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Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup Recipe is one of the most famous soups from Central Mexico. There are several variations, some include shredded chicken, roasted poblano peppers, and even pork skins (Chicharrones). You can find this soup served in upscale restaurants or in small eateries known as “cocinas económicas”.
Course Soups
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword authentic tortilla soup recipe, mexican tortilla soup, tortilla soup recipe, tortilla soup slow cooker
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 307kcal

Ingredients

  • · 6 cups of chicken broth
  • · 2 medium-size tomatoes About 14 oz.
  • · ⅓ of a medium size onion
  • · 2 garlic cloves
  • · 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil plus ¼ cup extra to fry the tortilla strips
  • · 1 Epazote branch
  • · 6 Corn tortillas cut into thin strips day-old ones are better**
  • · 1 or 2 Pasilla Pepper thinly sliced, seeds removed.
  • · Salt and pepper to taste

Garnishes:

  • · 1 Avocado cut in cubes until ready to serve
  • · 1 cup of fresh cheese cut in small cubes
  • · Mexican Cream Optional
  • · Lime wedges

Instructions

  • Heat a griddle and roast the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onion. Roast until tomatoes are blistered and slightly softened. Rotate often for an even roasting. Garlic cloves will roast faster. Remove them after a few minutes.
  • Once the vegetables are roasted, peel the tomatoes place them into a blender with the onion and garlic, puree until you have a smooth sauce. Add some chicken broth if needed.
  • In a large pot, heat the 1 Tbsp. of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the tomato sauce mix and cook for about 3 minutes, it will start boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. The color of the sauce will reduce and change color.
  • While the sauce is cooking, start cutting the tortillas into thin strips in case you haven’t already done that.
  • After the 5 minutes of simmering the sauce, add the chicken broth and turn the heat up. When it starts to boil, lower the heat to simmer for about 10-12 more minutes.
  • Add the Epazote branch and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 3 more minutes.
  • Now, in a large skillet heat the oil and start frying the tortillas (making sure not to over crowd the skillet) until they are crispy and have a golden color. You will need to work in batches in this step. Place the fried tortillas over a plate covered with paper napkins to drain any excess oil.
  • In the remaining oil, fry the pasilla pepper strips, these will get crisp very quickly. Once they get crispy, remove and set aside.
  • Gather all your garnishes: cut the lime in wedges and the avocado in cubes, ready to assemble the bowls of soup.
  • Ladle the soup into bowls add the tortilla strips and then the rest of the garnishes. You can also place the garnishes at the table and let everyone serve themselves.

Notes

• *You can also add one pasilla pepper to the sauce, soak one pepper in water and onece soften add to the tomatoes while making the sauce.
• The pasilla peppers have shiny dark brown and wrinkled skin. The color resembles that of a prune’s skin. It is a very mild pepper used to make the famous Salsa Borracha (Drunken Sauce), as a garnish for the tortilla soup, and in moles and stews. Some recipes also include the seeds and the veins in order to give more flavor and spiciness to the dish.
• ** Day old tortillas are better for frying since they are dryer and absorb less oil and tend to crisp faster. Just leave them on your kitchen counter overnight, cover with a kitchen napkin or place in your oven at 250 for 10-12 minutes before frying. Or you could bake the tortilla strips instead of frying.
• *** Some cooks prefer not to roast the tomato, onion, and garlic. These ingredients are just chopped and puree in the blender and skipping the roasting step. That is a personal choice.
OPTIONAL GARNISHES:
• · 1 ½ cup of shredded cooked chicken & 1 roasted Poblano Pepper, cut into strips.
• · Chopped onion and cilantro to taste.

Nutrition

Calories: 307kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 1541mg | Potassium: 751mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1205IU | Vitamin C: 35.1mg | Calcium: 232mg | Iron: 1.7mg