Authentic Sopa De Tortilla (Tortilla Soup) is made in a delicious broth seasoned with tomato and pasilla pepper. Topped with baked tortilla strips, avocado and crumbly cheese.

White bowl with tortilla soup garnished with avocado and cilantro.

Sopa Azteca

Aztec Soup

Who says that Mexican food is fattening? As a matter of fact, most foods in Mexico are rather healthy!

I took this recipe even further and made it healthier than normally: 1) baked the tortilla strips instead of frying them in oil, 2) using low-fat vegetable stock and 3) only adding 1 tablespoon of oil to sauté the vegetables

You really don’t need more oil than that to get the veggies nice and crispy. Amazingly, the flavors in this healthy Tortilla Soup are not compromised. It’s all about the spices!

Two bowls of sopa de tortilla garnished with avocado and crumbled cheese.
An authentic Sopa De Tortilla.

***This post was originally published on Dec 2015. It has been updated to be more helpful.

Ingredients

  • Roma tomato diced
  • Chicken broth or vegetable stock preferably homemade
  • Pasilla chile or chile ancho – This chile is not spicy at all but it gives a dark, rich color and smoky flavor. It is delicious and used in many Mexican recipes.
  • Mexican oregano
  • Vegetable oil
  • Carrot
  • Onion chopped
  • Fresh ground pepper and kosher salt
  • Shredded chicken
This recipe's ingredients on a white board.
A branch graphic for posts.

How To Make Sopa De Tortilla

You’ll find the process of making an authentic Sopa De Tortilla at home super easy! There is nothing more satisfying that making your own favorite Mexican dishes.

A blender cup with broth, tomatoes, onions and dried chiles.
  1. Make the tomato-chile puree: Place the tomato, vegetable stock, pasilla chile, and oregano in a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside. Note: you may need to make this in two separate batches so that your blender does not overflow.
Sauteing onions and carrots in a saucepan.
  1. Make the soup: Place a saucepan or stockpot over medium-high heat and add oil to coat the bottom. Add the carrot and onion and saute until lightly browned. 
Adding the vegetable and chile mixture into the saucepan.
  1. Add the tomato-chile mixture, salt & pepper to the saucepot. Bring to a simmer and taste for seasoning. Add more if needed. 
A saucepan with the soup broth and shredded chicken on a cooking spoon.
  1. Add the shredded chicken and simmer slowly for about 10 minutes to develop flavor. 
Totopos into strips in a small bowl.

Make the Corn Tortilla strips ahead of time or as the soup simmers: I make my own baked tortillas since that cuts a few hundred calories without compromising any flavor. When selecting the corn tortillas, look for the lower calorie ones. The ones I use are 50 calories each. But if you’re pressed for time, you can use quality store bought tortilla chips.

What you want to do is slice the tortillas into thin strips, then slice in the other direction to get about 1 inch long and 1/4 inch wide strips.

Frying the tortillas instead of baked

  • Add some oil to a pot on the stove (enough to cover the bottom of the pan with about 1/2 inch layer).
  • Once it’s hot, throw in the strips and let fry for a few minutes on each side until crispy. It helps to do this in small batches so the tortillas aren’t all on top of each other and crowded.
  • Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to drain any excess oil. Top with a few cracks of salt.

How To Serve

Serve while hot. Ladle soup into individual bowls; top with tortilla strips, avocado & cheese. Sprinkle with pasilla chilies… oh, and don’t forget to squeeze some lime juice and hot sauce! This is highly recommended.

A medium saucepan with soup.
This Chicken Tortilla Soup is a crowd pleaser!

About the Toppings

The toppings are as important as the broth is in this soup. They add so much depth and flavor that I recommend you don’t skip any of them! Besides the tortilla strips, here are a few suggestions.

The Cheese: Keep the cheese at minimum since it doesn’t need much of it. I recommend crumbled panela cheese or queso fresco (make your own or found in most grocery stores). Mexican crema will work well too.

The Veggies: These are the MUST toppings that will add so much flavor to your soup: sliced avocado, chopped cilantro and a dash of fresh lime juice.

A metal plate with tortilla strips, crumbled cheese, sliced limes and avocado.

What to serve with Tortilla Soup

Serve your Sopa De Tortilla with your favorite tacos like these Taquitos, Molletes, or Chipotle Pork Tortas.



Chef’s Tips and Notes

  • Storing: Once prepared, this recipe will store in the fridge for 3-5 days. Store in an airtight container and reheat on the stove for best results.
  • Freezer Friendly? Yes please! This soup freezes with ease. Simply cool completely, store in an airtight container and freeze for up to two months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and gently rewarm on stovetop. 
  • Make it Vegan! Traditional tortilla soup calls for queso fresco, cotija or panela cheese. For a dairy free and vegan soup, don’t add any cheese or share it with vegan feta cheese. The taste and consistency resembles the Mexican cheeses and can be interchanged.
  • Can’t Find Pasilla Pepper? Replace it with half of a chipotle pepper or a whole one for a spicier version.
Two white bowls with sopa de tortilla and a spoon. Limes on the side.

