Name: Chicken Tortilla Soup with Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 9
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Ingredients: 950 ml chicken broth (4 cups); 240 ml water (1 cup); 400 g boneless, skinless chicken breast (14 oz; anywhere from 10 to 16 oz works); 2 tsp ground cumin; 1 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder; 1 1/2 tsp onion powder; 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp paprika; 1/2 tsp dried oregano; 1/2 tsp ground coriander; 1/2 tsp dried epazote; 450 g black bean and corn salsa (one 16 oz jar); 1/2 red bell pepper (medium, diced; more to taste); 1/2 green bell pepper (medium, diced; more to taste); 1 tsp fine sea salt (or to taste); 100 g three-color tortilla strips (shop-bought); 180 g sour cream (about 3/4 cup); 3 tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped)

Chicken Tortilla Soup with Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Prep 15 min Cook 1 hr 30 min Total 1 hr 45 min Servings 9

Published Sep 24, 2026 · Updated Oct 28, 2026

About this recipe

Shredded chicken, peppers and jarred black bean and corn salsa simmer in a broth warmed with cumin, ancho chili powder, coriander and epazote. Crisp tortilla strips, sour cream and cilantro go on top. Cooking the chicken at a gentle simmer, then shredding it, keeps the meat juicy. Ready in about 1 hour 45 minutes. It keeps four days and freezes well without the toppings.

Tip: Cook the chicken in barely simmering liquid, not boiling, so the breast doesn't dry out. Shred it before it goes back into the broth. This opens up more surface, so the meat soaks the liquid back up during the last simmer. The same trick keeps a breast cooked a long time from getting stringy.

Notes & swaps

Poach the chicken the night before. Hold the shredded chicken and the broth separately in the fridge, and the next day this is a genuine 30-minute soup: chop, dump, simmer, serve.

Keep the poach at a bare simmer, not a boil. Forty-five minutes at a rolling boil will give you dry, stringy breast; the same time barely moving gives you meat that pulls apart cleanly.

Shred the chicken rather than dicing it. The torn surface soaks the broth back up during the final simmer, which is what keeps it from drying out despite the long poach.

The peppers are to taste. Half a medium pepper of each color is the working amount, but go heavier if you want more pepper in the bowl.

Epazote is the one hard-to-find ingredient. It is a Mexican herb sold dried in Latin American groceries and online, and it gives a distinctive savory edge nothing else quite matches. If you cannot get it, leave it out rather than substituting, and add an extra 1/4 tsp of oregano.

Add the tortilla strips at the table, not in the pot. They go soggy within a minute of hitting the broth.

The jarred black bean and corn salsa replaces separate cans of beans, corn, and tomato, and brings its own acid. Brands vary in heat and salt, so taste before you add any salt of your own.

Make ahead and storage: the soup keeps 4 days refrigerated and is better on day two. Freeze without the toppings for up to 3 months.

Other toppings that work: diced avocado, a squeeze of lime, shredded Monterey Jack, or pickled jalapeno.

Boneless chicken thighs work in place of breast at the same weight and are more forgiving of a long poach.