Tortilla Soup: A Winner of a Weeknight Meal

Our Recipe and Thoughts from an Expert

Issue 09: From Sara Kate’s kitchen

I love a dish that has a buffet of toppings. Grain bowls, tacos, ice cream sundaes… tortilla soup. These dishes speak to our human desire to individualize, to make everything uniquely ours. It’s why we draw on our sneakers as teenagers or accessorize on top of jeans and a white tee.

But tortilla soup… it checks all the boxes. I grew up in Los Angeles, and I remember getting it at taco stands throughout the city, and my mom also made it at home all the time when I was little. As a busy mom myself, I now realize why: it’s not difficult to pull together, and everyone at the table gets that feeling like they’ve just eaten a bowl of originality. It’s never “the same old thing.” Put enough cilantro and avocado on top and you have soup and salad in one bowl. A true weeknight delight!  

There are many different versions of this classic soup, but each starts with a rich tomato broth seasoned with chili peppers, traditionally dried. We use fresh poblanos because they are more mild and easier for kids to work with than the dried. We also add canned chipotle in adobo, which gives the sauce a nice smoky depth. Skinny tortilla strips are what gives the soup its legendary crunch, although our recipe has you baking them rather than frying since it’s safer for the younger chefs. (Want to deep fry yours? Follow this method from our friend, Katie Workman.)

Speaking of friends, I spoke to my good pal Pati Jinich recently -- from the streets of Mexico City, horns honking and all -- about her love for tortilla soup. She told me that tortilla soup is one of the most iconic Mexican soups and you find versions of it all over Mexico. “It’s a really fun soup to prepare and mostly to eat because you customize the taste, you can add as many garnishes as you want, so people can really make their own, their own thing!”

Watch Pati making her version of Tortilla Soup, complete with toasted guajillo chilies. She has the best you-can-do-it attitude that always makes me want to cook alongside her.

“Don’t be intimidated because I’m using a dried chili!” 

“I mean, you guys, how easy is this?” 

“I’m gonna tell you why this soup is so fun to eat!”

I suggest if you’re cooking with your kids, try our version first. There’s a lot of good techniques in there like knife skills--dicing onions, mincing garlic, de-seeding and chopping peppers, shredding cabbage--so it’s a good one to pull out when you want to give yourself or your kids some time on the blade, without the step up to handling hot peppers or deep frying tortilla strips.

Now, don’t skimp on toppings! Get a really nice avocado if you can, seek out Mexican cotija cheese but if you can’t find it, you can substitute feta. As long as there are no cilantro haters, have plenty to scatter on top of the soup. For the full list of our suggested toppings, see the recipe below. Have other toppings you love? Tell us about it! 

Tortilla Soup
Serves 4 to 6

For the soup: 
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 poblano pepper, diced (or green bell pepper)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 to 2 teaspoons chipotle in adobo sauce, finely chopped (for a less spicy soup, remove the seeds before chopping) (optional) 
1 teaspoon chili powder (preferably ancho)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1 can (28-ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, drained
1 quart (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
1 can (15-ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

For the tortilla strips: 
Four to six 5-inch corn tortillas 
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Additional toppings: sliced avocado, chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream or crema, crumbled Cotija or feta cheese.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. 

Make the soup: 

In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the poblano, garlic, chipotle in adobo, chili powder, and oregano and cook, stirring often until fragrant and the poblano softens, about 3 minutes. 

Use your hands to break up the tomatoes and add them to the pot. Add the stock and bring to a boil on high heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. 

Transfer 3 cups of the soup to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth, then return to the pot (alternatively, use an immersion blender to partially puree). Add the black beans and corn and season with salt and pepper. 

Make the tortilla strips: 

Brush each tortilla with the oil, then stack on a cutting board. Cut the tortilla stack in half, then into 1/2-inch strips. Arrange the strips on a sheet pan in a single layer (you may need to use more than one pan, or bake in rounds.) Season the strips with salt and bake until golden and crispy, about 10 minutes. 

To serve: 

Top the soup with a handful of tortilla strips, sliced avocado, chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream or crema, and crumbled Cotija or feta cheese.