This Southwestern Chicken Soup is a spicy chicken tortilla soup that is an authentic Mexican Soup. It’s our favorite and best Chicken tortilla soup recipe that is made with anchos.

Best chicken tortilla Soup recipe, southwestern chicken soup, spicy chicken tortilla soup

We lean towards a Tex-Mex kitchen here at the Ranch. Some people say Southwestern recipes but either one would describe it. And this spicy Mexican Chicken tortilla Soup is one of our favorite cold-weather recipes and uses those much loved sweet and smoky dried ancho chiles.

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And if you are not familiar with Ancho Chiles then it’s time to get acquainted. An Ancho Chile is a dried poblano chile which is one of the sweetest of all the chiles used in Tex-Mex cooking.

These Ancho chiles don’t bring a lot of heat to this Mexican soup but they add an amazing smoky spicy flavor. Ancho chiles are used in an authentic mole, tamales, and some enchilada sauces. And we use them to make the rich red sauce in this soup. Mexican food varies according to location so the term “authentic” can differ for different folks in different areas.

What you will Need to make this Southwestern Chicken Soup:

Ingredients:

2 Ancho Chilies, dried
2 Chicken Breasts, skinless and boneless
2-3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1/2 Medium onion, chopped
2 Large Jalapeños, seeded and Chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
14.5 ounce can Diced Tomatoes
2 teaspoons tomato paste
6 cups Chicken broth
3 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons broth base
1/2 teaspoon salt
2- 14.5 ounce cans white hominy, drained
2 Tablespoons fresh Cilantro
Feta Cheese
Mexican Oregano, for seasoned garnish
2 corn tortillas

Equipment Needed:

Dutch Oven
Small Bowl, for softening the ancho chilies
Sharp Knife or Pizza Cutter
Baking Sheet

How to Make this Southwestern Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup

We used jalapeños to bring a little “heat” and spice to our best Chicken tortilla soup recipe. So just a heads up with the jalapeños, add according to your family’s heat tolerance.

Directions for spicy chicken tortilla soup:

Put ancho chiles into a bowl and cover with boiling water, let set for 30 minutes. Remove stems and seeds and chop.
Meanwhile, place chicken breasts in a pot and add water to cover. Cook over medium-high heat until done, remove and shred with two forks.
Heat oil in a dutch oven, add onions, jalapeños, ancho chiles and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste and chicken broth and heat
Add cumin and chicken broth base, and salt and bring to boil
Add shredded chicken and hominy and allow to simmer on low for 30 minutes, add cilantro
Meanwhile, cut tortillas into strips using a sharp knife or better yet a pizza cutter
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place tortilla strips on baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Bake until just brown and crisp approximately 5-6 minutes
Serve soup topped with strips of tortillas, feta cheese and Mexican oregano or more cilantro to taste

Even though this soup has crunchy corn tortilla strips on top, we also serve flour tortillas on the side. And none of this amazing red sauce goes to waste when it is sopped up with a hot fluffy flour tortilla.

Note: You could use a tortilla keeper like this to keep those flour tortillas soft and hot.

We hope you enjoyed chasing away the chills today with this bowl of smoky spicy chicken tortilla soup. And getting familiar with our favorite Mexican Chiles, the Ancho. They make this the absolutely best Mexican soup.

Other Spicy Recipes:

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How to make our Best Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Southwest Chicken Soup loaded with Chicken, hominy and tortilla strips in an ancho chile sauce.

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Total Time1 5

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Mexican, Southwestern

Keyword: Best Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe, Southwestern Soup, Spicy Soups

Servings:

Calories: 310kcal

Author: Evelyn

Ingredients

2 Ancho Chiles dried
2 chicken breasts skinless boneless
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion chopped
2 large jalapeños seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons tomato paste
6 cups chicken broth
3 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons broth base
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 14.5 oz cans white hominy drained
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro
Feta cheese for garnish
Mexican oregano for garnish
2 corn tortillas

Instructions

Put ancho chiles into a bowl and cover with boiling water, let set for 30 minutes. Remove stems and seeds and chop.
Meanwhile, place chicken breasts in water over medium-high heat and boil until done, remove and shred with two forks
Heat oil in a dutch oven, add onions, jalapenos, ancho chiles and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste and chicken broth and heat
Add cumin and chicken broth base, and salt and bring to boil
Add shredded chicken and hominy and allow to simmer on low for 30 minutes, add cilantro
Meanwhile, cut tortillas into strips using a sharp pizza cutter
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place tortilla strips on baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Bake until just brown and crisp approximately 5-6 minutes
Serve soup topped with strips of tortillas, feta cheese and Mexican oregano or more cilantro to taste

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