11. Chicken Tortilla Soup
Of all the delicious components to this chicken tortilla soup recipe, it’s the garnishes that literally and figuratively top it off in the best way. When you take a bite of those homemade tortilla strips, you’ll see why. This soup can be easily adapted to what you have in your kitchen, which is ideal if you, like us, would prefer to stay in your pajamas all day.
INGREDIENTS
- 1–2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, rough chopped (or sub 1–2 tablespoons granulated garlic)
- 1–2 cups carrots, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes and juices (or fire-roasted) or 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes w/juices
- 4–ounce can, mild green chilies (or sub a poblano chili, diced)
- 2 lbs chicken (boneless, skinless, thighs or breasts) left whole -see cooking notes
- 1 cup dry black beans ,or sub 1 to 2 14-ounce cans black beans (or sub corn) see notes
- 4 cups chicken stock or broth (or water with 4 chicken bouillon cubes)
- 2 cups water
- 2 teaspoons salt, more to taste
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- lime juice from 1-2 limes
- optional: for a smoky heat, add a little chipotle (either the adobo sauce from canned chipotles, or a little ground chipotle powder to taste.)
Garnish with any or all of the following: tortilla strips, grated cheese, sour cream, avocado, hot sauce, cilantro, fresh jalapeño, scallions, and lime wedges.
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a Dutch oven over medium heat (or an Instant Pot) saute onions, garlic, carrots and celery in olive oil, 4 minutes. (If using granulated garlic, add with the spices, and if using fresh poblano chili, add it now).
- Add the diced tomatoes and their juices, green chilies, whole chicken, and black beans. Pour in the chicken stock, water, salt and all the spices and give a good stir.
- Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is tender and pulls apart easily. Alternatively, set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high, for 25 minutes, if using dry beans, or 14 minutes if using canned beans, and manually release. See notes for modifications.
- Shred the chicken with two forks, either right in the pot, or in a bowl. (At this point, you could add frozen corn to the soup heating it up.) Return the shredded chicken to the pot and simmer on low.
- Squeeze with a generous amount of lime juice and taste for salt, adding more if necessary- especially if you used dry beans, you will need to add more. You want a good balance between lime and salt. (If the soup tastes bland, it probably needs more of each.)
- Divide among bowls and top with tortilla strips, grated cheese, sour cream, scallions or avocado and cilantro. Add hot sauce for added heat.
NOTES
I use a 6-quart Dutch Oven, or a 6-quart Instant Pot. Doubling the recipe will not fit in a 6-quart.
Black beans: If your dry black beans are very old, I recommend soaking them first or extending the pressure cooking time to 30-35 minutes. You can also use dry beans in the stovetop version, but I recommend soaking them first. For a more brothy soup, use only one can of beans vs. two. ( I prefer this soup brothy.)
Chicken Breast: If using whole chicken breasts in the instant pot, lower the pressure cook time to 9-12 minutes and do not use dry beans (you will overcook the breasts). Set at 8 minutes for smaller breasts or 12 mins for extra-large chicken breasts. If cooking on the stove top, cutting extra large chicken breasts in half will shorten the cooking time.
For the tastiest tortilla chips, spray strips of fresh tortillas with olive oil spray and a sprinkle of salt, and bake in a 300 F oven until crisp.
For a bean-free version you could swap out 2 cups of corn for the beans ( Trader Joes, frozen fire-roasted corn is great) adding it to the soup after chicken is cooked.
For slow cooker version, do steps 1 & 2 as stated above, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on High for 3 to 4 hours.
12. Vegan Lasagna Soup
This vegan lasagna soup will prove to you that not all lasagna’s need to have meat—or even packed in a casserole dish. Filled with ribbons of lasagna sheets, tomatoes, lentils, peppers, carrots, zucchini, onion, and spinach, there is truly nothing this soup is missing. Topped with pesto and vegan cheese, this soup recipe is one of our new favorites.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 (0.5) onion chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1 cup (149 g) veggies – combination of peppers , carrots, zucchini
- 1/4 cup (48 g) red lentils (uncooked) – quick cooking red lentils (split ones) also called masoor dal
- 1 cup (9.24 oz) tomato puree (or use any thick tomato sauce such as marinara, pasta sauce or passata)
- 1 to 1.5 cup (5.26 oz) diced tomato
- 2 tsp italian seasoning (1 tsp basil and 1/2 tsp oregano, parsley, generous dash of thyme/sage and rosemary)
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) each onion powder , garlic powder
- 1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt (depends on if there is salt in the tomatoes or other seasoning, I use 3/4 tsp with)
- 2 cups (470 ml) water or veggie broth (2.5 to 3 cups for soupier or if using whole grain noodles or with more veggies)
- 5 oz (5 to 6 oz) lasagna sheets , broken into small pieces, or use pasta of choice (I use no boil as they work out the best)
- dash of black and white pepper
- pepper flakes to taste , i use about 1/3 tsp
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 cup (30 g) packed spinach , optional
- vegan pesto, vegan ricotta or mozzarella, vegan butter/ garlic bread to serve optional
- a tbsp tomato paste, lemon, fennel seeds (optional add ins)
Instructions
- Heat oil in Instant pot on saute mode. When hot, add onion, garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook for 2 mins, stirring occasionally. (See Recipe notes for Saucepan instructions )
- Add veggies and mix in. Add red lentils, tomato purée, tomato, salt, seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder and mix in. Add a tbsp of tomato paste for additional tomato flavor (optional). Add lasagna sheets and water and mix in. (make sure to use small pieces and mix them in well else they tend to stick)
- Close the lid and Pressure cook on manual hi for 3 mins **. Let the pressure release for 10 minutes, then if there is still pressure in the pot, manually release carefully and open.
- Mix in the black pepper, pepper flakes and nutritional yeast. Taste and adjust salt and flavor(italian herbs, onion/garlic powder). Add some more salt, broth, tang(lemon) if needed to balance.
- Fold in the spinach if using. Let sit for a minute. Then serve with pesto/basil and/or vegan ricotta/mozzarella, and garlic bread. You definitely need some vegan cheese for a more lasagna like flavor. Fold in some into the soup while still hot and use more for garnish.