Homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp butter (1 stick)
- 1 bag (16oz) 3 color pepper & onion strips (I use Pictsweet Farms brand)
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 cup flour
- 64 oz chicken stock
- 1.5 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 tbsp chili powder
- 1.5 tbsp seasoning salt (I use Morton Season-All)
- 1/8 tbsp white pepper
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp onion powder
- 1 can seasoned black beans (drained)
- 1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
- 12 oz frozen corn
- 32 oz half & half
- 3 packed cups rotisserie chicken (pre-picked for ease)
Instructions
- Pick apart rotisserie chicken -> get the dirty work out of the way ahead of time!
- In a large pot that’s great for sautéing, melt butter. Once melted, add in peppers and onions to sauté well (about 10 minutes or so). Stir throughout.
- While that’s browning, pick the rotisserie chicken if you haven’t yet!
- Add in garlic and stir frequently for another minute or two.
- Turn heat off and begin sprinkling flour into butter/pepper mixture very slowly. Take breaks to stir the mixture if needed.
- Once all of the flour has been added, turn heat back onto low and begin to add chicken stock VERY SLOWLY and in VERY SMALL increments. If you do too much at one time or too fast on this step, you will get clumps and those are a pain to get out!
- Once you’ve added in all of your chicken stock, raise the heat to med-high and bring it to a boil.
- Slowly stir in the seasonings.
- Add in the drained/rinsed beans and corn.
- Pour in the half & half.
- Mix in the pulled chicken.
- Allow soup to simmer for 10-15 minutes, but the longer the better.
- Top with all your faves & serve!
