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Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Creamy chicken tortilla soup with a rich orange-cream Tex-Mex broth, tender shredded chicken, and melty cream cheese. Simmered until smooth, then finished with crunchy tortilla strips and a sour cream swirl.
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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: 620
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Soup base
  • 1.5 lb chicken breast Cooked and shredded.
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans Drained.
  • 1 can (15 oz) corn Drained.
  • 1 can (10 oz) Rotel tomatoes
  • 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1 onion Diced.
  • 4 cloves garlic Minced.
  • 4 cup chicken broth
  • 8 oz cream cheese Cubed.
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 0.25 salt To taste.
  • 0.25 pepper To taste.
Toppings
  • 0.5 cup sour cream For serving.
  • 0.5 cup shredded cheddar For serving.
  • 1 cup tortilla strips For serving.
  • 0.25 cup cilantro For serving.
  • 1 medium avocado Sliced for serving.
  • 1 medium lime Juiced and/or served as wedges.

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Sauté aromatics
  1. In a large pot, sauté the onion for 4 minutes over medium heat until softened and fragrant (visual cue: translucent edges). Add the garlic and taco seasoning and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly (visual cue: spices look slightly toasted).
Build the soup
  1. Add the Rotel tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, black beans, and corn. Bring to a boil over high heat (visual cue: rolling bubbles across the surface).
Melt in cream cheese
  1. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cubed cream cheese until completely melted and the broth looks smooth and creamy (visual cue: no visible cream cheese chunks).
Simmer with chicken
  1. Stir in the shredded chicken and heavy cream, then simmer for 10 minutes (visual cue: thickened broth that gently bubbles).
Season and serve
  1. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with sour cream, shredded cheddar, tortilla strips, cilantro, avocado, and lime as toppings (visual cue: toppings piled on top).

Notes

Pro tip: cube and melt the cream cheese on low heat to avoid graininess—stir until fully smooth before adding toppings. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3–4 days; freeze soup (without sour cream and tortilla strips) up to 3 months for best texture. For a lighter option, use reduced-fat cream cheese and half-and-half instead of heavy cream while keeping the simmer time the same.