Easy, flavorful chicken tortilla soup! Perfect for cool fall nights! Feeds a crowd or freezes well!
It’s officially post-labor day, that means we can post all the soups, and the pumpkin, and the apple recipes we want, right?! 😉 Truth, I made this back in August and froze it. So why am I sharing a recipe that has been done a million times? Hear me out. We all have our own way of making things, our own twist on recipes, and I love ours so much that I wanted to document it so I can always refer back to it, plus, I made a huge batch of this to freeze along with other meals for after baby gets here!
And you should too. Make a big batch and freeze it, I mean. (You’ll get two dinners out of this particular recipe.) Then, on a busy weeknight, when the weather is chilly, and you’re just so tired and don’t have time to cook, you just heat up a bag of healthy, fresh, homemade chicken tortilla soup! This is one of my husbands all time favorite meals, so I love to make it, and I love having extra on hand!
I never thought I would be a fan of freezer meals, mainly because I don’t like leftovers, but I completely under-appreciated the ease and convenience of having something completely ready. I’m loving all this meal prep, and am hoping to start doing it every Sunday once the baby gets here and we’re adjusted to a routine.
Also, if you don’t want to freeze this, don’t! Its so, so good though that you should make it this Fall! It’s one of my favorites to serve if we’re having guests since it makes such a huge batch. When I make this, it fills a 5-quart pan. I can usually serve the four of us two separate dinners with this amount. I love meals like that!
Easy, flavorful chicken tortilla soup! Perfect for cool fall nights! Feeds a crowd or freezes well!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breast
- 1 TB olive oil
- 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 teaspoons cumin, divided
- 4 teaspoons chili powder, divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2-1 tsp cayenne, optional (I tend to go light on this because of my kiddos!) But then we add some heat to our individual bowls!
- 2 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Place in your chicken breasts, sprinkle with salt, and 1 teaspoon each of the cumin and chili powder. Bake 30-35 minutes until cooked through. Slightly cool before shredding and set aside. (Tip: I throw my whole chicken breasts in the stand mixer with the paddle attachment and it shreds them in seconds!)
- Heat the olive oil in a large, at least 5 qt, pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the bell peppers, and cook until they begin to slightly soften.
- Add the chicken, remaining cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the beans, corn, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add salt to taste and serve! We love topping ours with some sour cream, tortilla chips, fresh cilantro, avocado if we have it, whatever you love!
Notes
If Freezing: Allow to cool down, then divide into two gallon size ziplock bags, labeled with the contents, the date, and any instructions you may need when you pull it out. Lay flat to freeze, then stack once frozen!