Tortilla Soup is one of our all-time favorite things to eat! It's a healthy, happy lunch or dinner and we love having left overs! Big thanks to our friend Jeni for sharing this recipe.
We always eat it the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas, just to mix things up a bit. What a great tastebud vacation after all traditional holiday fare! OK. the truth is, we like to eat Tortilla Soup ANYTIME, any day, of the year!
Our tortilla soup, like most tacos soups, is more of a tex mex recipe than a traditional Mexican soup recipe. It's a great fall soup, or winter soup, honestly, it's the best ever tortilla soup.
How to make tortilla soup
The soup starts with a chicken broth, tomatoes, seasonings and other vegetables to make a mild flavored base. On it's own, it's a nice vegetable soup. Fairly subtle in flavor and texture, and low fat. It's appetizing, pleasant to eat, and all that. Carrots, potatoes, onions and tomatoes fill the tortilla soup along with bacon, chicken broth, garlic, salt and pepper.
Flavor Explosion (aka the toppings)
The excitement comes when you start adding the toppings. We have our regular line up of add-ins, but you could add a few more of your own. Cheese, bacon, sour cream, avocados, green and black olives, jalapenos, cilantro and green onions top our list of favorites.
Lemon magic!
Next, a very important second to last ingredient: squeeze a wedge of fresh lemon over your soup. This little citrus burst adds amazing zip, and somehow takes this dish to a whole new level! For the grand finale, crush tortilla chips in your hand and drop them atop the soup.Fiesta in your mouth!
The texture blend of soft, and tender, and firm, and crunchy, and crisp, is satisfying. Then there are the flavors. Oh, my! You've got salty, sweet, spicy, tangy, cheesy, citrusy, fresh, savory --yes, they're all there! Eating this tortilla soup is like having a party in your mouth!
Protein anyone?
You could up the protein by adding shredded or cubed chicken to the recipe. Adding meat would go perfectly with this dish, but somehow, we seem to like it just like this. We hope you'll try this delightful dish. Let us know if you liked it by rating the recipe below! Deliciosa! Enjoy! DiannaYou Might Also Enjoy these other Flavorful Main Dish Recipes!
- Skinny Turkey Chili
- Navajo Tacos
- Sheet Pan Fajitas
- Chicken Tikka Masala Mac and Cheese
- Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps
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Tortilla Soup
A flavorful tomato based vegetable soup with lots of toppings ranging from bacon bits to jalapenos, sour cream and avocados!
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Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 429kcal
Ingredients
For Broth
- 1 pound bacon
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 2 medium potatoes cubed
- 2 large carrots diced
- 6 cups chicken broth (or one 49-ounce carton)
- 16 ounce can tomato sauce
- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For Toppings
- 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese grated
- 1 cup sour cream
- bacon fried for broth, chopped
- 1 avocado diced
- 4 ounce can sliced black olives
- ½ cup green olives sliced
- ½ cup pickled jalapeños diced
- ½ cup green onions tops only
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- 1 lemon cut in 8 wedges
- Tortilla chips or strips
Instructions
- In a large pot, fry bacon (be careful so it doesn't burn), remove bacon (set aside for topping) and reserve bacon grease. Use one tablespoon of reserved grease and sauté onions and garlic.
- Add chicken broth, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes (with juice).
- Add potatoes and carrots, plus seasoning. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer until veggies are tender.
- Arrange toppings in small bowls and let guests serve themselves. Suggest that guests add a squeeze of fresh lemon to their bowl then crush tortilla chips over their soup at the end.
Notes
Vegetarian
It's easy to turn this soup into a vegetarian entree. Just substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth and omit the bacon grease and chopped bacon. It's a delicious vegetarian meal!
Crockpot
You can easily adapt this recipe to cook the base soup in your crockpot. Then, just serve from the crockpot and add toppings.
Nutrition
You can easily adjust the calories and fat in this recipe by controlling the amount of bacon, avocado, sour cream and cheese you use. It's actually a really healthy soup if you're careful about your toppings!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 429kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 1736mg | Potassium: 827mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2940IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 210mg | Iron: 2mg
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