Thank you for stopping by!

I hope you like this recipe! Do you have any questions I can help you with? Or if you made it, I would love it if you leave a comment or rating below.
Gracias!!!! xx, Ana

Print Recipe:

White bowl with tortilla soup garnished with avocado and cilantro.

Authentic Sopa De Tortilla (Sopa Azteca)

Servings 6 bowls
Ana Frias
5 from 30 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Authentic Sopa De Tortilla (Tortilla Soup) is made in a delicious broth seasoned with tomato and pasilla pepper. Topped with baked tortilla strips, avocado and crumbly cheese. 

Equipment

  • Blender
  • Medium saucepan
6 bowls

Ingredients  

  • 1 cup roma tomato diced
  • 6 cups chicken or stock preferably homemade
  • 1 pasilla chile, stemmed
  • 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
  • 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
  • ½ cup carrot (about 1 carrot) julienned
  • ¼ cup onion chopped
  • ½ Tablespoon fresh ground pepper
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
Toppings
  • 8 baked corn tortillas cut into strips
  • 1 avocado peeled & diced
  • ½ cup plant-based queso, panela, queso fresco or cotija cheese crumbled
  • lime wedges
  • cilantro chopped

Instructions 

  • Place the tomato, stock, pasilla chile, and oregano in a blender. Puree and set aside. (see note #1 below)
    1 cup roma tomato, 6 cups chicken or stock, 1 pasilla chile, stemmed, 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
  • Place a saucepan or stockpot over medium heat and add oil to coat the bottom. Add the carrot and onion and saute until lightly browned.
    1 Tablespoon vegetable oil, ½ cup carrot (about 1 carrot), ¼ cup onion
  • Add the tomato-chile puree, salt & pepper. Bring to a simmer and taste for seasoning. Add more if needed.
    ½ Tablespoon fresh ground pepper, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Add the shredded chicken and simmer for about 10 minutes to develop flavor.
  • Serve hot and garnish with the tortilla strips, avocado & cheese. Squeeze some lime juice to taste if desired.

Muy Delish Notes:

Note #1: When blending your broth, you may need to do this process in two separate batches so that your blender does not overflow.
I added carrots to bulk up the recipe but you can easily omit them if desired. 
Calories are for the soup only. Calories for toppings are not included as that varies depending on the quantities you decide to use. 

Add Your Own Private Notes

Whenever you come back to this recipe, you’ll be able to see your notes.

Nutrition

Serving: 2cups | Calories: 65kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 213mg | Potassium: 140mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g

The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.

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Recipe Rating




29 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I love tortilla soup and this one looks so good to pass! The color, texture, everything looks perfect. I need to try this out!

  2. 5 stars
    This was such a tasty soup! I used low-carb tortillas to keep the carb count down and couldn’t tell the difference. I really enjoyed this!

  3. How do you get the red color? I followed the instructions and the color was more green due to the pepper and chicken stock. I had to add tomato paste to get it more reddish brown. Have you considered tomato sauce instead of fresh tomatoes? When I ate this in Guadalahara it was thicker and much more tomato forward. Thanks

    1. I prefer to use canned fire roasted tomatoes and it gets the results you’re looking for. Some of the color comes from the passila ancho though but the canned tomato helps too. I prefer the flavor anyway. I also use two pretty large anchos.

  4. 5 stars
    Ana! I couldn’t wait to try this recipe and was wanting something flavorful and simple as my appetite has been gone jut getting out of hospital! This is it!!!
    I had all of he ingredients and didn’t waste any time getting it going!
    It is wonderful. I used the hand blender and it worked beautifully!
    Another terrific Muy Delish recipe!
    Thank you!

    P. S. I saw that the lady I met at grocery store here signed on to you and left a message. A chance encounter and she was great!
    ❤️?

  5. 5 stars
    Hello Ana. I’ve actually never made chicken tortilla soup until now and this is going to be the only way I will make it! The veggies in the base are incredible… it has so much flavor. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!

    1. Hi Michael! I’m so thrilled to know you really enjoyed this Sopa De Tortilla! The veggies had so much for texture to it too. Thanks so much for the feedback and I hope you have a great day! Ana

  6. 5 stars
    This looks great! If I wanted to make this for a work potluck, how would you work this so I could make it in a crock pot?

    Thank You!

    1. 5 stars
      Thanks Kyla! I have never used the crock pot for this but I don’t see why not! The only thing you’ll have to do is sear the veggies first then transfer to the crock pot. Let me know how it turns out! You gave me a great idea for my next potluck! Thanks!

    2. 5 stars
      Thanks Kyla! I have never used the crock pot for this but I don’t see why not! The only thing you’ll have to do is sear the veggies first then transfer to the crock pot. Let me know how it turns out! You gave me a great idea for my next potluck! Thanks!

  7. 5 stars
    Your recipe was great! It was so good I’m doing this third pot for friends! Everyone loved it! Thanks for recipe posting!

    1. 5 stars
      Yay! I’m so happy you made it and enjoy it Rosalind! I read your comment to my husband and now he’s asking me to make it again lol!