Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup makes a comforting and hearty meal-in-a-bowl!

I used a favorite  ‘go to’ time saver: a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, ‘spit-fired around the cluck’. ;)

I like to use a rotisserie chickens for quick salads and soups. It’s also an easy and affordable way to make homemade chicken stock, using something that you usually throw away.

Add the chicken carcass to a Dutch oven or stock pot with some veggies, additional seasoning and water. After an hour or so of simmering on the stove you’ll have a fragrant and flavorful chicken stock that’s ready to use or freeze for later. You take advantage of the seasoning and flavor from the roasted chicken, while controlling the sodium in your homemade stock, better than store-bought!

You can find more details, HERE, along with our favorite Chicken Soup recipe for Cold and Flu Season.

I used evaporated milk for the 'creamy' part of the soup. I like evaporated milk as it’s a pantry ingredient and ideal for our non-milk drinking household. It delivers thickening power and creaminess to soups/chowders, mac and cheese, etc. without the calories and fat of heavy cream. It can also take the heat and won’t break or curdle like milk often does in soup.

You’ll also need some Masa Harina. If you’re not familiar with Masa Harina, it’s a Mexican corn flour that’s naturally gluten free, used for making tortillas and tamales. You can find it on the international foods aisle at most grocery stores with other Mexican and Latin American ingredients. It’s often added to chili to thicken it and adds a subtle corn flavor. If you don’t want to invest in a bag of Masa, you can substitute finely ground corn tortillas, using a food processor to grind them up really fine.

To serve, add your favorite tortilla soup garnishes like shredded cheese, sour cream, diced avocado, sliced jalapeño, cilantro, green onion, lime wedges, corn tortilla chips and / or hot sauce.

Enjoy!

Find more cozy comfort food in a bowl and hearty soups, HERE. You’ll find recipes for chili and soup with hearty ingredients like Italian sausage, potatoes and pasta to flavorful veggies that pack some nutrition like butternut squash, kale and spinach.