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If there’s one thing that’s true about Texans, it’s that we love our Tex-Mex. From the simplest offerings like a bean-and-cheese breakfast taco to a sizzling platter of fajitas or a plate of bubbling enchiladas, you go into a Tex-Mex restaurant and you can practically hear a collective sigh as people happily dig in.
As a fifth-generation Texan with Spanish and Mexican heritage stemming from my paternal great-grandmother, I have many favorites when it comes to my beloved Tex-Mex, and, I’ll admit, I most often get my fix by going out to a Mexican restaurant.
But there’s one Tex-Mex staple I always make, and that’s Tortilla Soup. It’s delicious, it’s warming, it can be frozen and reheated for when you want comfort soup on a whim, and it’s one of my all-time favorites. It’s also easy make, which is a huge bonus!
And another confession: The person who makes it best is my mother (who doesn’t have a drop of Latin blood in her). Hers is the recipe I always make, hands down, and no restaurant version comes close. Luckily, my mom is the best, and she’s willing to give up her famous recipe for comforting Tortilla Soup. We both hope you’ll enjoy it!
Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast tenders, cubed or sliced in desired way
7-8 oz. chopped white onion
7-8 oz. chopped red and green bell peppers
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1 regular size can chopped tomatoes (14.5 oz )
1 regular size can of Original Ro-tel diced tomatoes with green chilies (10 oz.)
4 cans of Campbell’s regular chicken broth—do not dilute (about 42 oz. total)
1 teaspoon chili powder (Mexican style, if possible—I round mine up a bit)
1 teaspoon cumin (I keep this level or tastes too “smokey”)
1 teaspoon lemon pepper (I use McCormick’s)
¼ stick butter plus ¼ cup olive oil for cooking the chicken
Pepper to taste
Notes:
1. If using Campbell’s chicken broth, you should not need any extra salt. However, if you’re concerned about salt intake to begin with, consider using 42 ounces of low-salt chicken broth, but add four chicken bouillon cubes to the broth before mixing in with the cooked chicken and vegetables. The bouillon cubes will add an extra depth of flavor. (Herb-Ox bouillon cubes work very well.)
2. This soup also tastes wonderful with extra vegetables such as sliced zucchini, yellow squash, and/or corn.
Directions:
Heat butter and olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven.
Brown chicken for 5 minutes or so. Add spices and cook for another minute or two.
Add veggies, garlic, and onions and cook until soft, 3-5 minutes or so.
Add chopped tomatoes, Ro-tel tomatoes with green chilies, and chicken broth. Stir.
Bring to boil, cover, then reduce and cook, covered, for 1½ hrs.
Serve with strips of fried corn tortillas (fried in any kind of oil) or tortilla chips, shredded cheese, cubes of avocado, sour cream (if you must!), and a spritz of lime. Enjoy!
This soup freezes like a dream. You can also easily double or triple this recipe. Like all soups, it tastes even better the next day.
S.C. Perkins writes the Ancestry Detective mysteries featuring Austin-based genealogist Lucy Lancaster. Her debut, Murder Once Removed, is now available everywhere in paperback. Book two in the series, Lineage Most Lethal, comes out July 28, 2020, and is available for preorder.
S.C. Perkins is giving away a paperback copy of Murder Once Removed. To enter, leave your email and comment with your favorite Tex-Mex.
