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Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Creamy chicken tortilla soup with a rich orange-cream Tex-Mex broth, tender shredded chicken, and crunchy tortilla strips. Simmered until velvety from melted cream cheese and heavy cream, then finished with sour cream, cheddar, cilantro, avocado, and lime.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Calories: 540
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken breast
  • 1.5 lb chicken breast cooked and shredded
Black beans
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans drained
Corn
  • 1 can (15 oz) corn drained
Rotel tomatoes
  • 1 can (10 oz) Rotel tomatoes
Diced tomatoes
  • 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
Onion
  • 1 onion diced
Garlic
  • 4 clove garlic minced
Chicken broth
  • 4 cup chicken broth
Cream cheese
  • 8 oz cream cheese cubed
Heavy cream
  • 1 cup heavy cream
Taco seasoning
  • 1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning
Cumin
  • 1 tsp cumin
Toppings
  • 1 sour cream for topping
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar for topping
  • 1 tortilla strips for topping
  • 0.25 cup cilantro for topping
  • 1 avocado for topping
  • 1 lime for topping
Seasoning
  • 1 tsp salt to taste
  • 0.5 tsp pepper to taste

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Sauté the aromatics
  1. Sauté the onion in a large pot for 4 minutes. Stir often until softened and slightly translucent.
  2. Add the garlic and taco seasoning and cook for 2 minutes. Stir continuously so the garlic becomes fragrant without browning.
Build the soup base
  1. Add the Rotel tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, black beans, corn, and cumin. Bring the mixture to a boil, then keep it actively bubbling.
Make it creamy
  1. Reduce the heat and stir in the cream cheese until completely melted. Scrape the bottom and sides to ensure a smooth, thick broth.
  2. Add the shredded chicken and heavy cream. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot throughout and creamy.
Season and serve
  1. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Taste the broth and adjust so the flavors pop.
  2. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar, tortilla strips, cilantro, avocado, and lime. Add toppings right before eating so the tortilla strips stay crisp.

Notes

For the smoothest texture, keep the heat at a gentle simmer after adding the cream cheese and stir until fully melted. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days; freeze up to 2 months. For a lighter option, use reduced-fat cream cheese and half-and-half in place of the heavy cream.