Last week I was in the beautiful Colorado Rockies with my family. We spent a lot of time hiking in mountains, visiting the town and just hanging out. You’d think I’d be sleeping great with all this working out, but I had been stressed about being away from work for so long. So after a particularly poor night’s sleep we went for another hike, about 5 miles and by the time we got home, I was beat.

The sky was turning black quickly and nothing sounded better than a hot, comforting bowl of soup. I’m kind of a sucker for soup. I also happen to love love love tortilla soup. I’ve made tortilla soup a bunch, but never found a recipe that was perfect. This one has the perfect amount of spice, a super rich broth and lots of yummy flavors and textures.

Even though it’s a little warm to be making this soup in Chicago, I’ll be making it very often when fall rolls around!

Tortilla Soup

Serves: 8 • Prep Time: 20 minutes • Cook Time: 40 minutes
Nutrition per Serving Cal: 220.3 • Fat: 9.9g • Carb: 17.3g • Protein: 18.3g • Fiber: 4g • Sugar: 2.9g

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tsp canola oil
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 – 14.5oz. can of petite diced tomatoes
• 10 cups of water
• 3 1/2 Tbsp Better Than Bullion Chicken flavor
• (or 10 cups low sodium chicken broth instead of water & bullion)
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

Toppings

• 4 corn tortillas, cut into strips
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 2 chicken breasts, grilled and cubed
• 2 ears of corn, grilled
• 1 large avocado, cubed
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 cup low fat Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Method

• Heat canola oil in a stockpot over medium high heat. Add onions when hot and sauté for 8 minutes.
• Add garlic, serrano, chili powder, cumin and oregano. Stir to mix with onion and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add tomatoes, water and bullion. Bring to a boil and mix to combine.
• Add cilantro and lower heat to medium low. Let simmer for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat canola oil in a skillet and in two batches, fry up the tortilla strips, flipping occasionally. Let them dry on a plate covered with a few paper towels. This will help soak up and residual oil.
• Before serving, heat bowls to keep soup hot.
• In the bottom of each bowl add chicken and grilled corn. Ladle broth on top and top each bowl with avocado, cilantro, cheese and tortilla strips.
• Serve immediately.