Smoky Spicy Tortilla Soup

This Smoky, Spicy Tortilla Soup is packed with all the flavors of Mexican cuisine including chipolte peppers and cumin all wrapped in a spicy broth.

 

Smoky Spicy Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup is a standard at most Mexican restaurants, but I think the best tortilla soup I ever had was in Scottsdale. I used to live there and my go-to lunch was often this soup. From the Hyatt, to the Camelback Inn to Manuel’s to Los Sombreros, everyone had their own version. Some with grilled corn, others with more of a spicy chicken broth, others that had spicy jalapeños. They were all good, but the soup that stood out to me the most had the most amazing rich tomato chicken broth. It was subtlety spicy and smoky at the same time and instead of corn it had black beans.

I wanted to recreate that soup and I think I came pretty close with recipe.  So let’s make it.

Ingredients of Smoky Spicy Tortilla Soup

• Chicken
• Chicken broth
• Tomatoes
• Garlic
• Chipotle Chile Powder
• Cumin
• Smoked Paprika
• Salt
• Pepper
• Black Beans
• Lime
• Tortilla Chips
• Cheddar Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Avocado

How to Make Smoky Spicy Tortilla Soup

The soup that I had tasted like it had been simmering forever and that to me says slow cooker.

Begin by cutting chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and add them into the slow cooker.  Next add the low sodium chicken broth. Then add the tomatoes, garlic, Chipotle chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, black beans and lime juice and cook the soup on low heat for 6-7 hours.

When ready to serve, ladle the soup into serving bowls and top each bowl with tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese, diced avocado and a touch of sour cream.  It’s a perfectly satisfying meal all by itself.

A Note on the Ingredients

You can use fresh tomatoes, but the canned are just fine in this recipe and the added bonus with canned is the the tomato sauce.  I really like Marzano tomatoes the best in this recipe not only because of the flavor but they just hold up better in the long simmering process.

For the spices, for an extra smoky taste, I used Chipotle Chile powder as well as smoked Paprika, along with the juice of one lime. This gives the soup a fabulous smoky taste almost like cooking over a campfire.

I do have to say, it was pretty close to that fabulous soup I had. It was rich, spicy, smoky and had a huge depth of flavor because of the simmering.

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For Similar Recipes:

Mexican Street Corn Soup

Chicken Taco Soup